In the far reaches of Canterlot Castle, high above in the towers lived the archmage. Everypony knew her, yet few had met her.

Twilight Sparkle sighed, having teleported away another noble seeking favors before reaching the top of the stairs for the second time today. They never learned. As the archmage, she already dealt with political squabbles far too often without inviting them into her home. Aside from personal favors for Celestia, she did what was required of her position and then returned to seclusion and research.

The nobility grumbled that no archmage should be a commoner, and Twilight’s disrespect toward them proved it. Each and every time they were forced to bow to her, they hated what they saw: the position, the status, the deference.

Was she not powerful? Was she not great?

Twilight, now reading through dusty scrolls and long forgotten tales, wrote in her notes — notes gathering dust of their own. A brief thought flashed through her mind.

Am I not powerful? Am I not great?

And then Twilight picked up The Tale of the Royal Pony Sisters.

Defunct side stories told in Across the Boundary. They can still provide a little context, but when in doubt, the main story here is canon.

Cover art provided by Lafiir

Inspired by Parting Words, by RHJunior

Princess Celestia is the paragon of Harmony. She is kind to her subjects and generous to those in need. She is loyal to her ideals and never compromised. She has a good, if mostly unknown, sense of humor. Above all else, she is always honest. Right?

Twilight Sparkle trusts Princess Celestia implicitly and in all things. The Princess has never steered her wrong, not once. When Twilight thought that her concerns for Nightmare Moon were being ignored, Celestia had her back, even if she was withholding information.

Wait a minute.

Shortly before Celestia leaves for Canterlot with the redeemed Luna, Twilight has a conversation with her mentor that will change her perspective on the Princess forever. She will receive something new, beautiful, and damning all the same.

Cynicism.

Six Little Words or: The Question That Twilight Didn’t Ask in Canon.

Violence Tag: Implied torture.

Comments are back open. Please try to keep it cordial.

Also known as, the Twilight.
I feel like this story doesn't need much of a description. After DJ Valkyri-3 I wanted to write more cutesy romance and see if I couldn't squirm my way back into ponified. Saw the picture and, well, this happened.
Also, I never really see Twilestia from Celestia's point of view. It's always form Twilight's or an omniscient view so I thought I'd try it out. Turns out it's really fun to write!
Enjoy!
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Added the sex tag for chapter 2 specifically, but unless insinuations without real descriptions and raunchiness with a dose of lewd iconography rubs you the wrong way then it's perfectly safe. It's still nowhere near needing the mature tag.

Certain alicorns have no regard for the rules of space and time. An astral sub-dimension becomes a potent weapon in what appears to be a divine prank war. Shining Armor hits the sauce.

Written for this contest thinger.

A series of loosely related oneshots depicting different moments in Twilight's life where she relied on Celestia for comfort and advice, and those fewer yet no less important moments where she was able to return the favor.

I will be jumping back and forth along the timeline since I write the oneshots as they come to me. On that note, each oneshot will fit into one of three categories:

Filly - Stories depicting moments from before Twilight left for Ponyville.

Ponyville - Stories depicting moments from between the time Twilight left for Ponyville and the time she became an alicorn.

Alicorn - Stories depicting moments after Twilight ascended and became an alicorn.

Twilight Sparkle is Princess Celestia's personal student, tinkerer, philosopher, arcanosmith, and more. What she is not, however, is one to give up on a good mystery. Especially when her attempts to put it off are met with strange dreams and vague hints.
If only she didn't have to do this alone. Well, that's what the young inventor thought.
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Added gore tag for some later chapters

Old sayings and old memories remain with us as we lead our lives. Wisps of times long past that stay with us until the morning of eternity, bringing softs smiles to our faces and dull aches to our hearts. Still we carry them forward, for as long as we live.

Thank you to Knight of Cerebus for his editing and patience.

Equestria, a land of peace and prosperity. It has been free of any true war for centuries and has prospered for it. However, it has also changed little in that time and its guard isn't what it should be. For several centuries now House Star, a noble house that is the last standing member of the ancient Lunar Court, has tried to get Canterlot's other noble houses, and indeed the royal of the sun, to see this but have never succeeded. Twilight, newest princess of Equestria and heir of House Star, just might know a way to shake things up.

Princess Twilight Sparkle discovers a centuries-old mystery hidden in the Royal Archives. Her investigation leads through layer after layer of deception and misdirection, setting her hooves on a path that seems to be leading to a mysterious secret. Along the way, she learns that some friendships can be very, very strange.

Book 1 of the Alicorn Adventure series.

AUDIOBOOK by VisualPony
Featured at the Royal Canterlot Library
TV Tropes Page (Courtesy of Sandtalon)
Goodreads Page (Courtesy of Facedeer)
Equestria Daily Page

WARNING: Major spoilers in the comments. Takes place several months after the end of season four. (Not a Da Vinci Code crossover, BTW!)

Do you see a dark tag? No, you don't. Not dark. Well, okay, there are a couple of dark-ish bits, but that's all. Not enough to warrant a tag. Speaking of tags, there really ought to be "Badass Twilight" and "Friendshipping" ones.

Sequels and side-stories (and more) can be found here Offprint and AO3, and a hardbound two-volume set of all that can be ordered from The Ministry of Image.

My editor for the first edition of this story was Gogito, and I can't thank him enough for all the hard work he did. My editor for the revised version was PresentPerfect, and he did a terrific job of getting the story into excellent shape.

Celestia loves Twilight Sparkle. That is a fact, an indisputable constant of the universe. What that love means, however, is much less certain. The love of a teacher. The love of a friend. The love that Celestia dares not name. Every tick of the clock demands her answer, for while Celestia is timeless, Twilight is not.

Celestia has only a single lifetime to make her decision, but Twilight will wait. She always has, and she always will.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Editing performed by the very talented Knight of Cerebus

Winner of the Seventh Bimonthly Twilestia Contest