Prism Flash and Silver Belle led Alf through the short thoroughfare between the central rover hub the ground floor of Seed One. It was a strategic placement since all workers outside of the primary government building would have quick access to it between shifts. While the cultural heart of the colony were poised to leave Seed One for their own buildings, there was something of a growing tradition to eat lunch at the cafeteria. As far as Prism was concerned, if there was a good place to start Alf’s tour, it would be there.
At the moment, Prism was flying backwards so she could face Alf while pointing out various things of interest while Silver more or less tried to stay present in his companions’ vision. Alf looked as though he was trying to mask mounting disappointment by constantly hiding his mouth as he rubbed his face.
“What exactly is this cafeteria?” he asked distractedly. “Your translator doesn’t seem to work for that word.”
“Really?” Prism gave a slight frown at the prospect of a failed part of the translation, yet Silver only shrugged at the idea.
Can’t get every word within the span of a few weeks after all. “It’s a food distribution center where we can sit and eat.”
Prism nodded in agreement and came to a landing in front of the spacious opening into the chamber in question. Voyager had given an announcement prior to the alien’s arrival for traffic through the central entrance to be avoided in order to keep Alf from being potentially overwhelmed by the tidal wave of ponies that regularly went to and fro. “Well why not see for yourself?”
Cautiously following Prism’s ‘go on’ wave of her foreleg, Alf hesitated for a long moment, just enough for the ponies to sense it. Suppressing a shudder, Alf strode inside with his escorts quickly following after him. To his eyes, the central entrance was clearly designed to funnel newcomers into multiple lines which were rather short at this hour. The place was dominated by functional aesthetics rather than the flowing and bold architecture he was used to. Before he could take the time to investigate the food-line any further, the buzz of dozens of conversations drew his gaze over to the main open dining area that stretched for multiple stories.
Prism casually slid over to see if he would display even a modicum of awe. Not too much was expected obviously, since he clearly came from a civilization with tech far beyond her own, but maybe, just maybe there’d be a brow lift, a faint hum, or even a slight tilt of the head to indicate his respect.
Instead, Alf was wide eyed with horrified revulsion. He gazed upon the hundreds of diners with a stunned, almost morbid fascination. "Vile!" Unwilling to stand there a second longer, Alf backed up, almost stumbling over Silver in a made sprint to leave the cafeteria.
Prism just sort of stood there in stunned surprise, blinking slowly. It took Silver grabbing her by the hoof and jostling her forward to break her out of it. “Don’t just stand there, we gotta keep him from doing something stupid.”
“R-right, yeah.” Prism said as she let him break her dumbfoundedness. The pair sprinted after Alf, watching him turn a corner, back into the primary thoroughfare. The two of them stormed in that direction only to find Alf had not gone any further than the corner, and was clasping his hands in a meditative pose and had his eyes closed with controlled slow breaths.
Prism glanced around at the passersby who were giving the alien a curious look, with some of them appearing on the edge of being skittish. Silver was doing an admirable job hiding his own bout of ill-at-ease at Alf being unstable. “Are you alright?”
Alf took a long, deep breath, and held it. He ignored his escorts for a long moment before slowly releasing the breath and opening his eyes, but kept his hands clasped. “I am now.”
“You mind telling us what that was about?” Prism fussed while waving a hoof back towards the cafeteria.
“Clearly your species practices degeneracy on a massive scale,” Alf muttered under his breath, unknowing that the translator could hear him. Before either pony could react to the insult, he spoke with more calm than he demonstrated earlier. “In my culture…” He fiddled his thumbs trying to word his reply more respectfully. “The consumption of food is considered a wholly intimate act.” Prism blushed while Silver gave him a disbelieving half-frown. “For so many doing it publicly is, was inconceivable.”
“Hold the phone,” Silver asked with a wave of a wing. “You didn’t seem to have a problem knowing it was a food center. How can you be insulted by public eating then?”
Alf shook all over at the mind scarring, wishing he would purge the mental images. “My people and I were under no illusion that food is important. But… in businesses like this cafeteria of yours,” he said the word with utter disgust, “ all have very private tables, completely isolated from others, no exceptions. Typically the servers knock or the eater hides the food under a cleaning cloth when they come to check on them.”
Prism couldn’t wrap her head around the concept of a diner of all things being taboo. “Y-you’ve gotta be pulling my feathers. You didn’t tell or at least show us that in the past few weeks.”
Alf ground his teeth together trying to keep his composure. “If you are referring to that cogitator ghost that tormented me all this time, the taboo doesn’t extend to them since they have no concept of intercourse.” The ones from my people didn’t at least, he mused worriedly. “As for your scientists watching me…” Alf pointedly averted his eyes towards a window. “I simply forced myself to believe they turned the cameras off during meals.”
Silver inwardly groaned at what this would end up meaning for the future. And here I thought Yaks were the craziest species ever. “I know this is a major culture shock for you,” he started in a decent attempt at diplomacy. “But… but…” He couldn’t find the words for a mindset that was so alien his train of thought ran out of steam. As a last resort, he turned to Prism. “I’m drawing a blank here.”
Momma told me of an old lesson of hers was that trying to emulate somepony else’s culture just makes things worse. Prism was trying and failing to see how public eating could have ever been declared taboo. “I’m sure you won’t like it for a long time, but you’re just going to have to get used to others eating in public. I can tell you right now, stopping all public eating would not fly with our people.”
“But it’s not like we’d expect you to immediately do the same thing we do, Right Prism?” Silver elbowed hard enough to get her to remember her manners and voice her agreement.
Alf walked in silence, forcibly keeping his stomach from lurching. “Is it safe to assume Colonial Princess Twilight Sparkle is of the same mind?” Both ponies nodded, giving his hopes one last kick in the teeth. “I will need to meditate on this, and I will also need any medical-chemists you have to produce something for me. Please, until then, I request to be taken back to my domicile, or at the very least far away from this place.”
Silver hummed thoughtfully. Considering how many of us just take a granola bar and eat on the go, I really don’t want to get people thinking Alf’s a nutjob, even though he is. “Sounds like a good plan to me.” He nudged Prism and jerked his eyes back towards the rover hub. “Right?”
“Yyyeah, sure.” Prism waved the others back towards the transit hub. “So if you’re a shipwright, how do you know the chemical formula for this pill of yours?”
Glad to be walking away from the cafeteria, Alf moved just fast enough for the others to pick up the pace. “You recall how I told you that my mind was programmed with the construction plans of ships. Well, I was given similar instructions on the medical compound. As technologically backwards as your people appear to be, I assume you can at least fabricate such things if given proper instruction.” Silver took especial insult at that comment, while Prism was none too happy either. Not that Alf took notice. “Its original purpose was to erase thoughts of willful self-imposed extinction, but it can serve a similar purpose to erase all concept of this taboo from my mind.”
Maybe you can use it to get that condescending tone wiped away too while you’re at it. Silver huffed with a veiled glare. That sour expression faltered after noting that Alf had resignation written on his face. “Is there a side effect on this brain bleach?”
Alf was silent for several moments. Long enough for the ponies to take interest. “Given the number of taboos your people seem complacent in, I will have to perform multiple rituals for two spans, with the formula I revealed to you. Should the gods will it, I will either be absolved of any sin for also becoming complacent, or I will die.”
“Isn’t that a little extreme?” Silver hazarded with his ears pulled back.
“I am a humble listener to the divine chorus. It is not my place to change the song.”
Clearly your people don’t believe in having different radio stations, Prism mused, though keeping her expression neutral.
Not wanting to risk another spazz session, the trio closed in on the rover hub, and managed to commandeer one of the new mass transit buses so all three of them could travel together back to the biolab.
The sun was far below the horizon by the time Twilight Sparkle had been bodily pushed out of the control center by Spike to get some much needed rest. Her cramped carbon copy house was completely dark inside, with only the slow-blinking exterior aircraft-warning lights from the tall colony giving any color.
Twilight dragged herself out of the rover, and through the airlock with her head hung low from fatigue and no small amount of stress. The moment she closed the interior airlock, Voyager chimed in from a speaker near the control panel. “Registered occupant verified. Welcome home, Colonial Princess.”
Much to Twilight’s appreciation, the AI turned on several lights from within the house and opened the door for her. In her mind’s eye, Twilight imagined a stallon waiting to welcome her home at the door. She wasn’t sure which former husband to pretend was giving her greetings and asking about her day, or if she should imagine it was Sawbones instead.
Despite the longing cry for sleep, Twilight stopped before the door to focus more on Sawbones’ imagined place, and smiled at the thought. No need to rush it old girl. Let him set the pace.
As she crossed the threshold, memories of a young filly running at her from the den or upstairs, squealing with joy at her return. Phantom sensations of having a little filly wrap themselves around all four of Twilight’s legs brought back memories of each of her daughters in their younger years.
The fond memories were dashed away like dust in the wind when Voyager started playing some gentle violin music. It was a common request from Twilight ever since moving into the place, so the AI just started doing it automatically after a while.
Twilight allowed herself to enjoy the soothing melody as she trudged over to the shower. Ultimately the music was meant to bring some life into the house, but for Twilight, a mother many times over and a family mare, music alone was a poor substitute.
Memories of loves and lovers of days gone by had only accentuated her desire for companionship. Well, even if things turn sour with the good doctor, at least I have a daughter on the way.
Voyager already had the hot water waiting for her as Twilight rubbed her belly with a maternal smile that was twinged with a note of worry. Fire Shrine didn’t have a father for much of her youth though.
Was a lack of a father the root cause for Fire’s fall? It was a question Twilight had repeatedly asked herself in the wee hours. Twilight prided herself on being careful. Countless books and her own experiences told her that a child needed stable household, and yet Prism had grown up just fine with one torn apart by war and betrayal. Had I already lost Fire before I got together with Flintlock? Or was Fire’s rejection of him the start?
These questions and more regarding the griffins and Admiral Thorn raged in her mind as Twilight tried to just enjoy the shower. Thankfully, with age came the ability to simply shut such sleep robbing thoughts down in a neat little box with a black bow on it. As Twilight dried herself off, Prism called her.
Oh good, she must be ready to tell me how the tour with Alf went. Twilight promptly answered the call with Prism’s head materializing on Twilight’s personal display. “Voyager didn’t tell me anything exploded, so I take it things went well?”
Prism gave the most insincere wide grin she’d ever seen in her four centuries of life, a certain pink earth pony notwithstanding. “Weeelll… ya see.” Prism scratched the back of her head trying to stall for time, yet all she succeeded in doing was making her mother’s mood sink faster than a bowling ball with an anchor tied to it. “He kinda flips out about a lotta things. And now he won’t leave his room until he gets some mind bleach.”
Twilight’s mounting frown morphed into more of an intrigued scowl. “Well I knew there’d probably some culture shock.” Prism’s false grin threatened to put some stretch marks in her cheeks. Twilight sighed in mild exasperation. “Okay, what’s his damage?”
“Where to begin,” Prism huffed, dropping her fax grin. “He’s apparently deeply offended by eating in public.”
Twilight blinked slowly at the news, which only let the silence hang since Prism let the news sink in for a bit. “I’m sorry, I’m going to need you to run that by me one more time.”
“He’s offended by eating,” Prism deadpanned with a straight face that left Twilight dumbstruck.
“What? W… What?!”
Prism scoffed in agreement and rolled her eyes. “Took the words right out of my mouth. I don’t think his kind were big on pets or nature shows either. But get this, apparently depicting the act of eating is perfectly acceptable so long as it was stylized, and restaurants were apparently a big deal in his culture.”
“How the hell does that become a thing?” Twilight half asked herself, bringing up a blank.
Prism shrugged and stuffed her face with a bite of mystery-meat hotdog. “You hear him talk, it was declared taboo by some ancient priest or someone who thought it was disgusting. And then it just sort of caught on after he started saying it was Be’gul’hal’deete’s will. I know I butchered the name, but whatever. And get this, he doesn’t see the irony in that either.” I wonder if his kind can even perceive irony.
Twilight couldn’t help but think that her daughter was eating over the phone as some form of mockery towards Alf. Ordinarily, Twilight might have summoned her inner diplomat in times like this. Yet here alone with her daughter, and an AI that was smart enough to delete this conversation, she could speak her mind. “That is absolutely the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, and I had to sit and listen to twelve generations of inbred nobles at court.” She waved Prism on. “So what else does he get offended by?” I swear, Celestia must have kept those particular families around for the laughs.
“Well the original plan after that bombshell was to take him back to the lab, but when we got to there, he saw some scientists eating doughnuts and coffee, and refused to just close his eyes and walk past them. So we took him on a tour outside, only to find out he hates the pathfinder dockyard on the beach because and I quote ‘the barrier between land and water is sacred ground and it is a mockery to all things holy to bridge the two halves together.’ I kid you not, I thought he was going to kick the windshield out of the rover. He was that pissed.”
Did I rescue a madstallion? “What else did he get angry about?”
Prism rubbed her chin and looked up as she tried to get the words right. “Just a few other minor things that only garnered more disgust than anger. He was more or less sorta chill about those. I ahh…” Prism hesitated, giving Twilight even more to worry about.
“Okay, spill it, young lady.”
Prism gave the worst fake grin she was capable of. “Well, ya see, what with me probably going full alicorn and all, I figured I could try my hoof at diplomacy and suggest he actually try to see it from our point of view. You know, when in Roam, do as the Ronin do.”
“I get the feeling you’re going to tell me that didn’t fly.” Prism’s faux grin faulted and all she could give was a shrug. Twilight sighed and tried to summon her regal posture. “While it is good to hear you tried, it seems like your effort was doomed to fail. In Alf’s own words, he is not a diplomat and came from a culture that attempted genocide against the only other alien species it ever encountered. I have a feeling that an undercurrent of xenophobia ran deep in his culture."
“Psh,” Prism spat in discontent, “then maybe we’re lucky you only saved him instead of the whole group, eh?”
“As saddening as that thought is, I doubt you’d be the only one to arrive at that conclusion.”
Prism wasn’t sure if that was an agreement or condemnation of her sentiment, and decided to remain silent on the matter. As for Twilight, she used both hooves to pinch the bridge of her muzzle, and squeezed her eyes shut. “He’s certainly not making it easy on us. By the way, you said something about mind bleach, correct?”
“Oh yeah, that’s the spot of good news,” Prism chirped with a note of gratefulness. “Alf is at least smart enough to realize he’s alone in all these outrages, so he gave the lab coats some pharmaceutical formula to effectively brainwash himself.”
Twilight moved into her bedroom and nearly collapsed on her bed. She went so far as to stop her mane and tail from being ethereal, and just let it hang like normal hair. Twilight fell silent as she let the unexpected news roll around in her head. “That sounds a little too convenient.”
“I thought so too, honestly,” Prism nodded in agreement, and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial volume. “He said the stuff was the key to freeing his people of Balgrath’s Judgement, whatever that is. So it makes a sort of sense to me that he’d know of something like that.”
“Balgrath’s judgement…” Twilight rolled the word around on her tongue. “He mentioned that last time we spoke. I take it you already passed the formula on to the appropriate lab.”
Prism nodded. “I told the lab coats to wait for your authorization first. But Iodine Strip said it’d takes months to create it from scratch anyway.”
I wonder what his definition of ‘free’ is in this instance. Twilight felt the new burden weight upon her. “I’ll handle it from here. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.”
“‘S all good.”
This new wrinkle with Alf, Thorn’s arrival, and general stress gnawed at Twilight to the point where she groaned noisily and flopped on her bed and flailed her legs in the out of exasperation. “Primmy, why did it have to be that nobhead I pulled out of the ocean?” Twilight whined in the way she could only do in front of Prism or Spike. “I’m sure one of the others would have been more open minded and less unstable.”
Oh boy, mom’s in that mood again. Taking on the practiced patience of Twilight’s therapist, a job Prism inwardly chuckled at, Prism adopted a breathy, almost interested tone. “Well if you want my expert opinion in the matter, I’d wager it’s because he’s the only one who survived.”
Sass was exactly what Twilight wanted to hear, and felt a bubble of mirth. Nevertheless, she kept up the act of a moody teenager, thoroughly enjoying the role reversal. “And then this Thorn guy shows up and steals our maps and gave poor Voyager a migraine! Such horrid manners, my dear-” Twilight paused for a moment in contemplation. “How did I describe that Admiral, Voyager? I said something rather good this evening during dinner.”
“A thieving little warhawk whose every utterance is like the slithering hiss of a snake,” the AI deadpanned.
Twilight snickered and waved a lazy hoof at Prism. “There you go, poetry.” She punctuated the last one with a flick of her hoof.
Prism was quick to pick up that odd shift in Twilight’s tone into that of a highborn noblemare. Twilight only brought out in moments like this, where she had some privacy with only her closest friends and family. Prism could never remember to ask where the accent came from. “You’ll get no argument from me.” Can’t blame her, not after what that punk’s personal guard did to dad.
Twilight fell silent for a while, staring blankly at the pale white ceiling of her bedroom. The gentle thrum of the airconditioning served as the only noise. Given her mother’s state, Prism decided to leave the call open, and busied herself preparing for bed. Twilight broke the long quiet with a long forlorn sigh. “...My life used to be so simple, Little Wing.”
Twilight briefly glanced at Prism’s disembodied head, noting her daughter was listening. “It was just me, my library, and my friends. What happened to all that?”
Prism spat out her toothpaste and gargled for a bit. “You grew a pair of wings?”
“Possibly,” Twilight conceded to sound approving, even if she knew that wasn’t a whole answer. “Sometimes I wonder if we’d all have been better off if I never had. Our homeworld would still be warm and alive if I had been allowed to die of old age with my first friends. The cost of one life for billions.”
“Personally, mother, I refuse to let arithmetic answer those sort of questions,” Prism started with a mixture of iron and defiance. The statement caught Twilight completely off guard, making her regard Prism with astonishment. “Since time travel is forbidden, our only choice is to move forward and do what is right. That’s why we’re here isn’t it? We kept moving forward.”
Twilight was drawn up short. Although slowly, a thin smile crossed her face. “So it is. Thank you for reminding me.”
Pleased her advice was well received, Prism allowed an ease grin. “Hey, that’s why you alicorns always hang around us common ponies, so you don’t get caught in the past.”
“Speaking of the common pony.” While Twilight kept a casual tone, Prism could sense the undercurrent of a probing test coming. “Primmy, be honest with me. Do you still want to be an alicorn, even after everything that’s happened to me and the others? All the damage our long lives and influence might cause?”
Prism blew a raspberry and waved her hoof dismissively. “Are you kidding? If anything, I have three other reasons to grow a horn.” Twilight gave her daughter a curious lifted eyebrow. “For one, I get to keep an eye on you like what Celestia and Luna do for each other. Secondly, I’m going to focus on all the good you did the world and leave that harlot of a sister of mine in the past where she belongs.”
Despite it all, Twilight felt her spirits rise at seeing her daughter become animated with a certain theatrical flare. “Lastly, I’ll get a chance to live long enough to see us rise into an intergalactic empire. And you can bet your tail that I’m going to chart the cosmos in person.”
Twilight giggled behind a hoof. “You think we’ll actually pull that off?”
Prism shrugged and rubbed her hornless forehead. “Well you should know, if I manage to grow a head spike, I’ll have all the time in the world for us to get there.” Her tone grew more serious, giving Twilight a gaze that pierced her mirth. “You don’t need to worry about me, momma.”
“Hmm, it’s my motherly prerogative to worry. It’s in my contract after all.” Twilight waved a hoof in a circular motion, matching Prism’s earlier flourish.
The tension melted in Prism’s feature, causing her to slacken. “Psh, in that case you should save that worry for my future sister.”
Twilight felt a burst of pride for Prism’s resolve. Now’s the best time to break it to her. “...About that,” Twilight started carefully. “I need to tell you something about her.”
Prism turned off the lights in her dorm, leaving only a night lamp giving any color to her face. “Oh? Do you know what tribe she’ll be?” She asked with bubbling excitement, half for her sibling and half to get off the previous topic.
“Probably a pegasus, but I haven’t checked because I want it to be a surprise.” Since I can’t have sons, I’m at least going to keep half the surprise other parents get. “But no. She’s actually your full sister, not half.” There, it was out. Twilight was given a short respite to gather her thoughts while Prism stared wide eyed at her.
“What?” Prism shook her head to get her train of thought back on track. “Why!? I-I mean… what?!” A mixture of shock and, dare Twilight hope, excitement on Prism’s expectant face.
Twilight rolled over to sit up straight, and expanded her transmission to encompass her entire body rather than just her face. She took a short breath to center herself. “I think you can put together the what and how of it. As for the why…” Twilight took a moment to center herself. Her meditation allowed her to think of her late husband without becoming emotional, at least that was the idea. However the unborn child brought about a thread of old pain that she missed. “Your father was the first stallion I wanted to have a second child with, and,” she chuckled at a long ago memory, “he was enamored about the idea as well.
“The war put that on hold however. Given my position and abilities, there was no way I could spare the time and energy of a pregnancy and second child. I don’t know if you remember, but you spent so many years almost raised entirely by your foalsitter. Something I still regret having to resort to.”
Prism wanted to slice through the somber pale that took over the room, and waved her hoof dismissively. “Hey, Feathersoft did right by me. I turned out right in the head.”
“That’s a point of contention if Praxia has anything to say about it,” Twilight snarked, earning an harmless pout from Prism. Twilight’s mirth died away as she brought herself back to the past. “Without my knowledge, your father saved some of his seed in a bank before he went off to his first deployment. A few months after the war, the bank contacted me, telling me Flintlock wanted to give me the option of having that second child without him.”
“So why did you wait until your procreation incentive?” Prism inquired with a scrutinizing eye. “Don’t tell me you were afraid the kid would end up like Fire Shrine.” She thumped her chest. “I’d never allow that!”
“Oh really? Helping to raise your sister would cut into your exploration time.”
Prism stuttered a bit with the statement catching her flat footed. “I - ah - ya see…” Prism averted her eyes to think.
This time however, Twilight let her stew, eager to see what Prism’s response would be. She’s taking this full sister news in remarkable stride. Should have expected as much. She’s very laid back on a lot of things. Ultimately, Twilight blamed her own nervousness for holding that information back from the beginning.
“Okay, so maybe I won’t be around all the time,” Prism said at last. “But I’m sure she’ll probably look up to me as the super cool sister role model that goes out and sees the world.”
“I have no doubt, Little Wing.” Switching gears, Twilight adopted a more regal tone to focus Prism’s attention. “I shall let you go then. Before I do though, since Alf’s in self imposed isolation, I’m going to have you back on the fieldwork roster.”
“You mean actual field right? No ocean work?” Prism gave her best puppy dog eyes and hopeful grin.
“I’ll leave that up to you and the rest of the Pathfinders.” Twilight mischievously smirked at how Prism’s face sank into despair. “Ta ta, Primmy.” Twilight closed the call right as Prism tried to protest. She also put in a ‘do not disturb’ message up for anyone who called her, especially Prism. Oh don’t worry. With the Griffins here, I’m going to need to switch the PFs’ overall mission away from the water anyway.
The following morning, Twilight Sparkle was making the most out of her free morning with an old pastime: reading. If there was one thing she believed in over the other alicorns, was the perception that regular ponies could do just fine leading themselves. Sure she was unwilling to give up her position as leader of the colony, but that was by no means a good reason to govern them all day every day.
Presently, she was getting a mild workout by flying in place while the largest wall in her house acted like a giant screen for her to read without having a book bob up and down with her. She had some tea and buttered toast floating close by for her leisure with the four nearby windows granting an abundance of natural light.
She had yet to ‘turn her hair back on’ when Voyager spoke over the house speakers. “Colonial Princess, I have finished decrypting the message in a bottle from Princess Celestia.”
Twilight’s face lit up along with a little ‘squee’ escaping her lips. “Good work, what did you find?”
“A number of things actually. Going by the directory, I have every work of literature, movies, VR vids, and letters from home written since just prior to the griffins’ departure. Including a personal message to you from Celestia.”
“Put it on quick!” Twilight landed so she could give the message her full attention.
Without a word, Voyager replaced the directory of information with Celestia’s gaunt yet stubbornly resilient face. The elder alicorn smiled in such a way that looked somewhat foreign on her, like the weight of the sun had doubled since last they met. “Hello, my young Twilight Sparkle. If you are seeing this then we have some good and bad news. The good being you arrived safely, and the bad… well the bad is that my messengers arrived as well. But I would be remiss to admit that were it not for Thorn’s sense of honor, I’d have never allowed him to act as my messenger.”
Twilight gave a small snort of agreement.
“I wish I could watch over you, and see what kind of jewel of civilization you will inevitably give rise to. Failing that, I am at least content in the fact that we will see each other again. It may take a few hundred or even potentially thousand years, but I know you will thrive.” Celestia leaned forward, fixing the camera with a stern eye. “And don’t you worry about me, young lady. I have no intention on dying with my star.”
If Twilight was honest with herself, she still felt it was entirely likely that Celestia was merely putting on a front to ease her former pupil. You say that, but will you still be able to drag yourself away and leave those we can’t take with us to their doom? The yaks, dragons, donkeys, buffalo… So many species that will cease to exist. Even if most of those were blinded by stubbornness or faith that their gods could save them.
Celestia had paused in speaking, as if expecting Twilight would need a moment of reflection. The weight of the world, the dying sun, and time seemed to drag her down in that moment. “It’s so heavy, Twilight…” Twilight’s heart sank at seeing her old teacher and friend so weary. “Do you remember when you were young and still dazzled by your brand new cutie mark?
“Back then, I used to think moving the moon and my sister’s exile over those thousand years would have been my most difficult trial. What a fool I was.”
“You couldn’t have known,” Twilight replied more for herself than for a teacher who couldn’t hear her.
“Whatever happens, Twilight, be it that I don’t live to make it off planet or some unknown calamity claims me and my future colony,” Celestia marshaled her strength to have a gaze of solid iron. “Know that I truly have forgiven you. Others may try to say Fire Shrine and Nightmare Moon were the sole architects of their transgressions, but you and I both share the pain of knowing we could have done better.
“A better sister or a better mother.”
Renewed tears started blurring Twilight’s vision, with Celestia fairing no better. “It would be easy to blame fate wouldn’t it? To put the burden of responsibility to something out of our control. That ‘nothing I could do would have averted disaster’. I know you better than that. Despite your meditation, you’re the kind of mare that would willingly keep a kernel of that pain. A scar really.
“But look at you now. You continue on, as strong as ever, if not more so. I don’t need to actually see it, because I know you were - are - our best hope. So stay the course, Twilight Sparkle. Take care of those who follow you, and strengthen yourself to accept the burden of their devotion and love. This may not have been the best way to learn how to rule completely on your own, but you’ll do us all proud.”
Celestia fell silent as she looked down at the table she was sitting at. Her hair sat still and unmoving, her wings dropped a little from weakness. The long pause gave Twilight the time she needed to recollect herself.
“I promised myself I wouldn’t go so heavy on the heart,” Celestia muttered to herself, the words just barely being picked up. “I’m going to end up causing her to have a conniption out of guilt when that’s probably the last thing she needs on her mind. Not like it’s anything she hasn’t heard a million times already.” Celestia looked beyond the camera. “Luna dear, can you erase that and let me start over would you?”
“Are you sure, sister? I thought it was rather good.” Luna’s off-camera voice was supportive and soft. Celestia looked completely spent, as if all the coffee in the world couldn’t bring her back from the dead.
Twilight had to admit she was both intrigued and surprised this sort of message made it through. It was a rare sight, even after all these years, to see those two just acting like sisters.
“No, no, it’d send the wrong message. I just want to give her some hope, that’s all.” Not knowing the camera was still recording, Celestia stepped away towards the bathroom to clean herself up. “I need to put my face on anyway.”
With her sister absent, Luna poked her head into view with a mischievous smirk. “Now you and I both know we all need a good heart to heart. Just don’t tell Tia I left this part in, okay?”
Bubblish giggles filled Twilight’s house. After a while, Twilight brushed away a tear that was equal parts sad and happy, loving every moment of this old casualness that used to exist between the princesses.
Luna gave a few words of encouragement until Celestia returned looking much fresher and dare she say, energetic. Even her hair had a bit more color to it. Assuming the camera started recording after sitting back down, Celestia moved right in. “Hello again, Twilight. I suspect you’d be glad to know that progress on Seed Two is already begun, and Cadence is spearheading the colonist selection process. As for my sister,” she nodded towards off camera, “she’s already finalized Seed Two’s destination. I’ll have the stellar coordinates included in this missive. Give her my best wishes when you establish communications.”
“Voyager, extract those coordinates and archive them.”
With the important bits out of the way, Celestia fell into small talk and gossip. Using a much more casual and pleasant tone, she went on about what her favorite new books and VR vids were, tales of the living sitcoms of the more deplorable aristocracy, while balancing that out with praises for the nobility that lived up to the original purpose of their titles.
Twilight listened to it all with rapt attention and a forlorn wish to have but a moment’s time with her old mentor. Be safe, Celestia. Just please stick with your promise to refrain from connecting to your future sun.