//------------------------------// // Decisions Made in Faith and Love // Story: Consanguinity // by D4ftP0ny //------------------------------// Oooooh… late night study sessions are most definitely NOT as fun as I remember them… Twilight Sparkle winced as she walked through a beam of bright sunlight, her eyes aching and her head throbbing as the light pierced the veil of foggy pain that enveloped most of her being. In fact, I don’t think I’m going to be doing that again anytime soon. Or, at the very least, I’m not going to be doing that again unless the fate of the world hangs in the balance. She snorted as she turned right down another hallway and headed for the throne room. Of course, knowing my luck, a world-ending problem that requires an all-night study session is probably closer than I think. That’s how my life has been ever since I moved to Ponyville: world-ending threats and megalomaniacal villains all over the place. Her brow crinkled into a frown above her tired, red eyes. I still have no idea how Celestia managed to keep the peace for so long while Luna was gone… all the threats and villains must have gone on vacation together or something. Twilight gave her head a slight shake, her mane caressing her neck as she did her best to chase away all miscellaneous thoughts from her mind. Now’s not the time to wonder about villains or threats in the past, she told herself firmly. Today has to be about one thing and one thing only: letting everypony else know what we found out last night, and deciding what’s to become of Skyla. She shivered as she walked, despite the warm air that filled the hallway around her. The idea that she would be deciding somepony’s fate here today made her exhausted mind reel and, in spite of the fact that all of the news she had was good news, she couldn’t help but feel a little bit squeamish at the concept. Though, I suppose that’s something that comes along with being a Princess, she thought with a glance out of the windows that lined the wall to her left. The city below her bustled with activity as ponies went about their day without a care in the world, and, as Twilight looked down on them, she found herself frowning in distaste. I’ve always pursued the study of magic, and that has made me strong… but I don’t know if I’d be strong enough to banish somepony, or worse. Will I have to do something like that someday..? She winced and jerked her head away from the windows, her purple eyes refocusing on the hallway and the door at the end of it. All right, Twilight, that’s enough – focus on the task at hoof, here. You can’t spend time worrying about the future because you’ve got your plate full today, and this issue needs your full attention. She approached the door and ignited her magic, the magenta glow grasping the doorknob and pushing it open to admit the purple alicorn to the throne room, where the seven ponies she’d met with the day before turned their eyes towards her. “Sorry I’m late, everypony,” said Twilight as her magic closed the door behind her before vanishing as her horn went dark, “but after last night I just couldn’t get myself out of bed any earlier…” Cadence waved a hoof from her throne, her smile soft and warm. “Don’t apologize, Twilight. Sunburst and Starlight were telling us how you three stayed up almost ‘til dawn working on everything, so I’d say you earned a little bit of sleeping in.” She hopped down from her seat and moved to stand next to Shining Armor, who had been standing to the left of her throne. “Have you eaten yet today?” asked the pink alicorn, her voice taking on a tone that Twilight recognized from her foalhood. That’s Cadence’s ‘I’m going to fuss over everything’ tone, and she only really used that when she was worried about something. A smile touched Twilight’s lips as Cadence gestured towards a small table off to the far left of the throne. “I had some small things brought in while we waited, so help yourself if you’re hungry. It was going to be a variety of muffins, but our chef said that somepony had eaten quite a few of them before he woke up this morning so he had to add some fruit to round everything out.” Twilight’s eyes darted to Celestia, who met her gaze with a secretive smile that caused Twilight to roll her eyes. I can remember that happening a lot when I was her student. Plenty of breakfast muffins went missing then, and I’m sure they’ll continue to go missing for a long time. “Thanks, Cadence, but I’ll eat once everything is settled,” said Twilight with a wave of her hoof as she moved towards the group. “I’ve held everypony up long enough as it is – I’m definitely not making you all wait until I’m done stuffing my muzzle.” Cadence scrunched her muzzle in disapproval, but after a moment she nodded. “If that’s what you’d like to do, then we’ll do that.” The words were benign, and her tone was soft and filled with motherly understanding, but Twilight was just tired enough to give Cadence the tiniest bit of a glare. You’re not my foalsitter anymore, and I’m not a foal, she thought huffily. This whole situation is much more important than my empty stomach. “To be fair, I believe that Twilight is correct,” said Luna from her place between Cadence and Celestia. “This is an issue that has waited long enough, and is one that should be resolved as soon as possible.” Oh thank Celestia that somepony else thinks that way, too, thought Twilight, her lips curving into a slight smile. Leave it to Princess Luna to cut through to the heart of the issue! She shifted her gaze to the dark blue alicorn to give her a nod of thanks, but, as her eyes met Luna’s, she found herself taken aback at the disapproval that radiated from the older alicorn. Twilight’s next hoofstep hesitated on its way to the floor as she felt a quick flash of confusion along with a rumbling of irritation at the other princess’ conduct; after all, what did she do to deserve a withering stare like that? Then, thanks to the delay of her sleep-deprived brain, she was hit with the reason like a clap of thunder. Oh… I made everypony wait while I slept… She winced as her hoof hit the floor and her walk resumed as normal. Yeah… I guess I should have expected SOMEPONY to be aggravated with my behavior… way to go, Twilight. “Y-yes, Princess Luna is absolutely correct,” she said as politely as she could. “Skyla’s future hangs in the balance today, and that is not something that should be put off for a moment more.” She stepped into the circle to stand between Sunburst and Starlight, her eyes meeting Luna’s once again. “Please, forgive my tardiness,” she said, dropping her gaze to the floor and bowing her head. “It was not my intention to keep everyone waiting, and I apologize.” She held her bow for a heartbeat before bringing her gaze back up to the group, and to her great relief Luna offered her a tight but sincere smile. “Your apology is accepted, Twilight Sparkle,” she said, and Twilight’s relief exploded in her chest as Luna’s serious tone eased into a much warmer one. This may have been my fault, but everything will go much better today if I don’t have to contend with Princess Crankyface while trying to take care of this Skyla business. Twilight offered her a nod and a smile in return before switching her gaze over to Starlight, who stood between Twilight and Celestia with her eyes on the floor. “All right, Starlight – how much have you filled them in on?” The unicorn mare let out a heavy sigh, and Twilight felt a twinge of concern dart through her chest as she got her first look at her friend. She doesn’t look like she slept at all, thought Twilight as Starlight lifted her chin and looked at her. The unicorn’s face was haggard and pale, and her eyes had even more red in them than Twilight’s did. “We told them that we were up really, really late,” she murmured half-heartedly, her words heavy and cumbersome. “We also told them that we didn’t really have anything to report until you got here, but that was mostly so we wouldn’t have to explain stuff without you…” She lowered her eyes to Twilight’s hooves as her ears drooped in exhaustion. “Sorry we didn’t talk more about everything before you got here,” she whispered. Twilight’s brow furrowed, but she swallowed the words of concern that tried to force their way out from between her teeth; instead, she gave Starlight a nod and a smile. “You did great. I really would rather be here to talk about all of this, anyway, so you not talking about anything is just fine.” “Except that, in the absence of anything else to talk about, we had to listen to Celestia describe the Great Accounting Disaster of 576 A.C. in excruciating detail.” Luna leveled a glare at Celestia, who smiled cutely and glanced up at the ceiling. “Oh come now, everypony loves my stories,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “Especially that one.” “ANYWAY,” interjected Twilight with an annoyed glance at her former teacher, “before we get any more off track, I’d like to get this whole thing started, if you please.” Celestia stuck her tongue out at Luna before nodding to Twilight, who let out a sigh of relief before clearing her throat loudly. “Thank you. Now, as you all know,” she turned her head so that she could let her eyes rest on each pony as she spoke, “we all came here to discuss Skyla. We were to determine whether or not she was a threat to this world in any way, shape, or form, and then, provided that she was not, decide where she would be staying while she adjusts and grows up.” She glanced at Sunburst, who nodded confidently. He looks like he got sleep, at least, thought Twilight, noting the brightness of his eyes and the fact that his mane looked like it had been brushed one hundred times before he’d come in. “After exhaustive research with my two colleagues, we’ve discovered that Skyla poses no threat to our world, as far as being incompatible with our plane of existence is concerned.” “If she had been, she most likely would have exploded instantly upon entry to our world,” explained Sunburst as he gestured with his right hoof. “That, coupled with the fact that she’s not displaying any signs of destabilization or dematerialization, leads me to believe that she’s not going to blow up and hurt anypony.” “And our investigation into Starswirl’s research also gives us enough evidence to say beyond the shadow of a reasonable doubt that her presence here will not cause any universal displacement ending in eventual contact, collapse, and destruction,” continued Twilight, motioning to Sunburst with her left hoof. “Sunburst’s theory that she is from an alternate history rather than a parallel world or even a true alternate world means that there is a better chance for compatibility, especially since we don’t have to worry about that whole ‘two ponies in one universe’ situation.” Sunburst smiled proudly and dropped his hoof back to the floor. “In conclusion, we see no reason why Skyla can’t just stay here if she likes. No universal destruction, no end of the world scenarios.” Across from Twilight, Shining Armor and Cadence both relaxed visibly and cast relieved glances at one another, while Celestia and Luna simply nodded in educated silence. Twilight glanced at Starlight, but the unicorn didn’t seem the least bit interested in what was happening around her; instead, her hooded eyes stared ahead in deep inner contemplation, as if she were sifting through her soul out of pure exhaustion. I’m going to make sure she sleeps on the train home, thought Twilight firmly. She has to take care of herself! I swear this is what happens if I let her out of my sight for even a second… “What about invasion?” asked Shining Armor. “Is there a threat to the Crystal Kingdom in that regard?” Twilight looked back to her brother and her smile shrank minutely. “Well… according to what we deduced about her method of travel, the spells that she probably used, and her own understanding of the magic and science necessary to make something like slinging yourself through space and time possible, we… don’t believe that there is a high likelihood of somepony tracking her and coming here.” Shining’s eyes narrowed, an expression Twilight had seen countless times on his face when she’d been trying to hide something from him. “Not a high likelihood,” he repeated. “But that means that there is a likelihood of it happening, correct?” “Twilight, please,” interjected Sunburst, “don’t make it sound like there’s some kind of invading army waiting for a new portal to be built.” Twilight glanced to Sunburst, who gave her a warm, reassuring smile before turning to Shining. “Your Highness, from what we calculated it would be all but impossible for other ponies from that timeline to find this one.” “Skyla did it,” said Shining matter-of-factly. “Well, yes, we know she did it,” said Sunburst, his right hoof rising to stroke his long, thin beard, “but she also had some sort of connection to Flurry Heart that nopony else seems to have. We’ve postulated that this connection was the only thing that allowed her to make such a jump through dimensions, and that without her, nopony can do it again.” “What about tracing her magic?” said Cadence, her brow furrowed as she glanced at Shining. “Shining Armor said that if a spell is powerful enough, you can trace it for quite some time after it’s been cast. Something that could move you through space and time would probably leave a trail, wouldn’t it?” Shining nodded, but Sunburst just smiled as he shifted his hoof from his beard to his glasses. “That’s very much true, Princess,” he said, adjusting his spectacles. “But it’s also true that the spell lasted such a short amount of time that the trail it left behind would be too thin, faint and difficult to find amid the twisting energies of the fabric of space-time.” He dropped his hoof back to the ground. “In short, it would be nigh on impossible for anypony to find her here.” “But not flat-out impossible,” Twilight said, looking back to her brother. Sunburst chuckled and started to speak again, but Twilight’s hoof shot out to forestall his comments as her violet eyes snapped back to him, a frown planted firmly on her face. “Sunburst, if the chances for this happening aren’t zero, I’m telling my brother that there is at least some chance that somepony will find this place again. I will NOT let educated arrogance get in the way of protecting this world, and neither should you.” Twilight held Sunburst’s gaze for several long seconds, her eyes burning hot in her head as the unicorn stallion stared at her wide-eyed and open mouthed. I swear I’m going to find him much less cute than I did before if he fights me on this, she thought vehemently. To her relief, however, a few more seconds saw the stallion close his mouth and bow his head to her, his glasses flashing in the sunlight from the crystals. “As you wish, Twilight,” he said gently before raising his head and looking once more to Shining Armor. “It is as she says, Your Highness. There is a minute, miniscule chance that somepony might find this plane again, but it is so mathematically improbable that they will do so that I didn’t think it was worth mentioning.” He sighed. “The fact that Skyla did it only decreases the statistical probability that somepony could do it again at random, so I thought that-,” “All right, Sunburst,” said Shining, raising a hoof to stop the other stallion’s words. “That’s enough. We get it, you were just doing what you thought was right.” He gave Sunburst a lopsided smile. “But a word of advice: never go against my sister when magic and science are involved. She’s learned a lot of hard lessons over the years about that kind of stuff, and it’d do you some good to listen to her when she says something.” His eyes flitted to Twilight, who felt her cheeks warm gently at the praise. “Especially when it comes to impossible things happening – she’s sort of an expert on those.” Sunburst bowed his head again. “I will certainly keep that in mind, Your Highness.” “Good.” Shining sighed. “So there is a chance, even if it’s a really little one, that somepony from Skyla’s world could find us.” Twilight nodded. “Yes, but Sunburst is right about how small of a chance it is.” She shrugged and returned Shining’s lopsided smile. “I mean, it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but the haystack is the size of Equestria and the needle is only a micron thick.” Shining frowned, and Twilight’s smile shrank. “A micrometer, Shining Armor – it’s one of the smallest units of measurement in modern science.” Shining’s eyes glazed over slightly, and Twilight rolled her eyes. “It’s really, really tiny, Shiny,” she sighed in vexation, “like, six times smaller than the width of one of your hairs. That’s how small of a chance somepony else has of finding this place.” “Ooooooh.” Shining blinked a few times then nodded. “I gotcha, Twilight. Really small chance.” “Yes, really small.” Twilight gave her head a shake and brought her right hoof to her forehead just beneath her horn, where her head was beginning to hurt. “So, statistically, there’s no chance that somepony will find that microscopic needle in that massive haystack, but I didn’t want you to think that there was literally no chance that somepony would.” She rubbed her head gently with her hoof for a moment before dropping it back to the floor. Shining Armor nodded once more. “I got it, Twilight. We’ll keep an eye on things here, just in case somepony does try to follow her. If that happens, I’ll be contacting you for help, little sister.” Twilight’s lips curved back into a smile, one that her brother mirrored. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, big brother,” she said. She held Shining’s gaze for a moment before turning back to Celestia. “Aaaaand that about wraps that up, I guess,” she said, her tail swishing behind her. “We’ve covered everything that we wanted to, so this study session wasn’t in vain, thankfully.” “You all did excellent work,” said Celestia with a smile. “I know it was hard, but I want you to know that we appreciate every moment that you spent in your research.” Her eyes darted to Luna for a heartbeat before coming to rest once again on Twilight. “And, if I’m not mistaken, that means that there is only one place for this conversation to go next.” Twilight took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly before nodding. “You are not mistaken, Princess,” she said, shifting slightly on her hooves. “That brings up something that we did not discuss yesterday, because that discussion was contingent on the results of our investigations last night.” She swept her eyes across Shining and Cadence, then Luna and Celestia. “Now that we know she can stay here, I can’t, in good conscience, say that she shouldn’t be allowed to. I mean, we all heard her accounts of her home world, and I’m certain that none of us want to send her back there, right?” Every head in the group shook to one degree or another, from the vehement, hair-messing shake of Cadence to the barely visible, detached shake of Starlight. Twilight nodded. “Then we have to decide where she’s going to live, and who’s going to be keeping an eye on her.” Her words seemed to echo a little bit more in the throne room than they had mere moments before, and Twilight knew that even if they actually hadn’t, she felt them resonate through her all the same. This is the part that I’m not looking forward to, she admitted silently, her eyes roaming the circle of ponies around her. The part where we have to decide what happens to her, without her here to speak for herself. The idea that they should, indeed, bring Skyla into the discussion at this point in time had crossed her mind, of course, but the more she thought about it, the more she disliked the idea. After all, it would mean battling against Skyla’s preconceived notions about the Crystal Kingdom and Equestria as a whole, and that was a battle that Twilight thought would just muddy the already difficult waters that lay ahead of them. She glanced at Starlight, who blinked slowly as she continued to stare at the floor. I’m especially glad that I didn’t bring her in now, she thought, her eyes narrowing at Starlight. I thought for sure that my apprentice would be ready and willing to help me discuss this stuff, but apparently I’m on my own today. Finally, just when Twilight thought that the silence would rise up and swallow all of them whole, Shining Armor cleared his throat. “Actually, Cadence and I had a long discussion about this very thing last night… and we would love for her to stay here with us.” He slid to the side and pressed his body against Cadence, who nodded in eager agreement. “We know that it’s not much of a change of scenery,” he admitted, “but we’d like to start out with her here, at least.” “Flurry Heart’s already taken such a shine to her, after all,” added Cadence. “That means she already has somepony to support her, and… well…” Her ears flattened against her mane, and she cast a sheepish glance at everypony else. “We figured that since she is our daughter, technically, that we might as well, you know… officially make her our daughter.” Her ears shot up out of her mane and she waved her right hoof frantically. “Not right away, of course! We want to wait and see how she does first, and then ask her if she wants to… We just want her to be comfortable and happy, and…” She sighed and dropped her hoof back to the floor. “I guess we both think that she’s going to need more than just friends to get through this, so…” She trailed off into silence, and Twilight was surprised to see tears gathering in Cadence’s eyes. “I just want to help her,” she whispered hoarsely. Twilight felt her chest tighten at the pure emotion in Cadence’s voice, and she had to swallow against a lump in her own throat before she could speak again. “Well… I guess that would be the easiest solution,” she said softly. “I mean, she’s already here, she knows this place as home already… it sounds like a good option.” She turned to Celestia. “What do you think, Princess?” The white alicorn nodded. “I think it’s a wonderful idea,” she agreed, “though I feel I should point out that she was kept against her will in a castle exactly like this one, by ponies who looked exactly like you two.” She pointed a hoof to Cadence and Shining Armor. “Are you sure you have what it takes to fight those bad memories to make better ones?” She lowered her hoof and glanced at Luna. “It’s not always easy, you know…” Cadence and Shining Armor both shifted on their hooves and glanced at one another, their hesitation palpable even from where Twilight stood. Celestia’s right, she thought, her eyes darting between her brother, her sister, and her former teacher. Skyla has such bad memories of her parents and this place that she might never be able to get over them. It would basically be an uphill battle, starting all the way at the bottom. She bit her bottom lip and sighed softly. I suppose I’d better offer to take her back to Ponyville with me. I’ve got the space, and it’d be refreshing to have a pony as young and talented as she is around. She started to gather her words but before she could do so, Princess Luna cleared her throat. “I believe that she should stay here, as well,” she said softly. Twilight blinked in surprise before turning her eyes to the Lunar Princess, her words forgotten in the wake Luna’s endorsement. Celestia’s expression mirrored Twilight’s own, and without waiting even a heartbeat the white alicorn turned back to Luna, her wings rustling against her sides. “Luna, are you sure about that?” Her words were carefully neutral, but Twilight’s ear twitched as she spoke them. Why would she ask if Luna was sure? She wondered. I mean, she wouldn’t have any reason not to agree, would she? The shorter princess nodded and looked up at Celestia, her eyes calm and clear. “I’m certain, Celestia. This is the best thing for Skyla, I’m sure of it – at least, it’s the best place for her to start.” A wry smile quirked Luna’s lips and she shifted her gaze to Cadence, whose ears drooped towards her mane as the attention of the Moon Princess returned to her. “I will be watching her closely, Cadence,” she said, her tail twitching. “I have asked her to write me and inform me of everything and anything that she wishes me to know so that I can help her if she needs me.” She turned and took the several steps that separated her from Cadence so that she could place her left hoof upon the pink alicorn’s shoulder, a gesture that coaxed Cadence’s ears out of her curls. “I have faith in the two of you,” she said softly. “Become the parents that she never had.” Cadence met Luna’s gaze and nodded slowly, her wings shifting along her flanks. “I… we will. Thank you, Aunt Luna… for your support.” Luna’s smile grew as she returned her hoof to the floor. “Do not mention it. Or, at the very least, do not thank me for it until you have proven that you can handle this filly.” She turned and started towards the door to the throne room, her tail swishing across her hind legs a bit more than usual. “Giving you my support means that I am invested in the outcome,” she said over her shoulder. “Ruminate on that, if you would.” Twilight’s gaze danced back to Cadence just in time to see her sister’s ears dive back into her mane, and Twilight couldn’t help but smile wryly to herself. I guess I’m not the only one who’s intimidated by Luna, she thought with just a hint of satisfaction. The doors at the far end of the room opened as Luna’s magic kissed them, and within moments they closed behind her without a sound. “Well… I guess that’s it,” said Twilight with a shrug, her wings bobbing. “Cadence and Shining Armor will keep Skyla here with them at least until such a time that Skyla decides that she needs to go somewhere else.” Her smile became genuine as she met Cadence’s gaze, and she could see the tension ease from the other alicorn as she did so. “Everything’s going to be fine, Cadence,” said Twilight gently. “I’m sure Luna’s just worried about Skyla, like we all are. The two of you are going to do great.” “Thanks, Twilight… I need to hear that right now.” Cadence’s right hoof rose to her chest as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, and as she exhaled she pushed her hoof away from herself as if to put distance between her and her unpleasant thoughts. “I don’t think we’re going to have that much trouble,” she admitted, opening her eyes and dropping her hoof back to the floor. “And even if we do, we have Sunburst here to help us.” Her eyes shifted to Twilight’s left. “Right, Sunburst?” “Absolutely, Your Highness,” replied the stallion with an emphatic nod. “I’ll do my best to make sure that she’s given the same quality education that Flurry Heart is receiving, with a special side dish of ‘how to interact with ponies on this side of the mirror 101’.” Shining Armor grinned and nodded as well. “All right, then – we’re all in agreement. We’ll do our best to make sure that Skyla comes to think of this place as home.” Cadence and Sunburst both nodded once more, and Shining’s grin grew even larger. “Great! Well, why don’t we go tell her and Flurry Heart what’s going on? I’m sure they’re dying to know.” He started to turn away from the circle, but Cadence’s hoof shot out to forestall his movements; he gave her a confused glance, but when she jerked her head in Twilight’s direction, Shining caught on right away. He spun back and offered Twilight an apologetic smile, his ears folding back towards his mane. “Sorry about that, Twilight. Is this little meeting adjourned, or do you need some more from us?” Twilight laughed lightly and rolled her eyes. “We’re done here, Shining. You can go tell Flurry and Skyla now, if you’d like.” Her brother nodded happily and turned away from her, this time followed by Cadence, whose lips curved up into a smile that matched Shining’s for excitement. Their hoofsteps filled the room as they hurried for the door, their heads pressed together in hushed conversation. Next to Twilight, Sunburst stepped forward to go after them, his ears perked high. “I’m going to go along with them, Princess,” he said with a grin. “I’d like to be there with them when they tell the girls, since I’m going to be a big part of this plan.” He lifted his right hoof, his entire body poised to give chase to the royal couple, but he hesitated for a moment before speaking again. “I… I wanted you to know that, despite there being a lot riding on the research we did last night, I had a really fun time.” He blushed heavily. “I hope to see you the next time you visit the Crystal Kingdom… Twilight.” Then, without another word, he dropped his hoof and took off after Cadence and Shining Armor at a gallop, his blue cape flapping behind him. Twilight stared after him, her own cheeks growing warm as she watched him go. He… had fun with me? she thought absently. He’d like to see me again? But… does that mean…? Before she could continue her pondering, however, the sound of a pony clearing their throat drew her attention to her right, where Princess Celestia stood watching her. Twilight shook her head and offered the other alicorn a smile that she hoped looked nonchalant, despite the color that was no doubt lingering in her cheeks. “Well, I suppose that settles everything,” she said with a sigh. “Cadence and Shining Armor can take it from here, and with Sunburst helping I’m sure that everything will work out fine.” “Mmm,” muttered Celestia, her expression oddly unreadable as she stared at Twilight. The smaller alicorn’s ears folded back into her mane beneath her former mentor’s gaze, and she had to swallow forcefully before she could manage to get any more words out. “Do… do you think there’s a problem?” she muttered. “I mean, I didn’t see any problems, here…” The taller alicorn blinked slowly before her eyes seemed to refocus onto Twilight, and as they did, Celestia’s smile became warm and mysterious once more. “Oh, no, Twilight, I don’t think there’s a problem, necessarily.” Her wings fidgeted against her sides as she, too, turned towards the door. “But I want you to know that Luna is placing a great deal of trust in Cadence and Shining and, by that same token, I am, as well.” She threw a glance over her shoulder at Twilight, her smile unwavering. “Oh well, I’m certain that it’s not misplaced,” she said nonchalantly. Silence spread between the two alicorns as Celestia made her way to the door and vanished through it as the others had before her, leaving Twilight and Starlight alone before the throne. “I hate it when she does that,” grumbled Twilight, her ears still pinned against her mane. “It always feels like a veiled threat, even though I really can’t prove it…” She sighed in vexation before lifting a hoof and pressing it firmly against the bridge of her nose. “Well, at least this is all over and we can hop on the next train back to Ponyville. I don’t know about you, but I plan on sleeping most of the way there. Heck, I’ll rent an entire car to get some peace and quiet if I have to!” She turned towards the door and gestured towards it with her head. “C’mon, Starlight, let’s get moving. I know you have some stuff to grab from Sunburst’s house, so we’ll hit that on the way to the train station.” Her hoofsteps echoed in the grand room just as the other’s hoofsteps had, but after taking a half dozen or so she realized that hers were the only hoofsteps making any sounds. She frowned and stopped in her tracks. “Starlight, come on,” she said with a glance over her shoulder, “I really want to get home.” To her surprise, however, Starlight didn’t turn to follow her. Instead, the pink unicorn’s eyes slowly rose from the floor and locked onto her own, her expression a mask of determination. “Twilight… I’m not going back to Ponyville with you,” she said. Twilight’s eyes widened and she whirled on her hooves, her mane and tail swishing dramatically as she did so. “Wh-what? Whoa, wait a second – what do you mean that you’re not coming back with me?” “I mean that I’m not going back with you. Not on the train, and not at all.” The unicorn moved for the first time since the meeting had started, taking a step towards Twilight as she spoke. “I’m not convinced that something won’t happen around Skyla, Twilight. I mean, she punched a hole through space-time, for pony’s sake! Are we just going to trust math, theories, and predictions to tell us that nothing’s going to happen around her?” “W-well… I mean, we could,” said Twilight feebly as an uncomfortable expression slowly spread across her face. “It’s certainly good enough for Sunburst…” “Well it’s not good enough for me,” said Starlight firmly, her tired eyes full of fire as she stopped before Twilight. “We have to study this more, Twilight, and the only way that that’s going to happen is if I stay here and keep an eye on things.” She lifted her right hoof and pointed to Twilight. “You have the Cutie Map and all sorts of friendship problems to take care of all through Equestria.” Her hoof shifted and pointed towards the door. “Celestia and Luna have all of Equestria to run, Cadence and Shining Armor have their own kingdom to run and a daughter to raise, and even Sunburst has his own duties as Flurry Heart’s tutor and the Crystal Court’s mage.” Her leg bent until her hoof was pointing back at herself. “I am the only one without anything to do, Twilight. I’m the only one without official duties or a specific job to do. I’m the only one with the knowledge of space-time distortions with literally nothing else to do, so I’m the one who has to do it!” She dropped her hoof back to the floor and gave Twilight a determined frown. “So I’m staying here. I’ll help Sunburst with the girls’ tutoring, and I’ll keep an eye out for any kinds of anomalies surrounding Skyla. I’ll put everything I find in a report as things progress, and I’ll keep in touch with you by letter regularly.” Twilight stared open mouthed at Starlight, her mind whirling as the unicorn’s proposal sank in. There was a part of Twilight – and it was a substantial part – that didn’t want Starlight to stay, and she knew that it was for completely personal and selfish reasons. I’ve become so dependent on her presence in the Castle to help me with things, she thought as silence settled between the two mares. I mean, Spike’s still a great helper, but Starlight knows so much about magic and is so strong… I guess that I’ve been taking her presence for granted. I suppose that I never really thought that she’d choose to leave, someday… She closed her mouth, swallowed, then exhaled sharply before lifting her chin and meeting Starlight’s gaze once more. “Is that what you want to do?” she asked quietly. Starlight nodded, her disheveled mane bouncing unevenly as she did so. “More than anything,” she said just as softly. Twilight sighed, but after a moment she lifted her left hoof and placed it onto Starlight’s shoulder, a smile curving her lips. “Then you do it,” she said simply. “I think that it’s an excellent idea to keep her under a little bit of surveillance, considering that magical anomalies don’t always crop up right away. And what’s more, you’re one of the most skilled mages I’ve ever met. Even if something does happen, you’d probably be able to take care of it on your own!” Slowly, Starlight’s eyes filled with hope. “Does… does that mean that you’re okay with it?” she asked. “You won’t object to my staying here?” “Of course I won’t,” said Twilight, dropping her hoof back to the floor. “You might be my student, but you are your own mare, first and foremost, so you can do as you please.” Her smile grew slightly. “Though, I’d love to get letters and updates from you. Y’know, just to keep me from getting too lonely.” Now the unicorn’s eyes filled with tears, and her bottom lip quivered gently for a moment before she managed to nod. “All right,” she whispered hoarsely. “I… I’ll make sure I do that.” She let out a shaking sigh and stepped forward, her neck crossing over Twilight’s as Starlight pressed her chest against her own. “I’ll keep in touch,” she said, her voice barely audible despite her close proximity. Twilight leaned against Starlight and fought to keep her own tears out of her voice as she nodded. “I’ll hold you to that,” she said. She held the hug as long as she could, and just before her tears overwhelmed her she stepped back and sniffled loudly. “Whew, all right then,” she said, rubbing a hoof across her nose as casually as she could. “Well, even if you’re not going back with me, would you mind walking me to the station? That way we can set up how often you’re going to send letters to me and other organizational things like that.” Now Starlight smiled brightly, and with a nod she fell into step with Twilight. “Sure. I think that’d be a great idea.”