Celestia was thankful that nopony had noticed her absence, and that she was able to sneak back into her chambers without anyone being any the wiser. At that moment, she had managed to dry her eyes of tears and her coat of rainwater, and was currently sitting at the desk in her study, sipping tea and looking over some documents.
Behind her sat a low table, some cushions, and on the table was a chessboard with the pieces close at hoof. She looked at it for a moment, fondly remembering all of the chess matches she had had with other nobles and princesses until she was sure that she had mastered the game. In fact, her only matches had been with Luna, with Cadence, and relatively recently, with Twilight.
Twilight.
Celestia sighed, bitterly turning back to her work but unable to keep the lavender alicorn from entering her thoughts. Even as she wrote, her student-turned-equal still showed up. Every slim capital ‘A’ or ‘V’ reminded her of the shape of a unicorn’s horn. A ‘U’ reminded her of Twilight’s joyful smile, while hers remained set into a stoic political mask, and every ‘O’ reminded her of the young mare’s magenta eyes.
Magenta eyes that were, in fact, very similar to her own. Every time Celestia looked at Twilight, she saw herself at that young age, full of ambition at the hands of Starswirl the Bearded’s mentorship- that color and that sparkle of intelligence being so similar. Celestia chuckled, remembering how happy she was to have taken Twilight on as her student. Of course, throughout all of it, there was only one thing that displeased her about Twilight.
Even as a princess, Twilight never called her by just her name. To the mare, she was ‘Princess Celestia’ or simply ‘Princess’. Twilight treated her like royalty, even though she was now royalty herself, and while Celestia enjoyed the teacher-student connection that they still had, she wished that Twilight would at least say she considered her a friend, and call her just ‘Celestia’. Celestia knew that with Cadence, who also had had that problem, she would’ve been fine, but for Twilight…the mare herself had once admitted that Celestia was like a second mother to her, and Celestia had tried to make it clear that the feeling was mutual. If only Twilight could see that, through the formalities…
Celestia’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Setting down her paperwork, she turned in her chair. She knew that it was someone who had been sent to find her, as she hated having guards outside the room twenty-four-seven.
“Yes? What is it?”
“Your Highness,” A guard outside responded, “you have a visitor: Twilight Sparkle.”
Celestia’s eyes lit up immediately. She had met with Cadence and Shining Armor during the remaining session of the day court earlier, and she had noticed that Cadence was smiling more than she usually did during political affairs between Equestria and the Crystal Empire, which had led Celestia to believe that her adoptive niece was hiding something.
If it was Twilight, it was a nice surprise.
“Send her in.” She said. Getting up from her chair, and walking towards the door, she smiled as her most faithful student opened the door and stepped in.
“Hello, Princess Celestia.” Twilight bowed in respect to her former mentor, and Celestia had to stifle a sigh at her use of both name AND formal title once again.
Still, that didn’t mean she had to keep her political mask on, and she smiled warmly, coming forward and bringing a surprised Twilight into a hug, “It is good to see you again, my faithful student.”
“I-It’s good to see you, too, princess.” Twilight stuttered, blushing at the contact. Celestia chuckled.
“I figured Cadence was hiding something,” Celestia spoke as they took their familiar places at the table and she poured the younger alicorn a cup of tea, “but little did I know that it was you she was talking about.”
Twilight giggled, “I know I usually schedule a meeting, but I really needed to speak with you about something, so I waited for court to end.”
“Will you be speaking WITH me, or TO me?” Celestia said, pointedly, causing Twilight to blush, “Well, whatever it is, would you mind if we had this conversation over a game of chess?”
“Yes, please.” Celestia noticed that Twilight hesitated for a half-second, meaning that she obviously wanted to talk about something very important, but if there was one thing they both loved to do besides read and chat, it was play chess with one another.
After setting up the board and pieces, they were at least five minutes into the game, Celestia having already lost two pieces while Twilight lost one, before the Princess of the Sun spoke again,
“Twilight, I-“ Celestia stopped herself, gathering her nerves before she continued, “I’m sorry about your mother. Velvet and I were good friends, and I was devastated when I heard about…you know…”
Twilight shook her head, “It’s okay. I blamed myself for her death, at first, because I had yelled at her, minutes before she had her heart attack.”
Celestia tilted her head, surprised, “Why did you yell at her?”
Twilight relayed the full story, and Celestia could see that she was trying hard not to cry again, before finally saying, “After the funeral, my father told me about a secret that they had been keeping.”
“A secret?” Celestia looked up from the game, curious as to what Twilight meant, when a thought came to her head. Her eyes widened. Did Twilight mean…?
“I’m an adopted foal.”
She froze. Twilight continued on, though, having not noticed.
“They weren’t my real parents. Shiny’s not my real brother, though he and I agreed to be siblings for life anyway, and though I was mad at first, I forgave them. I mean, it’s sad that mom and dad weren’t mom and dad, but I still love them.”
Twilight looked up, Celestia having managed to calm herself while she was speaking, “That’s why I came here to talk to you.”
Celestia was speechless, not in a good way, but in a fearful way, yet she still managed to ask, “W-What did you want to ask?”
Twilight smiled appraisingly, “I want to find my real mother. I want to, I HAVE to know why she put me up for adoption or, in the worst case …abandoned me.”
They both shuddered at the word ‘abandon’, Celestia more than Twilight.
“I guess what I’m trying to ask you is…do you know who my mother is? Or do you have anything I could use to find her, my father, or anyone I’m truly related to?”
Internally, Celestia started to panic and for the first time in her life, she wished she could re-gift a surprise from Cadence and Twilight. Twilight’s story and question had not only caught her off-guard, but also unprepared. Thoughts, long ago buried in an attempt to be forgotten, flashed through her mind, and it was only when Twilight waved a hoof in front of her that she snapped out of it.
“Princess,” Twilight asked, concerned, “Are you okay?”
“Twilight, I’m,” Celestia brought a hoof to her mouth, to keep herself from saying something that she’d regret, “fine. Yes, that’s it, I’m fine. It’s just…”
“Just what, Princess?” Twilight looked at her inquisitively. For the first time, Celestia knew how difficult it was for others to look her in the eye, as she was unable to meet Twilight’s eyes…so much like her own…
“It’s just,” Celestia pulled her next words out of nowhere, “that I’m not used to issues of this sort coming to my attention.”
That’s good, keep it up.
“However,” She continued, “I might be able to help in some way.”
Wait, what!? No, don’t say-
“You can?” Twilight grinned, looking up at her hopefully.
Whatever you do, Celestia, do not suggest staying at the castle.
“You may stay here at the castle, if you wish, and perhaps we can look through the various birth records or whatever we have in the library.”
WHAT.ARE.YOU.SAYING!?
“Really!? Thanks, Princess!” Twilight ran around the table, and hugged the white alicorn firmly in thanks. Celestia weakly returned it, her thoughts silently cursing her for what she had just gotten herself into.
She had no choice but to play along, and find a way out of it somehow.
“I will send a letter to Spike,” She said, softly, focused on returning the hug Twilight was currently giving her, “and tell him that you will be staying for the next few days. In the meantime,” She released Twilight, and nodded to her, “I will let you get settled in your own room, while I begin to look through the records later tonight. Tomorrow, you can help and perhaps,” She nuzzled Twilight gently, “we will find out who you really are, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Thanks you, Princess Celestia,” Twilight actually had to keep tears of joy from appearing, “I mean it. In that case,” She turned and headed towards the door, “I’ll let you continue working. The library tomorrow, right?”
Celestia nodded, “Correct.”
Twilight smiled at her one last time, before the shut the door behind her, leaving Celestia with her conflicting thoughts and barely-contained emotions.
“I expected more resistance from you, sister.”
Celestia would’ve jumped at the sudden realization of a THIRD pony in the room, but Luna had long ago failed to make that happen anymore. Celestia had known she was there the whole time, having teleported whilst blending with the shadows, and-
Celestia’s eyes widened, and she wheeled upon the dark-blue alicorn who had suddenly appeared behind her with a grin on her face.
“You!” Celestia poked her hoof roughly into Luna’s chest as an accusation, “You did that!”
“It is your fault for teaching me that spell,” Luna chuckled, playfully, “All you need is for the pony in question to have some anxiety, and then you can make them say what they do not really want to say.”
“Why, Luna,” Celestia groaned, “why?”
Luna’s face became serious, “You told me not long after I came home from the moon, how myself as Nightmare Moon put enough fear for her in you that you had to keep that secret from her, and I have visited Twilight Velvet in her dreams before, and I know that she wanted Twilight to learn the same- to learn about her family.”
“I can’t tell her,” Celestia said, “you know that.”
“Can’t tell her what?” Luna asked, “I am returned now, thanks to her, so what can you not tell her now? That you know exactly how her mother felt? That you don’t just feel sorry for her being abandoned, but GUILTY? That if you were to splash white paint over her coat, paint her mane and poof it up a bit, she would look like your smaller identical twin?”
Celestia flinched, holding up a hoof to keep Luna from continuing, “There’s still a chance I can fix this. I can go to the records room, and find anywhere where it says her name. Few even know about her birth, so it’ll be easy to hide it-“
Luna shook her head, interrupting her older sister with a hoof over her mouth, “Sister, why are you doing this, letting these feelings eat you up when you hate keeping them hidden? Do you not love her?”
“Yes, I do! With all my heart.” Celestia spoke as if it should’ve been obvious.
“Do you not want her to succeed, and learn all she can?”
“Definitely,” Celestia nodded, “it’s why I took her in as my student in the first place: because she had potential-“
“Potential, aaannd…?” Luna asked, knowing the main reason.
“Don’t go there.” Celestia warned, “The point is, I am and always will be proud of her. I just can’t-“
“What about your desire,” Luna interrupted again, “for her to call you by name instead of title?”
“How did you-?” Celestia’s eyes widened again, and she growled, “Have you been looking into my dreams again, when I explicitly said not to?”
“Guilty as charged.” Luna smirked, removing her tiara. Because she was not wearing her chestplate, the majority of the enchantment was gone, and when she took her tiara off, her mane lost it starry, windblown appearance and fell across her back, now a lighter blue color as it regained its natural appearance. Celestia knew that, despite what some believed, Luna actually loved her natural appearance more than her royal one since she had gone around like that long before they had first enchanted their royal regalia, and she knew that when her younger sister spoke to her in that fashion, she was trying to be just that- an encouraging, supportive little sister.
Celestia sighed, “I just can’t tell her the truth, Luna. What don’t you understand?”
“Every bit,” Luna said, “Because I know, deep within, you wish to tell her as much as you love her: with all your heart.”
“She’ll hate me, for all of it, especially if I tell her the ‘who’ and ‘why’ of this issue.”
“Perhaps, but you do not know that. Maybe she will be upset, but perhaps questions will override immediate emotion.”
“That’s not how emotions work, Lulu,” Celestia, “and I can’t explain to you exactly how, since Love and Friendship are more Cadence’s and Twilight’s areas of expertise.”
“If you cannot explain it,” Luna once again used logic against her, “then you do not know how emotions work, either.”
Celestia was silent. Luna smiled, gently but no less triumphantly, “So what is your answer, sister?”
Celestia looked away, “Give me….just give me until the right time. Before she leaves, I…I might tell her.”
“Might I suggest a deadline for you, then?” Luna asked.
“What do you suggest?”
“If I recall, there will be a gathering of nobles for the annual Canterlot Princess Gala the night after tomorrow night.”
The Canterlot Princess Gala was a special event, not as special as the Grand Galloping Gala, Nightmare Night, or Winter Wrap-Up, but still close, more traditional to ancient unicorn culture than anything else. It mainly involved dancing amongst the gathering of nobility and middle classes from all throughout Equestria, as well as the celebration honoring the coronation of all of Equestria’s four alicorn princesses. Whereas the day fell on Luna’s and Celestia’s coronation date from so long ago, Twilight and Cadence could-and would- also attend and, at the very beginning, give their own heartfelt speeches to the audience alongside Luna and Celestia. It truly was a night of royalty, newfound romance, friends…
...and family.
Celestia sighed. It was just TOO perfect of an opportunity, bitter as she was feeling about it, “Very well, Luna. Give me until the morning after, and if I fail,” She inhaled sharply, letting the equally-damning words tumble from her lips, “then YOU may tell her.”
To her surprise, Luna shook her head, “I agree with all except me telling her. I MIGHT give her a clue or two, while she is dreaming, but YOU are going to have to be the one to tell her no matter what.”
“Fine.” Celestia hissed, her sister having given her an even worse punishment than threatening to spill the beans, “You win, now can you leave me in peace!?”
Luna smiled gently, and brought her tense older sister into an embrace, “I am not trying to win at anything. I am only trying to help the two of you, as they say, ‘lay it out on the table’.”
“I miss when you used to have trouble with modern language.” Celestia spat, trying to intentionally antagonize her sister and her way of speaking.
“I know.” Luna, wiser than anyone else gave her credit for, was smart enough not to take the bait. Releasing Celestia, Luna stepped back and instantly vanished, teleporting to only she knew where.
Celestia relaxed, finally noticing that she had tears in her eyes. Wiping them away, she groaned as she realized what she had to do. Thanks to Luna, and inadvertently, herself, she now had to tell Twilight something that she and Velvet had been trying to keep from her since…that day. With a defeated sigh, she gathered up her remaining paperwork and teleported it to her chambers, though she doubted she would be able to concentrate on it anyway. With that, she silently packed up the chess set, leaving it on the table, and exited her study. Closing the door behind her, she turned and headed towards her room. Luna had obviously taken the time to lower the sun for her as well as raise the moon thanks to the limited solar magic Celestia had taught her, as her sister’s night sky was already painted with glittering stars and her moon was already beginning its journey across the sky.
The guards posted outside her room opened the golden doors for her, but before she went in, she turned to them, “There is no problem, but I would like to have some privacy tonight.”
“Of course, Princess.” The guards nodded in understanding, and swiftly marched off, leaving Celestia alone. Satisfied, Celestia entered the room, and magically shut the doors behind her. After looking around to make sure she was completely alone, she snuck over to her bed and swiftly dug a hoof underneath it. The second she felt a wooden surface, she withdrew the object with magic, holding it up to the moonlight streaming in from the window.
A plain wooden box, about two square feet, with no markings of any sort, and a bronze latch as the only sign of value on it. However, to Celestia, this box meant more to her than all the gold in Canterlot Castle, and more than Equestria and even the sun itself! Sitting on her bed, and hesitating for just a moment, the white alicorn slowly unlatched and opened the lid, revealing the box’s contents.
The first thing she noticed was the photographs. There were many, from different times and places, but all of them had one thing in common: Twilight Sparkle. Celestia had only admitted it to Luna so far, but once or twice (or twenty times) she had snuck over to Ponyville just to see what her student was up to. There were pictures of her doing many things: spending time with her friends, her coronation, reading books with Spike, learning with Celestia (Luna had wanted to show off her skill with her new camera), all sorts of events like Winter Wrap-Up and the Summer Sun Celebration. She was glad that cameras had even been invented, so that she might catch those wonderful memories as they happened and keep them close to her forever.
There was one in particular that never failed to make her smile, one that would cause a stir if the public were to ever see it in her possession: a picture of Twilight Sparkle as a newborn filly. Her eyes were closed, for she had obviously been sleeping, but the smile on her face was unmistakable as the one Celestia had seen on her face every time they had ever spoken to one another.
Celestia wiped a tear from her face, and turned the box’s other occupants.
The next was what looked like a lock of hair from Twilight’s mane in a vial, specifically the part of her mane that included the pink strip. One could obviously notice how, if the older alicorn wore no royal attire, the pink strip of Twilight’s mane was interestingly the exact same color as Celestia’s…
Finally, there was the last remaining object in the box: a folded piece of paper.
Celestia took it up gently, and unfolded it, reading what was already ingrained in her memory:
Certificate of Birth
Name: Twilight Sparkle
Born: 20th of [EXPUNGED]
Gender: Female
Race: Unicorn
Parents-
Celestia’s vision blurred slightly as she read the names on the birth certificate. Putting the birth certificate back in the box, closing the lid, and hiding the box under her bed once more, she fell atop the large mattress, and clutched at one of her pillows, her tears starting their journeys down her cheeks.
Twilight, She thought, sobbing, I’m sorry. Heaven forbid, I’m SO SORRY!