Chapter 5: Of Promises Once Made
The lobby of the Castle of Friendship was quiet that Saturday. Not a soul was to be found waiting, not a single friend or even a citizen there to visit Equestria's newest princess. The early afternoon sun filtered in through the windows, creating a pleasant glittering effect on the walls and floor of the sparsely furnished room.
A single point of golden light came into existence, floating a foot off the floor. It grew quickly into a giant golden bubble before popping, the sound echoing into the connecting hallways.
In place of the flash of magic, there was now a single pony, Princess Celestia, princess of the sun and co-ruler of Equestria. She shook her head a little as the traces of her spell faded away.
"I really must practice teleporting more often," muttered the princess as she got her bearings. "That was a far bumpier trip than it should have been."
Looking around the lobby and finding nopony, Celestia smiled for a moment. Perhaps she would be able to sneak up on Twilight. The surprise on her former student's face would be absolutely priceless. Would Twilight jump all the way to the top of her library?
Her amused thoughts were interrupted when she spotted a small letter propped up on a wooden tripod. At the very top of the letter was written Wednesday's date. Celestia's eyes scanned the message, the words written in what could only have been Twilight's hornwriting.
To all visitors
I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, will be absent for the next several days. I, along with my friends (the Elements of Harmony to anypony who doesn't know, although it would be rather hard not to know), my assistant Spike, and my student Starlight Glimmer, will be heading to Horseshoe Bay for a brief vacation, and to observe the migration of a rare breed of tropical fish.
For those wanting access to the public library, please sign your names in the ledger provided, as well as any checked-out books. And if anypony tries to take a book without logging it, be aware that all of them have a tracking spell, and I will verify the ledger when I return.
We will be returning on the morning train from Baltimare next weekend. Please hold all your questions or concerns until then.
Below the letter had been added an extra sentence, this one she recognized as having been written by Spike.
And this time we'll try not to get roped into being pirates.
Celestia cocked an eyebrow at that. "Pirates?"
The princess's face fell at her plans for amusement being foiled. She was further disappointed at Starlight being absent. Twilight taking on a student of her own filled Celestia with pride, and she'd been curious to meet her, and to see her magical skill with her own eyes.
Celestia had asked about meeting her a few times, but none of those requests ever worked out. She suspected the young unicorn was afraid of the confrontation. All things considered, she was probably within her rights to feel that way, were it the case.
Trotting down a hallway, Celestia turned her attention to her original reason for visiting. Her economic advisor, Supply Curve, was working on a budget proposal for the coming months. The older pegasus stallion had wanted to examine the master work of one of the greatest economists of the last few centuries, one Bull Market, in order to draw ideas.
She remembered Bull Market quite well, a short but very wide earth pony stallion with an incredibly astute mind for bits. Though generally level-headed, he became quite volatile if anypony made a crack at his color blindness, something for which he'd been mocked as a colt.
That flare of temper and his musculature made for a bad combination. Several vases and other such items had needed replacing when he was around. But despite the collateral damage, she'd rather liked the old stallion.
Unfortunately, the book in question couldn't be located in the Canterlot Archive. Its misplacement was being looked into, but the only other known copy of the work was among the books Celestia had given Twilight. Celestia only knew that because Twilight had sent a detailed list of various titles lost with the destruction of the Golden Oak Library.
Poor Twilight. The mare had been so distraught at the destruction of her old home. The way the list had been heavily cross-indexed by every conceivable bit of data indicated Twilight's stress level at the time. Helping her reconstruct her library was the least Celestia could do.
The trip involved a number of false turns. There was hardly anything in the castle hallways to act as a landmark. Celestia would have to see about helping Twilight with navigation.
At one point, Celestia stumbled onto the public library, brand new ledger clearly displayed right inside the doors on top of the oak desk.
Twilight had been adamantly against leaving Ponyville without a public library, even if it rarely saw use. As such, she'd dedicated part of her new home to fill that purpose, and perhaps to give herself back a sense of normalcy.
Finally, Celestia managed to find the right place, Twilight's private library. It was as massive a collection as the public one or perhaps larger, but just as well laid out.
It didn't take Celestia long to find the book she needed, not with Twilight's obsessive level of organization. Book held tightly in her magic, Celestia was about to write a note to inform Twilight of her visit when her eyes fell onto something else.
Placed off to the side was a large mirror set inside an upside down horseshoe frame. A mirror she knew all too well. It was an enchanted mirror crafted by Starswirl the Bearded himself, the same one that used to be in her throne room, and in the Crystal Empire. The one Sunset Shimmer had run through.
Various forms of machines surrounded it now. Celestia had heard Twilight speak of her device, but she'd never seen it with her own eyes.
That Twilight had managed to bypass Starswirl's system of dimensional travel was nothing short of astounding, and by only using such a simple item. Speaking of which...
There it was, on a stand to the left of the mirror. A simple journal with her cutie mark on it.
Celestia had given it to Sunset when she was thirteen, a way to keep in touch on long trips. Sunset's arrogance was still in its infancy at that point, so their conversations still retained some of the pleasantness they lacked in later years.
Just looking at it made Celestia's chest ache. The journal, too, had been among the bequeathed books, but not by choice. It had been near the donation pile and the workponies had taken the journal along by mistake.
Normally, Celestia would have asked for the return of her personal property right away. But then the Sirens happened, and Sunset needed help. After that, after hearing the entire story, it seemed too awkward, too wrong, to ask for the journal back.
The ache in her chest was even worse now.
Suddenly, the book began to glow and shake. Celestia's eyes widened. A message was incoming. A message from Sunset.
The book flashed with magic, but it was a slow, lethargic pulse, rather than the usual energetic reactions.
The way the enchantment was designed, when a new message had been transcribed, the book was able to detect when it was opened to the newly filled pages. In the event that messages arrived and the book hadn't been opened, in other words, the messages were unread, it would flash slowly like that for a minute before stopping, and repeating the process at intervals throughout the day.
The message was undoubtedly for Twilight. Celestia had no right to read whatever had been written on those pages.
And yet, curiosity gnawed at her, burying its fangs into her heart like a pack of rabid timber wolves.
Twilight had told her Sunset was being looked after, as well as many other things about the current state of the human world beyond the mirror. It all sounded so strange and yet fascinating in ways, reminding her of her own adventures with Starswirl across the vast multiverse.
But there were times when Celestia couldn't help but worry about her former student, whether she was truly well, truly safe. Sunset was, after all, a unicorn living far from the comforts of her home.
Perhaps the message contained within would soothe her?
Giving in to her curiosity, Celestia nodded her head in silent agreement and picked up the journal. The last time she'd held this book was right after Sunset stole Twilight's crown.
The message was most likely some happy little life update, not unlike Twilight's friendship reports. Celestia smiled a little. She hadn't read something like that from Sunset in so many years.
The very thought of reading Sunset's words again, untainted by arrogance or ambition, was like a tiny miracle.
Part of her acknowledged that it was horribly rude to read the correspondence of others. But Twilight didn't need to know. I can just mention in my note that Sunset left a message and reset the spell.
Using her magic, she commanded the journal to open to the unread message, and began to read.
Dear Twilight
I wish I could tell you I have some happy news, but I don't. I ran into some real trouble today. I got called to Principal Celestia's office, and waiting for me was somebody from Child Protective Services. It's their version of Foal Protective Services.
Her name was Mrs. Circinus. Twi, she knew I was living alone. She'd gotten reports from a "concerned party", whatever that means. And we're not talking a few little things either.
She wants to stick me with a family that lives in another part of the state. She said it was better for me to leave CHS completely. She knew about me being a bully. And she said my friends were a "bad influence." She even knew about Anon-a-Miss.
You know I forgave the girls for that mess. But this woman, she used it as ammunition. She used it against them. She even knew about how I tackled Rainbow at the music festival. Of course I couldn't tell her I did that to keep Rainbow's magic a secret, and I tried to lie my way out of it.
She's sharp. I tried, and so did Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. But Mrs. Circinus just turned everything back on us. The only way I had to stop her from taking me away right there was to make a deal.
I have about a week to find a foster family, and if I can't find one she approves of, I'll have to go to her choice without argument. I'm going to ask the girls when they get out of cla—
Sorry about the interruption there, Twilight. I... things just got worse. The reason I got cut off is that I had a surprise run-in with my prospective foster sister. Her name is Gleaming Pearl Luxury. And Twi, she's an airhead. I know you're probably thinking that that's a horrible thing to call a person, but I mean it.
She grabbed my journal and threw it in the garbage because it didn't look like a girl's diary. And then she tossed my jacket in there too. Both of them are fine. But Twilight, there is no way in Tartarus I'm going to be stuck with her for a sister.
Pearl's family is incredibly wealthy, and the reason her mom is looking for a girl is because Pearl asked for a baby sister as a late birthday present. And you know how you said your Rarity has those inspiration kicks too?
Well, Pearl was like that. Except with her, she didn't seem to have much interest in the actual person. She thought I should change my name to Dazzling Ruby, and wanted to make me over completely, starting with dyeing my hair totally red and Celestia knows what else.
I think she wanted less of a sister and more of a life-sized doll to play with, or that she doesn't really understand the difference. She also has no concept of personal space.
And before you think her mother will be of any help, she told Pearl that since I'm her little sister, I have to do whatever Pearl tells me to because she's older and always knows better.
And don't even get me started on her offer of giving me her old tutors so I can finish school. If they give me what they gave her, I might as well not be in school. Worst of all, the Luxuries are going to Paris in a week. As far as comparative geography, that's the same as Maris, Prance, across the ocean.
The girls are going to talk to each of their families about taking me in, and we're going to try to do some planning. I don't need you to rush over here, I just wanted to let you know, and I wanted another friendly ear.
Sunset Shimmer
The pages beyond glowed with magic. These too, carried more unread messages. A turn of the page revealed them to be dated this very day.
Dear Twilight
Things haven't been going the best over here. The girls spoke to their families first thing. Rainbow's parents are a no. They can't afford to take in someone else, let alone another teenage girl.
Pinkie's out too. Her sister Limestone called before Pinkie got to talk to her parents. She's moving back in with them, so there's no way they can take me.
More bad news came in today, first from Fluttershy. If I moved in with her, I'd have to deal with Zephyr. But honestly I'd take him over Pearl. But Fluttershy is out. There was some kind of problem at the factory where her dad works today. His job is looking at risk right now, and so it's not a great idea for them to take someone in.
She and her parents feel horrible about it. But I know it's for the best. Her dad's job problems wouldn't help win the fight with Mrs. Circinus.
A few hours ago I got a call from Rarity. They had a massive flood at their house. It's an old place, and a hot water pipe burst somewhere deep in the walls of the bathroom attached to their guest room.
They think it got jarred by something Sweetie Belle and her friends did. Rarity might have said something about a science project, I'm not sure. She was kind of frantic on the phone. But whatever they did, the thing had been leaking for days before it finally broke through the wall tonight.
They're looking at major cleanup and repairs, and both the guest room and bathroom are shot. Which means I can't move in with them anymore either, not in time, anyway.
I swear, Twi, it's almost like the universe is conspiring against me. Applejack's family is still open, and so is Twilight's, the human you I mean. But Granny Smith is out visiting her cousin Apple Rose. She won't be back until the deadline, and we all agreed that whoever takes me in has to physically be here come Wednesday.
Twilight's parents are out of town too. Her mom got invited to some sort of big writer's conference at the last minute, and her dad went with her. Twilight contacted them, and they're coming back as soon as possible, but it probably won't be until the deadline too. They're going to be back in the morning though, so that helps, I guess.
The girls tell me things will be fine, and it's not like I don't trust them. I just...
I'm scared, Twilight. I'm really scared. A part of me can't help but worry. Before we all went home, I had six possible options, then I had four. And today those options just got cut in half again. And even the options I do have will be cutting it close.
I can't help but think about what happens if something else goes wrong, or if we fail. The only real good thing about all this is that Mrs. Circinus hasn't dug too much into my background, so at least my being from Equestria is safe.
I don't want to go, Twilight. I don't want to be taken away from CHS, my only friends, and the portal. I've finally managed to get my life back on track and now there's a chance I'll lose everything I've had these last few months.
Mrs. Circinus isn't going to be easy to convince. I know that. She had so much information on me in the first place, and she twisted everything around. And even without being a CPS agent, there's something about her that just sets me on edge.
It’s not just me, either. Celestia and Luna agreed. There’s something about that woman that just makes you squirm when she looks at you.
I don't want to go with the Luxuries, but if I can't change her mind, I'll have to. If I get stuck with Pearl for a sister, I'll be miserable. I might not even recognize myself after Pearl's done with me. She said she'd teach me how to be a Luxury, that I'd be like a second her. She said "I'll help make you into the best little sister Luxury ever."
Just thinking about that and the way she said it freaks me out.
If I were just two years older over here I wouldn't have this problem. But then, if I were two years older, I wouldn't have met the others.
I know it's past midnight. Maybe you're up late. But the truth is, I can't sleep. The deadline isn't for days, and my friends are ready to help, and I love them so much for that. But I just can't sleep. I guess Rarity's call shook me a little. So here I am, just sitting on my bed, writing to you.
I know you're probably busy lately. Maybe it's important royal business, or maybe not. You've got a student to help now, after all. Right now you might even be asleep. I can't exactly expect you to be tied to this thing.
But get back to me soon, okay, Twilight? I just... I need help here. I need help getting through this.
If something goes wrong, I don't know what I'd do.
Sunset Shimmer
Celestia stood there, frozen in place as her eyes moved over the last few lines. Her jaw fell open. The book she'd held in her magic fell to the floor with a crash, the sound echoing off the room's high ceiling.
A coldness swept over the sun princess, along with a feeling of disorientation. Her mind was racing, emotions lashing out wildly inside her skull, and the logical part of her brain was desperately trying to reign them in.
Her original task utterly forgotten, Celestia did the best thing she could think of. She teleported back to Canterlot.
When Celestia popped back into Canterlot Castle, she felt as heavy as lead. She was half-convinced that had she attempted to fly back, she wouldn't have been able to get off the ground, let alone climb to Canterlot's altitude.
There was a rattling of metal from the guards at her sudden entrance. Only their rigorous training prevented them from jumping in surprise.
A gray-haired unicorn stallion wearing a red coat trotted up to her. "You're back from your trip, Your Highness," said Kibitz. "I trust you found the book in question?"
Celestia glanced in his direction, pausing before she remembered why she'd left the castle, and realizing the book was no longer in her grip. "Um, no. I didn't."
Kibitz raised a gray eyebrow. "You didn't? That's odd. With Miss Sparkle's sense of organization, I thought it would have been easy to find."
"Your Highness?" A mare was walking up to her now, Raven Inkwell, her secretary. She'd been an invaluable addition to her staff that had been taken on while Twilight was still a student.
Raven could have applied for the position, or a multitude of others, simply on the fact that she was Professor Inkwell's grandniece, what with the sun princess's fondness for the old mare. But she'd applied for the position on her own skills, and more than proven her trustworthiness and capability.
Her notepad floated in front of her, and the unicorn pulled out the pencil that was perpetually behind her right ear. "Your meeting with the mayor of Neigh Orleans is in an hour, but the mayor has already arrived. Do you want to see her now?"
Kibitz's eyes widened. "Getting ahead by an hour? That would be a very rare jump. Why, we might even be able to get to some of those postponed meetings if we—"
"Actually, Kibitz," interrupted Celestia. "Keep the schedule as it is."
The stallion turned to her in surprise. "But Your Highness..."
"Raven, I will meet with the mayor at the scheduled time," she told the mare, her voice devoid of emotion.
Raven was about to make a note, but the princess's tone seemed to catch her attention. The white unicorn looked up at her with concern. "Your Highness, is something the matter?"
Kibitz too, shared that sudden look of concern. "Did something happen, Your Highness?"
Celestia mentally cursed the two unicorns for knowing her so well. Her face took on the usual mask of complete serenity, though the storm of emotions still raging inside her made it harder to maintain. "I'm fine. I just wish to be alone for a while. I will be in my private quarters. Raven," she moved her magenta eyes over to the mare, "Make sure I'm not disturbed."
The two unicorns looked at each other before turning back to Celestia. "Yes, Your Highness," replied Raven. Either Celestia's mask had worked, or they both decided not to press her. Or perhaps they'd mention something to Luna.
The last of those options didn't thrill her as she trotted slowly off to her rooms. She didn't need Luna prying right now. All Celestia needed was time to sort everything out. As she walked the halls on the short trip, she maintained her mask, smiling and nodding to every servant or guard she passed.
Once the door to her private rooms closed, her mask crumbled into dust. Her wings drooped. Holding it up had taken more out of her than she'd thought it would.
Philomena gave a squawk, taking off from her usual perch and landing on her back. Her warm beak nuzzled itself against Celestia's mane. "Hello, Philomena," she greeted, returning the gesture.
Sitting down on a lush sofa, the princess heaved a sigh. “I wish I could say things were fine, but they aren’t. Sunset Shimmer is in trouble.”
Philomena gave another, more irritated squawk, her body heat spiking.
"Now, now," scolded Celestia. "I know she wasn't very kind to you before she left, but you shouldn't be like that."
The phoenix made another angry noise in retort.
"Alright, she wasn't very nice to anypony," conceded the princess. "But she wasn't always like that, remember?"
Looking over at her bookshelves, one caught her eye. She grabbed it in her magic and pulled it over to the couch. Philomena peered over her shoulder. It was a sky blue album, the edges covered in gold leaf. On the cover was the image of a red and gold sun outlined in gold thread.
"No," Celestia whispered. "She wasn't always like that."
Opening it up, she found herself faced with memories. So many memories, all of them featuring a pony with a red and yellow mane. On the first few pages were pictures of Sunset's first days in the castle, ironically the newest additions to this collection.
In the years following Sunset's departure, Celestia realized to her dismay that there weren't many pictures from those early, happier days. So she'd used her magic to imprint her own memories onto photographic paper as a sort of substitute, to fill the glaring void in the album.
They were fine substitutes, as clear as or clearer than the real photographs. But it meant that Sunset was always alone in them, even at times when she hadn't been. It simply highlighted both their artificiality, and Sunset's social isolation.
Celestia put a hoof over one of those early photos. It was the day Sunset demonstrated her abilities to the faculty of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. The little filly had managed to lift a grand piano half a foot off the floor with her magic, as well as an orchestra's worth of instruments that she'd made orbit the piano like a little musical solar system.
It was a startling feat normally unseen outside of the strange surges of foals, even if it had given Sunset a powerful headache afterwards.
The solar princess smiled as she saw the face of Professor Nox Arcana in the background. The usually stuffy stallion had his jaw hanging open, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets. That expression alone had been priceless. So too, was the beaming smile on Sunset's little face.
She'd displayed so much skill and power at such a young age. As a filly, Twilight's normal magical power had never managed to match that initial surge. And though Twilight eventually matched and surpassed Sunset in that capacity, it had taken her many years to do so.
Turning the page again, she stopped, and gave her feathered companion a nudge.
It showed a young but worried Sunset peering into Philomena's cage, its floor littered with dozens of feathers. "Remember how worried she was when she first saw you burning out?" she asked. "Even when I told her what was going on, she didn't stop worrying."
The phoenix looked down at the floor. She squawked again, but this time, it was far more reserved.
"And remember," Celestia continued, "when she first saw you? She said you were the," the princess cleared her throat, trying to approximate Sunset's young voice, "the prettiest bird I've ever seen, with the prettiest feathers ever."
Now, Philomena blushed.
"And now," said the princess, her voice heavy, "she's in serious trouble."
I'm scared, Twilight. I'm really scared.
Sunset's words echoed in her ears. They sounded so very foreign to Celestia, so wrong. The Sunset Shimmer she remembered was a confident young mare.
Yes, a confidence that slid into monumental arrogance like a boulder going downhill, she reminded herself.
Well, no matter how much it got out of control, it had never been baseless. The Sunset she'd taught had been skilled and capable, and in her later years faced many a challenge, similar to Twilight, though on a lesser scale only for lack of opportunity. Sunset hadn't truly been scared of anything since she was a little filly.
And yet, the fear in her student's words had been as tangible as the album before her now.
Celestia shook her head, trying to get her thoughts in order. "I should just tell Twilight," she muttered, running a hoof through her mane. "The portal is her responsibility now, and Sunset asked for her help."
For a moment, a burning sensation made itself known in the pit of her stomach, like acid reflux. Celestia couldn't think of anything in her diet today that could have caused it, but she pushed it down. It was probably the sudden shock of all this.
"Yes," she said again. "I should just tell Twilight. She probably won't be happy about her trip being cut sho—"
Celestia paused, brow furrowing as her magic turned the album to a new page. Her eyes were locked on a new picture. One she hadn't seen before. Sunset was lying in a hospital bed, eyes closed, bandages wrapped around her head. Her forelegs were covered in cuts and bruises.
Celestia certainly remembered this day, this was one of the memory photos. But she didn't recall making it into one. She'd created all of them at once. Perhaps this one had been created without her conscious knowledge?
As she stared longer at the image, she could practically hear the rhythmic breathing of the little filly on the bed, and the steady beep of the heart monitor.
Yes, she remembered this day all too well.
Where is she?
Celestia scanned the ground from her position high above, giving her wings another flap as she flew over Trottingham. How in the world an eight-year-old filly could get so far away, Celestia didn't know.
It had started off so well. Sunset had been at the castle for around a year now. The little filly was doing fantastically as Celestia's personal student, passing every test with flying colors. It made Celestia wonder if the child was the destined Element of Magic she'd been hoping for all these centuries.
When her trip to Trottingham had come up, Sunset had begged to come along. She'd never been outside of Canterlot before, and a trip across the sea to the Griffish Isles in the east had utterly captured her foalish imagination. She'd allowed it, but only if Sunset was on her best behavior while Celestia was working.
The actual trip had been... less smooth, in the literal and metaphorical sense. Sunset's eyes had lit up as they'd taken off in the royal chariot. But after they'd gained enough altitude, she'd displayed the tell-tale symptoms of air sickness, which only got worse in the face of turbulence.
One guard helmet had been sacrificed into becoming an impromptu bucket. It would have been even worse had one of her other guards not offered up nausea medication fit for children. It worked like a charm, and for the rest of the ride, Sunset slept curled up on her back.
Celestia had never been more thankful, or more embarrassed, that one of her guards had thought ahead of her. She'd made a mental note to give that particular guard a raise, and to pack nausea medication of her own next time.
She'd met with the mayor of Trottingham right away, despite her student's wishes to sightsee. Monsters had been acting up at the edge of town, and that took priority. So she'd left Sunset outside the room to wait.
But when she'd come out a little more than an hour later, Sunset was nowhere to be seen.
Just where had she gone to? Celestia had tried several tourist spots nearest town hall, but they'd yielded nothing. She'd left her guards to conduct the rest of the searches on the ground while she took to the air.
Still finding neither hide nor hair of the filly, Celestia cast both the Eagle Eye spell and the Bat Ears spell to increase her sensory range. She paused for a moment to absorb the sudden increase in information rushing into her brain.
Taking a deep breath, she glided out towards the forest at the edge of Trottingham. It was less likely that Sunset had gotten that far, but she couldn't overlook it. As she flew closer, she picked up a scrap of sound.
"....Help.... Princess Celestia, help."
It was faint, but for Celestia, it might as well have been a thunderclap.
It was Sunset's voice.
Celestia shot forward, tracing the sound to the forest. Her heart stopped as she spotted her student. She was lying there in a clearing, barely moving and all four of her legs wrapped in thick webbing. There was a gash on her forehead above her horn, blood trickling down to stain the soil crimson. Sunset's mouth kept moving, uttering faint pleas for help, but her eyes were closed.
Closing in on her was a gigantic spider, pitch black, glossy, a large, blood red hourglass on its abdomen, the points plainly visible from the side. A black widow. One large enough that it surpassed an Ursa Minor in both height and weight.
In the aftermath, Celestia would come to wonder how such a creature came about. Giant spiders certainly existed. They started as an accident. A hundred and fifty years prior a professor of entomology, Arachne Webb, had come upon the idea of enlarging spiders so as to make studying them easier.
Celestia had questioned Professor Webb's coworkers after the fact, and they'd told her that sensibility was not one of Arachne's strongest suits.
And despite being a unicorn, neither, they'd said, was spell work.
In one act of complete stupidity and a spell misfire, she'd enlarged her entire collection to ridiculous proportions at once. Royal guards discovered her lab in shambles and the professor... well, what was left of her at any rate.
The size of her creations was sadly found to be irreversible, and over the years they'd formed a breeding population. Reports had reached the princess of an encounter between her guards and a cluster led by an enormous tarantula near the Appaloosan Mountains. They'd driven them into the abandoned Diamond Dog mines, and the earth ponies of the unit reported that they'd taken out two of the leader's eyes with javelins.
And yet, there had been no poisonous breeds among Professor Webb's collection. And certainly no black widows of any sort existed on these isles naturally.
Ultimately, Celestia decided some foalish unicorn must have done something similar to Professor Webb and cast a growth spell on one that had wandered in with travelers, though no such unicorn ever came forward during inquiries.
But at the time, such wonders didn't cross the princess's mind. She didn't have a strategy, nor did she even think. At that moment, Celestia just saw red.
She crashed into the ground, landing between her student and the monstrous arachnid. The ground shook under her hooves. Had a regular pegasus attempted a descent of that speed and from that height, it would have utterly shattered all four of their legs. Celestia didn't even feel it.
The beast growled at her, bearing its fangs, flowing freely with deadly latrotoxin. Any one of those drops could have sent a Zebrican elephant into fatal death spasms.
The sun princess glared at the monster. "Get. Away. From her. Now."
The widow lunged.
A wall of flame twenty-five feet high sprang up, encircling the two ponies. The spider howled as its two front legs were caught in the roaring flames, pulling them back to reveal second degree burns.
The wall parted, allowing Celestia to once again see the creature, her magenta eyes still fixed in a glare.
Snarling, the arachnid fired several shots of its webbing. The volume of each shot alone would have been enough to cover a dozen average ponies, more than enough to ensnare the alicorn. The widow smirked, intending to make this new pony the main course of its meal after the filly appetizer.
The widow's face fell when Celestia gave a single flap of her wings, and a wave of heat lashed out, not unlike the opening of a blast furnace door. The webbing was incinerated before it even got within a foot of the enraged alicorn.
Celestia narrowed her eyes, now aglow with magic. The beast stood there, trembling in fear as it retreated a few steps.
Charging her horn, she let out a blast of golden magic that hit the creature's chitin covered body dead on, lifting it off the ground. A second shot struck the creature at the point between its cephalothorax and abdomen, sending it flying backwards into the forest a hundred feet, splintering trees in its wake.
With Eagle Eye still active, she could see the unconscious form of the beast in the distance. She then turned all of her attention on the filly behind her. Bending her head down, she saw that her student was still breathing, much to her relief.
Sunset's face wasn't flushed, so she didn't seem to be poisoned. Those fangs would have torn a hole through her if they'd made contact, and if she'd swallowed a drop she would've already been dead.
Her magic cut through the webbing with ease, and she cast the silk strands aside. The filly's legs were battered, and one of her ankles looked particularly injured. That gash of her head looked worse up close.
"Princess!"
Celestia raise her head to see the captain of her guard force landing before her. "We saw the fire in the distance, Your Majesty. What happened?"
"Fire?" It was then that Celestia truly noticed her surroundings. The trees around the clearing were ablaze, a true raging forest fire that was spreading by the second. Radiant heat rippled in the air, and the acrid scent of smoke assaulted her nose. Even the earth under her hooves had been utterly scorched.
Eyes widening at her unintentional destruction, the princess of the sun used her magic to push the air away, choking out the flames.
"Princess?" Steel Wing's voice was soft, uncertain. Hovering in the air were the other pegasi in his unit. Eagle Eye allowed her to see the looks on their faces clearly. All of them were mixed with fear and awe.
Celestia glanced back at Sunset, then at Steel Wing. "I'm sorry, captain. I was protecting Sunset. Off in that direction," she gestured with a hoof, "there is a giant black widow. It is unconscious for now. Take your stallions and see if you can secure it, but if it wakes, do not engage."
The pegasus nodded, saluting with a wing. "Understood." He looked around at the blackened woods, then back at her. "Princess, I... I've never seen you..."
"I don't have time, Steel Wing," said Celestia firmly. "Sunset needs to be treated immediately." She hoisted the filly onto her back. "I'm heading to Trottingham General. Meet me there." Celestia took off without another word.
It was hours before Sunset regained consciousness. The filly had sustained multiple cuts and bruises to her legs, a twisted ankle on her right hind leg, and a concussion. Celestia stayed by her bedside the entire time. Steel Wing came in once to report they'd managed to tie down the giant widow without injury.
When Sunset finally woke, it was to the worried face of her teacher. The filly sobbed and told Celestia the whole story, how she'd decided to wander off in search of the monsters. She'd been determined to show how skilled she was to Celestia by slaying one of them, and had found the black widow.
She'd shot at it with her magic, but that hadn't even stunned it, so Sunset had fled. When the beast had webbed her legs, she'd tumbled and taken the blow to the head.
"You're very lucky Sunset," Celestia had told her when she'd finished recounting the tale. "You could have gotten hurt far worse had I not arrived. Despite your talents, you're too young and still too unskilled to be fighting monsters."
"I'm sorry," muttered the filly. "I won't run off again, I promise."
Celestia raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"And I won't fight monsters until you say so," added Sunset remorsefully. As soon as she finished saying that, the little filly gave a mighty yawn.
"You should sleep, my student," soothed Celestia. "You need your rest."
Sunset shivered. "What if... what if the monsters show up while I'm sleeping? What if that nasty spider comes back? W-what if it tries to take me away?"
Celestia laughed. "If they do come back, I'll protect you." Reaching out with her magic, she pulled up the blankets on the hospital bed, tucking them tight over Sunset.
"Do you promise?" asked Sunset with half-lidded eyes, her muzzle buried into the pillows.
Celestia nuzzled her cheek. "I promise, Sunset. I promise on the sun and moon and every star in the sky, I'll always protect you from the monsters."
It had been such a long day. After joining her guards and those in the Trottingham barracks to drive off the monsters personally, Celestia treated Sunset to a round of sightseeing. The little filly spent the rest of the visit practically strapped to her back, and a few more days in Canterlot Castle stuck in bed, fawned over by servants at Celestia's request.
Celestia looked up from the album. That had been so long ago. Years of isolation and silence stood between the two of them. Sunset turned to Twilight now.
Knowing that Sunset was in trouble once again, Celestia couldn't help but feel guilty, her last confrontation with her former student playing over in her mind, and the weeks of events that preceded it.
If she'd done better, if she'd paid more attention to Sunset's behavior, realized the danger of the mirror obsession...
If I'd actually learned a thing from what happened to Luna.
If Celestia had managed to keep Sunset in Equestria, she wouldn't be in this mess. She might have made her own friends. Twilight said the counterparts to the element bearers had already been friends before Sunset arrived, so they still would've had a happy future.
Sunset would have been safe and happy in this Canterlot, if only Celestia hadn't been blind and stupid. Again.
Her former student's descriptions of her looming foster sister made the sun princess uneasy. Not every family a foal was born into was a good one, and neither was every foster family. Celestia knew that better than most with the families she'd seen come and go.
Even last month, she'd read about a trial involving a case of a young stallion subjected to "lantern-lighting" as the term was known, a form of hideous psychological abuse that made a pony question their own perception of reality. By the time the authorities had found the stallion, he was in such poor condition he had to be hospitalized.
While Sunset's descriptions weren't quite on that level, they nonetheless made Celestia just as worried.
The life Sunset was describing, it seemed little more than a prison. Forcibly separated from her friends, from the city and all those she'd come to know and any comforts they provided. If she was truly taken across the sea, then even running away back to Canterlot would be filled with difficulties.
I'm scared, Twilight.
Twilight had mentioned that humans had the ability to communicate over vast distances, but would Sunset even be able to speak to her friends? Though Celestia didn't quite understand how, they'd clearly been painted as harmful. And in that case, it was more likely she'd be kept away from them for her own perceived good.
I'm really scared.
And the journal. Pearl had thrown it in the trash almost instantly. Without it, Sunset wouldn't even have any form of emotional support from Equestria. Its magic made it more durable, yes, but it was far from indestructible.
And if the journal was destroyed, its magic would dissipate, and the way to manually open the portal would be lost.
If something goes wrong, I don't know what I'd do.
Even if Sunset could escape the Luxuries and reach the portal again to evade capture, there would be no way to open it in time with her arrival. She'd be trapped until the cycle of the moon came around again. What if she got caught and taken back before that?
And then, Celestia had to wonder, even if Sunset reached the age of majority in two years, would she be free? Or would her foster family find new reasons and ways to keep Sunset close to them, to keep her under their influence? Though legally difficult, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.
Two years was nothing for a being like herself, but still not an insignificant amount of time, not for mortals.
Sunset was a strong mare, strong and stubborn. But would she even survive being stuck there for that long all alone, trapped in circumstances seemingly tailored to make her as miserable as possible? Or would she break?
I just... I need help here.
Those words echoed in her ears. The voice that spoke them, however, was that tiny filly, hurt and trapped before a beast intent on devouring her whole.
"....Help.... Princess Celestia, help."
Celestia got up from the couch, shoulders squared; the album floating in her magic. She walked into her private study, lighting the candles with barely a thought as golden magic whirled around her.
Philomena flew behind Celestia, embers trailing with every flap of her wings. She landed on top of a bookcase to get out of the way, watching her princess intently.
Worktables for alchemical experiments were set to order, stacks of books put back in place, while cleaning spells removed layers of gathering dust throughout the space. It had been far too long since she'd worked in here, far too long since she'd found purpose or time.
A piece of parchment flew out to a work desk. Sitting before it, Celestia took a quill and an inkwell and began writing, planning, ideas and thoughts poured onto paper.
"W-What if it tries to take me away?"
"I promise, Sunset. I promise on the sun and moon and every star in the sky, I'll always protect you from the monsters."
The album was placed next to her desk, still opened to the picture of the hospitalized filly. Celestia took one last glance at it.
"I promise," she whispered, reaching out a gold-clad hoof to the photo. Celestia pressed it against Sunset's image gently, as if to soothe the miniature filly within. "I promise on the sun and moon and every star in the sky."