September 6th, Evening
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“HAHAHAHAHa-hee-hee-hmm-hmm…hahaha, ahhh,” for nearly a minute, Twilight, Shining Armor, Cadance, and Princess Luna stood aghast at the sight of Princess Celestia, the most powerful Alicorn in Equestria, laughing till she cried. None of them were quite sure what to do, though Luna was prepared to slap some sense into her older sister in a magically metaphorical sense, when she finally calmed down enough to speak through her labored, hiccupping breaths.
“Ah-haha, I’m so terribly sorry for that,” Celestia finally managed to gasp out before she gave her eyes a final wipe and she sat up a little straighter, though her shoulders still continued to hitch slightly.
“P-princess?” Twilight managed to stammer before the white Alicorn quickly raised a hoof and cleared her throat.
“Ahem, a thousand pardons for my behavior just now,” the Sun Goddess said not unlike the manner in which a naughty child might apologize. One might even go so far as to say that she looked a little embarrassed for what she’d just done, though that might have simply been the flushed look one was likely to get after a laughing fit of that magnitude. “I must admit, I haven’t had a good chuckle like that in some time.”
“Auntie, this is no laughing matter!” Princess Cadance stomped her hoof lightly. To her surprise, Celestia shook her head softly.
“No, no, you’re right; it’s not, Cadance,” she gave a quick snort and an even more fierce shake of her head, her flowing mane filling the book fort for a moment before it too settled down along with its owner. “I was just so overwhelmed with emotion just now that I couldn’t help but express my mirth, that’s all.”
“Mirth?!” Twilight practically shouted, though Luna shot her a look, warning her to lower her voice. “What exactly is mirthful about this, Celestia?” she asked in a slightly more controlled manner, though only just.
“Indeed, you’ve got us all worried to death for Twilight’s friend here,” Shining Armor chimed in, setting himself slightly in front of his sister in a protective stance. But Celestia merely continued to smile softly before shaking her head once more and speaking again.
“You’ve all grown so much so fast,” she said with a musing, cryptic tone. “And I’m very proud to be a witness to that growth this evening.”
“Begging your pardon ma’am,” the Captain spoke up. “But huh?”
“Shining Armor,” she turned to him. “You’re here to support your sister in this endeavor, correct?”
“Yes ma’am, I am.”
“And you’d protect her,” she gave him a somewhat intimidating gaze. “…even from me?”
“Absolutely,” he nodded without the slightest hint of hesitation, causing Twilight’s heart to swell with pride for her brother.
“Even now, you stand your ground in protection of her, as do you, Cadance. You’ve learned that there are times when one must put aside the petty chain of command when the well-being of their loved ones is at stake.” She smiled at the growing realization on the Prince and Princess’ faces. “And for that, I’m proud of you.” Without missing a beat, she turned to Luna. “My dear sister.”
“Yes, Tia?” Luna asked, a little confused as to the sudden turn of events and change in tone of this conversation. But now that she thought about it, her sister’s candor hadn’t changed at all save her calming down after laughing.
“You’ve demonstrated your desire for fairness and the prevention of crimes such as unwarranted punishment this evening. You wouldn’t let the fact that your own sister might be the one guilty of such injustices deter you, and for that, I commend you,” she bowed gracefully and finally turned to Twilight, who was the most confused pony of all.
“Celestia, I don’t understand,” the Unicorn shook her head. Here she was, having just burst in and demanded that her own mentor not bring harm to her friend, and instead of being angry at such an intrusion and display of emotion, Celestia was…happy?!
“Twilight, I must admit,” Celestia’s smile grew a smidge. “That you acted very foolishly this evening. You’ve confronted me in possibly the most hard-headed manner possible, displaying little tact in your approach, and making demands of me that I’d normally completely dismiss as the ravings of a mad-pony who obviously didn’t care much for their own personal safety. Honestly, if you were any other pony, I might have blasted you to cinders by now.” With every word, Twilight’s heart dropped another slot until she was sure it was buried somewhere around her stomach. She could feel her face burning scarlet as she stared at the floor, blinking through the growing tears of embarrassment as she prepared for the harsh scolding for her behavior to continue.
“However,” Twilight’s ears pricked forward at the friendly tone of the word, and she chanced a peek up at the Sun Goddess, who was still smiling gently.
“The fact that you did all these things and risked your own safety for the sake of an innocent proves that you’ve matured beyond what I thought a pony your age would be capable. And that is why I couldn’t help but express my pride in your growth the way that I did.”
“So, you’re not mad at us?” Shining Armor chanced the inquiry, which was answered by a single shake of the Sun Goddess’ head. “Well, even if you’re not, that still leaves the issue of Volare’s fate in question.”
“Ah yes, about that,” Celestia actually blushed slightly as she spoke. “As proud as I am of your willingness to protect others, I’m afraid I’m going to have to burst your bubble somewhat.” The four who’d come to confront her all drew in a collective breath as they hung on every single one of Celestia’s next words.
“There wasn’t any real need to begin with.”
“Wait, what?!” Twilight blurted out. “B-but you said you wanted to discuss his fate!”
“Doesn’t mean it’s a bad one,” Celestia said calmly. “It seems you all worked yourself up just a little bit over this issue. But the truth of the matter is I had no intention of punishing Volare at all, especially so after I spoke with Shining Armor about him. I’m apparently very out of sorts with humans in general as well, so I decided the least I owed Volare was a sporting chance.”
Twilight stumbled back a step or two, stunned. Luna stepped forward in her stead. “This…this isn’t a jest, is it? You’re really not going to harm Volare?”
“Luna, you know I appreciate jokes and puns as much as any other pony, but in regards to one’s fate in my lands,” she leaned forward with a serious look. “I don’t play around about that.” She nodded at the look of relief that grew across all of their faces before Cadance spoke up.
“Then why the secrecy, Auntie? Why the need to draw this information out of my husband like that?” she asked, raising a very good point to which her three companions nodded.
Celestia visibly sighed before speaking. “I haven’t told this to anypony yet, and quite frankly it’s been eating at me ever since the wedding, but…” She looked around at the ponies that stood before her. To them, she didn’t seem to be the mightiest creature in the land. Far from it; in fact, she seemed very…distraught as she spoke, an emotion completely unlike anything they’d ever seen from her before.
“I confess that I’ve lost a bit of the faith I once had in myself in regards to keeping things safe, as well as the discernment of the truth. I mean, I couldn’t even tell the difference between my own niece and an imposter before it was too late…”
“Celestia, that wasn’t your fault-” Twilight began before the Princess cut her off.
“Yes it is, Twilight. I’m the one who’s supposed to be responsible for keeping my subjects safe, and I let that danger sneak right in under my damn fool nose,” she angrily slammed a hoof down on the book wall, nearly toppling it before sighing and regaining the composure she’d momentarily lost. She looked up from the books with an expression of guilt that tore at the Unicorn’s heartstrings. This was supposed to her mentor, strong and confident…not weak and remorseful and…just so damn vulnerable like this. In all honesty, Twilight was past the point of being mad at her; now she was just scared and wasn’t quite sure what she expected to hear…or whether she even wanted to hear it.
“My point is…I now rely on your advice more than ever in order to aid me in difficult decisions such as this one. I needed unbiased information from a third party that I trusted, and one who was unaware of my own feelings towards humans: your brother,” she glanced at him and gave him a small smile that was equal parts guilt and gratitude before continuing. “That unbiased information, untainted by emotion or the desire to defend an individual by hiding the whole truth caused me to have a change of heart for Volare’s presence here.”
The regal Alicorn idly stacked some books that had fallen off of the wall back into their places for a moment, if only to allow her words to sink in before she spoke again. “I will admit: I was at the very least planning on quarantining him for observation until I deemed him safe, although that was the worst I’d do, I swear,” she raised a hoof over her chest in punctuation. “But yours and your brother’s descriptions of him have convinced me otherwise. I’m very sorry if this little misunderstanding caused you to lose your faith in me, and for that I humbly beg your forgiveness.” Celestia bowed even more deeply than before, to the point that her crown seemed likely to fall off. Completely taken aback by the sudden turn of events, the four companions nervously pawed the ground and stared at anything but Celestia for an awkward stretch of silence before Princess Luna spoke.
“And I very graciously offer my you my forgiveness, sister,” the Moon Goddess decided that now wasn’t the time for formalities and walked under the little book fort gatehouse, embracing Celestia in a strong hug. “I just hope you can forgive us all yourself for acting so…hastily.”
“As I’ve said, there’s nothing to forgive, Luna,” she held her sister at arm’s length and smiled. “Though it was hasty, you all acted with good intentions, and I would expect nothing less of you all.” Cadance and Shining Armor bowed respectfully to their Princesses before they both felt a magical tug at their shoulders pulling them up and into Celestia’s embrace, leaving Twilight Sparkle alone outside the book fort.
“Even though you say there’s nothing to forgive, ma’am, with all due respect, I-” Shining Armor began to say before Celestia shooshed him.
“Captain, I believe that when a Princess had dispensed with formalities to the point that she’s embraced you in a hug, it would only be prudent if you did the same; if only for a moment,” Celestia gave him a short wink and a chuckle as Cadance elbowed her husband in the ribs. The Sun Goddess looked past her Captain’s shoulder and saw Twilight still standing outside, alone and looking very mortified at having very nearly started a brawl of epic proportions in the Canterlot Library, all because she had overreacted! As the Unicorn began to waver in her resolve to stand there rather than run out of the room and scream and hide her face in sheer embarrassment, Celestia quickly released the three in her embrace and looked at them in turn.
“Now then, Luna, I believe you have a moon to attend to,” she eyed the white orb hanging above them through the Library skylight. “And Captain, Cadance I believe you have some well-earned sleep to get. As for me, I still have a little unfinished business here with a certain Unicorn.” They caught her drift and her nod in Twilight’s direction and quickly bowed respectively before filing out of the book fort. Cadance was the first to approach the heavily blushing Librarian.
“Please don’t be embarrassed, Twilight,” she gave her a quick hug. “There’s nothing wrong with sticking up for your friends.”
“Yes, but only if there’s a good reason,” the Unicorn muttered and hid under her forelock.
“The point is, you believed there was a good reason, Twiley,” Shining Armor gave her a hug of his own. “And any wrong you think you committed here is already forgiven, so chin up, ok?”
“Indeed,” Luna smiled and lifted Twilight’s face to meet hers. “We accomplished what we came here to do, regardless of how it happened. Your friend Volare is safe, and is going to get the help he needs. But it is you that Celestia called here to speak with in that regard, not us, so we must take our leave.” Luna surprised Twilight by giving her a powerful hug of her own.
“Heh-heh, thanks for backing me up, you guys,” Twilight grunted from between the Moon Goddess’ hooves. “But Luna, you may wanna work on your hugs; they’re kinda crushing.” Chuckling softly, Cadance and Shining Armor left the Library, quickly followed by Luna who gave Twilight and her sister one last short bow of respect before shutting the front doors behind her…though she had to jiggle the door handles that Twilight had loosened in her initial entry before they’d click shut completely, leaving Twilight and Celestia alone in the vast, empty building.
The silence between them was palpable and broken only by the rhythmic ticking of a clock somewhere deep in the bowels of the structure and the occasional flutter of papers by a stray breeze that managed to sneak under the doors. For a moment, Celestia wondered if her student was going to be alright before she spoke up. “Celestia…I-I’m sorry I doubted you…”
“Twilight, if anypony here needs to be sorry, it’s me for not being frank with you in the first place,” the Princess insisted. “My back-hoofed attempts at gathering information warranted such a reaction at the very least, I can assure you. In fact, it’s something I really should have thought a bit more about in hindsight, considering who it was that I was trying to sneak around…Detective Sparkle,” she gave her student a knowing smile, referencing the Friendship Express Mystery that Twilight had solved practically single-hoofed.
“Even so,” Twilight looked Celestia in the face as she tried to explain. “Ever since the wedding, I’ve felt a little…off. And then all of a sudden, this poor guy dropped into my life and although it was because he was hurt, we spent a few days just talking together, something no stallion had ever done for me, and…ugh, maybe it’s motherly instinct, or hormones, or something, but I’ve just been”-
“Shh, it’s alright, Twilight,” Celestia smiled and beckoned her closer. When the Unicorn had awkwardly stumbled within reach, the Princess brought her into a gentle and calming embrace. “There’s no need to explain; I think I understand. I might be a few centuries removed from such things, but it’s something all young mares go through at some point in their lives.”
“Could you please tell me what it is exactly so it’ll stop causing me to act this way?” Twilight pleaded, looking up through the Princess’ wing feathers hopefully, but only receiving a smile and a pat on the head that made her feel much too young yet again.
“Unfortunately, that’s not something I believe is my place to influence your decision in. That’s something you’re going to have to come to grips with yourself, my student,” Celestia smiled and pre-empted Twilight before she could press the subject further, releasing her and bidding her to sit down next to her, much as they had done three nights previous. “Now then, back on the subject of which I originally called you hear to speak about…I’d like to know more about what you’ve been holding back on in order to protect your friend Volare.”
“I thought Shining Armor told you everything,” Twilight replied as she took a seat despite herself.
“Well, he told me a lot, but he’s not exactly the most detailed-oriented pony in non-military issues; you know how stallions can be,” Celestia winked and Twilight giggled. “Sometimes it takes a mare’s touch to really get to know about something. Plus, I believe you spoke about a few more theories that Volare helped you to establish; Shining Armor didn’t mention those at all nor did he mention any solid information about the human race itself. Seeing as how I’m apparently out of sorts in regards to their current culture, I’d like to know more about them as well.”
“Really?” Twilight mused. “I mean, are you sure? That’s kinda a lot of information to sort through,” she tapped her hooves together. “Besides, I’m really kinda here about helping to get his wing fixed…did he speak about that?”
“He mentioned it in passing, yes,” Celestia nodded. “But again, not enough detail for me to really help much. The point I’m trying to make is that I’d love to help where I can, but in order to do so, I’m going to need to know exactly what, or rather who, I’m dealing with here. I’ve got a good portion of the night freed up here and if need be, I can speak with you tomorrow as well.” She suddenly placed her hoof on Twilight’s and looked her square in the eye. “And I swear on my crown that no information you give me is going to lead to Volare coming to any harm. I just want to know more about him and where he came from so I can better offer my aid. I promise, Twilight.”
The longer the Unicorn looked into her mentor’s smiling face, the more her uncertainties melted away until she too was smiling just as widely. Celestia had no reason to lie, she surmised, and she seemed to genuinely want to help Volare, if only because she felt a little guilty for jumping to conclusions a bit herself. Twilight finally nodded her consent and opened her saddlebag. “I believe you, Celestia,” she said as she pulled out the now well-worn stack of quill-written notes. “But where do you want to start?”
“I believe that in order to better understand your subject, it’s often best to start at the beginning,” the Alicorn replied with the air of a professor teaching her pupil, but her answer made the scholarly librarian grimace a bit. “Is something the matter, Twilight?”
“Well, you see…I asked Volare the same question about humanity when we first started this little foray…wait, did Shining Armor tell you why we began the study in the first place?”
“No, he actually didn’t mention that,” Celestia leaned forward slightly. “What happened?”
“Well, Volare was actually badly injured enough that he was bed-ridden for a number of days, so instead of him just lying there bored out of his mind, we did this little study to kill time,” Twilight replied, thanking whatever powers that were that her brother had been mature enough not to make light of her having a semi-helpless stallion in her guest bed, completely at her mercy, for four days…and a damn good thing she didn’t mention Volare running out of the shower to help her because he though she’d set the bedroom on fire as she disposed of the bedsheets his wound had sullied. The sight of him as the sun caught his glistening fur hadn’t exactly been unwelcome…
Twilight mentally slapped herself and got back on point, doing her best to ignore her suddenly hammering heart and praying that Celestia didn’t somehow detect it. Amazing the myriad of emotions a pony could run through in a mere instant! “Ahem, sorry…the first thing I asked him about pertained to humanity’s origins, and his explanation was to the effect of humans having near-limitless theories as to their origins, from divine creation to evolution; he said he wasn’t comfortable speculating about something like that, so we moved on.”
“It’s quite understandable,” Celestia nodded. “I believe anypony of decent character wouldn’t chance putting their hoof in their mouth on subjects they didn’t have a clear answer for either. In fact, I’d wager a guess that neither of us knows the true origin of our own particular species, correct?”
“Yes, I actually told him that myself,” her student replied matter-of-factly.
“I suppose that makes you a pony of decent character,” Celestia winked. “But I think we both knew that already, eh?”
“Sooo…does that mean you think Volare is of decent character?” Twilight tilted her head with a smirk, to which Celestia chuckled.
“He seems decent, I’ll give him that so far. Where did you go from there?” Twilight then went on to describe, in as much detail as she could from what Volare had spoken on, how she and Volare had swapped information about their own respective countries and how they’d come to be. While Equestria did have a bit of a turbulent past, it paled in comparison to the formation of Volare’s country, The United States of America, which seemed to be born from battle and constantly involved in some sort of conflict or another. She also described how the population crisis on Earth and how the human race had nearly multiplied to the point of eating itself out of house and home, so to speak.
“Well, now you know of one of my reservations of the humans finding their way here,” Celestia frowned. “They can stand as one and fight like nothing I’ve ever seen, but at the same time they lack common sense in some of the simplest things such as the management of their own food supply.”
“However,” Twilight raised a hoof. “According to Volare, they are making an effort to raise awareness to the growing crisis…there’s just so many that it’s hard to get the to message to all of them.”
“Well, that’s certainly a step in the right direction,” the Alicorn princess sighed. “Hopefully they can get it together before it’s too late…” Despite the grim situation, the princess couldn’t help but smile inwardly in disbelief. Within just a few sentences of discussion of the humans’ current predicament on Earth, she was already feeling sorry for them…maybe even rooting for them to pull themselves out of the fire they’d set upon themselves; something she never thought she’d ever feel about them.
“Indeed; the one thing humans certainly have an abundance of is the potential for flexibility and change,” the Unicorn mused out loud, to which Celestia agreed. The princess wasn’t nearly convinced that humans were as benevolent of a species as her ponies, but still…her opinion of them was changing the longer they spoke on them. The two continued on for a while longer about the humans’ multiple problems, from political, to environmental, and everywhere in between that did nothing but demonstrate at the very least their ability to adapt. The political situation worried Celestia the most for it still demonstrated that even the most-educated humans could still display a wanton desire to destroy and dominate.
Still, according to Twilight’s description, the majority of humans seemed to simply be trying to do what they could with what they were given without the intent of destroying themselves (though they might certainly be unintentionally headed down that path all the same)…and that led right back to simply educating the masses about what was good and bad for their own continued existence. It certainly made the Sun Goddess further appreciate the fact that most ponies were decently educated and brought up in a way that would be the most beneficial to their survival.
Knowledge is power…how true that lesson rings when one sees what the lack of it can cause, she thought to herself. Soon though, Celestia grew curious about the planet she’d known of for so long but knew almost nothing about.
“Did you speak at length about the Earth itself?” Celestia asked after Twilight reached the end of that particular section of notes.
“We touched on it a bit, though I didn’t ask him too terribly many questions about it,” the Unicorn shuffled through her papers until she reached the correct section.
“You weren’t curious about it?” Celestia queried with a knowing look on her face.
“Well, no, not at the time,” Twilight’s ears fell slightly. “I take it you know why?”
“Shining Armor mentioned you were sending somepony to Earth via that transportation spell we touched on during our last conversation,” Celestia explained, though she also grimaced slightly at how horrid of a taste that little meeting had left in her own mouth, to say nothing of how badly it must have made her student feel. “Twilight, I feel I must apologize as to how harshly I responded to your mention of that spell when last we met.”
“No Celestia, it’s fine,” the Librarian shook her mane, though she shuffled her notes with more than a hint of discomfort at the recent memory. “You were simply looking out for my well-being…I realize that now. Thank you.”
“Still, I just regret that I didn’t handle the situation more gracefully,” the Alicorn blew air through her pursed lips in a long sigh before giving her student a sheepish sidelong smile. “Hindsight truly is 20/20, eh?”
“Heh, indeed,” Twilight chuckled lightly. “But as long as we see our errors for what they are, we then have a good chance at rectifying them in the future.”
“You learn well, my faithful student,” the Princess nodded.
“You toot your horn well, too,” Twilight smirked as Celestia swatted at her with her long tail.
“Scratch that; you learn a little too well,” the Alicorn jabbed back with raised brow and smirk upon her own lips, simply glad that the tension that mere minutes ago had so permeated the atmosphere between herself and Twilight had all but evaporated into the comfortable and easy-going exchange she always enjoyed with her student. “Ah well, where were we?”
“We were talking about the pony I’d been sending to Earth to gather information on the humans and their planet from afar. Well, more like she volunteered once she got wind that I needed help.”
“Ah yes, well…I’m going to take a wild guess and say it was Rainbow Dash you’d been sending there?”
“Heh, good guess,” Twilight chuckled. “What tipped you off?”
“What other pony would so selflessly go to a new and potentially dangerous planet in her friend’s stead?”
“True, true,” the Unicorn said, still in wonder of Dash’s unceasing ability to laugh in the face of the unknown and dive right in with hardly a second thought. Reckless? Yes. Brash? She swore that if she had a middle name it would be that word. Brave? Absolutely. She went on to describe how Dash had actually been returning to Earth again and again not because she enjoyed gathering information for Twilight. No, that mission had been placed squarely in the backseat. Dash had finally admitted that she enjoyed racing the humans’ military jets, as nothing back in Equestria offered the challenge they did.
Celestia face-hoofed and groaned audibly. “Ah, Rainbow Dash, you fool-hearty Pegasus. Shining Armor did explain how that led to Volare literally being in the shape he’s in, though; speaking of which, I’ll need to talk with you about the specifics of that situation as well. I can’t blame you for what Rainbow Dash caused, but I certainly don’t condone such reckless behavior. That damn hindsight continues to creep up on one, doesn’t it?” the Princess chuckled grimly, though Twilight merely nodded.
“Gah, Twilight, does it make me sound like a bad Princess if I say that I’m not entirely sad about what happened to Volare, for without him, we wouldn’t be learning so much about humans?”
“I felt the exact same way throughout my entire study, Celestia,” her student sighed. “On the one hoof, I was learning so much, but on the other…well, it was nearly at the cost of Volare’s life. And that’s another reason why I defended him so strongly.”
“Hrm?”
“Because he’d already been through so much in such a short time,” Twilight stared intently at her notes. “To have yet another bad thing happen to him like that…I dunno if he could have taken it or not, but I couldn’t have…it wouldn’t have been fair.”
“I understand, Twilight,” the Sun Goddess placed her hoof on the Unicorn’s lavender shoulder, brushing aside the violet forelock she hid beneath and raising her face to meet her own. “Stop being so hard on yourself for doing the right thing, alright?”
“Ok,” she nodded and wiped her nose before turning back to her notes yet again. “So yeah, anyway…”
“You and me and our tangents,” Celestia chortled softly along with her student. “Back on the subject of Rainbow Dash coming and going to Earth! If I might be so bold, I’d make the deduction that her multiple trips means that the planet is compatible with pony life, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right, though she did mention that certain parts of the planet have air that doesn’t have enough oxygen for her to breathe and continue to fly at top speead,” Twilight replied, remembering the theory about Pegasi lungs that she and Volare had developed. “But for the most part, I’d say yes, it’s safe to say that it’s compatible for us.”
“What about their day and night cycle? How do they raise and lower their own sun and moon?” Celestia jerked back slightly in confusion as Twilight stifled a giggle with her hoof. “What, was it something I said?” She looked about at the books that surrounded them, as if pleading for an explanation of the joke, but receiving none from the silent tomes.
“Oh, no, no, no, it’s not that,” Twilight regained her composure and turned back to her notes. “It’s just that I’m looking at it from Volare’s point of view here. On Earth, they don’t raise their sun and moon. In fact, they don’t actually rise and fall at all. The moon naturally orbits the Earth due to gravity while the planet itself rotates, giving the appearance of a rising and setting moon. The same situation applies for the sun in regards to the rising and falling appearance, though Earth orbits it from over millions of miles away due to that star’s massive gravity of its own.” She looked up from her paperwork and this time failed to suppress a laugh at the shocked expression plastered on Celestia’s face.
“That’s…that’s just…”
“I know, I said almost the same thing,” Twilight smiled and patted Celestia’s hoof, realizing just how humorous the situation must look. Then again, what she’d said was tantamount to blasphemy on their own world, so she could understand the Princess’ reaction to such a new concept actually existing somewhere after all. “But, because of Volare’s explanation of Earth’s rotation, that allowed me to understand how the weather there works compared to our own.”
“How’s it different from here?”
“Well, the rotation creates convection currents, jet streams, and wind which push the clouds of the planet along into naturally-occurring weather formations, from rain to large, rotating storms. In short, without that rotation they call the Coriolis Effect, they’d have no weather.” She flipped over the page and came to one completely covered in excited ink blotches and scribbles. “And that is what leads me to my next theory, Celestia.”
“Oh, and what’s that?” She leaned forward, playing the part of the curious student in an amusing role reversal of sorts.
“Well, I’d always wondered how our weather around Equestria was created, but I’d never had any real time to devote to that study nor did I ever have anything besides our planet to compare it to,” Twilight began, spreading the parchments out on the ground before her, her eyes leaping back and forth between them in anticipation of her presentation.
“Well, that’s easy Twilight,” Celestia replied. “Our weather is created by the Pegasi and always has been, while I and Luna raise and lower the sun and moon.”
“That’s correct, but why?” Twilight pointed a hoof at Celestia as she queried rhetorically. “Why do we have to do things this way? And don’t say ‘it’s always been that way’ because it has to have a reason why it’s done this way. And so, over time, I developed a hypothesis as to why, but because of my lack of data spread, I couldn’t really go much further than that.”
“And that hypothesis is?”
“That our planet either rotates so slowly that wind currents and weather cannot exist naturally as they do on Earth, or that it doesn’t rotate at all; either way would explain the necessity to raise and lower the moon magically in order to create uniform warmth and convection currents, as well as the need for the magical creation and control of weather by the Pegasi in order for life to exist here,” Twilight grinned. “And you know what proves my theory? The lack of large storms here on our planet, for without that Coriolis Effect here, they cannot naturally exist except through the massive collaboration of Pegasi.”
Celestia’s face progressed through several emotions rather quickly at the hearing of this. From confusion at such a new concept, to understanding as she realized all the facts firt together correctly, and finally to that same sort of pride she’d felt for her student’s actions earlier in the evening. She smiled and riffled through the notes herself for a moment, nodding and confirming multiple equations that Twilight had scribbled down before setting them back down again and looking at her student intently. The Unicorn was on the cusp of a breakthrough in science, but unfortunately, it was her duty as her mentor to point out the problem with her theory. The Sun Goddess weighed her options for a moment before deciding on a course of action: although she’d rather not reveal such information so quickly and to one so young and eager to go and investigate it herself, she felt the need to help her student now took precedence over any long-shot issues this information might cause later.
“This is a very perceptive theory, Twilight, and I commend you for such a strong effort in this field, as well as Volare for aiding you in the formation of it,” Celestia began. “But, however, I feel I must point out a rather fatal flaw in your theory before it causes you embarrassment down the road if you decide to take it to a more serious level.” The scholar tilted her head in bemusement, a feeling of dread and upcoming disappointment growing in her stomach.
“W-what’s wrong with it, Celestia? I’ve double and triple-checked my facts and figures and it all leads back again and again to the same conclusion,” she snatched the notes up and skimmed the quickly. “Where did I go wrong?”
“Whenever did you come to the conclusion that our planet conforms to the same rules as Earth?” Celestia asked with a serious expression; all evidence of her joking around in the slightest having suddenly fled her face.
“W-what do you mean?” Twilight stuttered, feeling her confidence for her theory cracking.
“Think about it,” Celestia gestured to her notes. “Your entire theory hinges on the assumption that our planet is just like Earth. But how do you know it is?”
“I…” Twilight wracked her brains for everything she’d ever been taught about their planet, but in all honesty, it had only just been glossed over in magic kindergarten and never really mentioned again; learning about the planet beneath their hooves was for Earth Ponies, not Unicorns who were brought up know all there was to know about magic and the management thereof. The lavender Librarian had always been so engrossed with learning what lay beyond their world that she’d taken for granted her studies on the very ground she walked upon daily…in short, she had to admit that she knew very little about her own planet in comparison to other subjects. Her confidence in the theory shattered into a billion particles. “…I don’t…I was simply using the scientific method to form my theory, but without solid data, that theory is worthless!” She threw her papers down in a heap and hung her head sadly. Here she was thinking that she was going to impress her mentor with yet a new discovery, but yet again, she’d been shot down by the ancient princess. She’d known of the transportation spell and she’d just torched her weather hypothesis before it could even get off the ground!
“Now, chin up, Twilight,” Celestia nudged her student and plucked the notes off the floor. “You followed the method as admirably as you could, but we’re not just going to leave your theory here to die.”
“We’re not?” she looked up in surprise.
“No, what kinda of teacher would I be if I simply let my students fail without showing them how to succeed?” Twilight’s frown was quickly replaced with a hopeful look. “I’m going to show you where your process went awry; now come look.” She levitated the notes before the duo and turned to the parchment floating furthest to the left. “Let’s start at the beginning of the method. It all begins with a question, correct?”
“Yes, in this case, “how does the weather on our planet work?””
“And what does that lead to?”
“That leads to data gathering, which is then used to form a hypothesis,” Twilight replied in turn.
“And that is?”
“That the weather here doesn’t behave like on Earth because the planet doesn’t rotate, hence you and Luna having to raise the moon and sun yourselves.”
“Ah, see, I believe that’s where you went wrong,” the Princess pointed a slim white hoof at the offending document.
“How so?”
“You gathered data alright; and a good amount of it to say the least,” she chuckled. “But it was data gathered on Earth. How much data did you gather on your own planet?”
“I-oh…” Twilight quickly saw her error and face-hoofed. “Argh, how could I have been so sloppy?!” Despite her little outburst, Celestia continued to smile softly.
“It’s not a bad theory at all, trust me. But you’re trying to apply rules you hardly understand to a place that they may not even exist in,” she then turned to the paper that diagramed the Earth’s convection currents as described by Volare. “For example, your theory is based on Earth weather which plays by Earth-rules, so to speak. These rules state that weather exists there because of the convection currents caused by a rotating, round planet…Twilight, the problem is: why’d you assume that our planet is round and therefore plays by the same rules?”
The gravity of what the Princess just said hit Twilight like a ton of bricks and she recoiled into a completely upright sitting position, unable to stop herself from running calculations upon calculations through her head upon the revelation of such a possibility as their planet not being a uniformly round shape like other planets…well, the only other planet she’d personally researched. Twilight you foal, you assumed they were all the same based on such a small data set…that makes you no better than Celestia assuming that all humans are the same based on her own personal, and therefore relatively small, experiences. “What…how…wow,” she muttered, shaking her head slowly and trying to focus on the notes floating before her. Her vision began to darken…she was going to faint!
“It’s ok to use your words, Twilight,” Celestia said softly as she quickly conjured up a paper fan and cooled her student’s brow with it until the lavender Unicorn raised a hoof in silent appreciation.
“I’m good, I’m good…sorry,” she shook her head once more and refocused, clearing her throat loudly before turning back to her mentor. “But I…I just could have sworn there were records clearly stating that our planet is round!”
“Name one,” Celestia said calmly. It wasn’t an order per-se, but neither was it an optional request. A small, shrewd smile graced her lips as she waited for her student to respond.
“Uhhhh…oh, I know!” Twilight brightened. “There are accounts by Smart Cookie herself that Chancellor Puddinghead stated that the planet is round!”
“Heh, yes she did,” Celestia chuckled at the recollection of Pinkie Pie’s spot-on interpretation of the scatter-brained Chancellor during last year’s Hearth’s Warming Eve play. “However, she wasn’t talking about our planet. I believe her exact words were: “The Earth is round; there is no up or down.” And Twilight…are we on Earth?”
“Uh-but…no,” Twilight’s ears drooped in confusion. “But how could there be a record of that? How could she even be aware of Earth!?”
“I’ll explain that all in due time, I assure you,” Celestia assured her. “But the fact of the matter still stands in what she said: that the Earth is round.”
“Oh, horseapples, fine!” Twilight snorted in frustration at Celestia’s continued cryptic answers. “Ok, if we’re obviously not on Earth, and therefore I can’t rely on such a theory, I’ll start on a new one by asking what is the shape of our planet?”
“Now, isn’t that the million-bit question,” Celestia chortled. “But the answer is right in front of you, Twilight Sparkle. Or should I say, all around you,” she gestured at the Canterlot Library’s massive array of shelves upon shelves of books.
“Well, how come I’ve never found any information on it before?” Twilight protested, still not quite able to believe what was transpiring even as she spoke.
“Well, have you ever had a reason to search for it?” Celestia asked matter-of-factly. “Hard to find what you’re not looking for, Twilight.”
“Touche,” the Unicorn muttered. “So where do I look?”
“As our time is somewhat limited,” the Sun Goddess chanced a glance at the moon through the skylight. “I’ll spare you the trouble.” She closed her eyes and golden aura enveloped her horn as she mentally searched the aisles she’d walked so many times over the years. “Aha, there we go,” she tittered as she spied in her mind’s eye a large book high, high up on a shelf lining the eastern wall of the building. She levitated the book down from its perch and mentally guided it over to the book fort, finally opening her eyes when the book cleared the makeshift walls. She gently lowered the leather-bound tome to the ground before them and cracked open the pages, searching for a few moments before finding what she was looking for.
“Does this look familiar?” she asked as she fully opened the large volume to reveal a large and very detailed map hoof-drawn with great care upon the slightly yellow pages.*
“Yes, I think…” Twilight quickly spied the country of Equestria towards the eastern side of the map. But the rest of the countries were almost completely unfamiliar to her, she never having reason to travel to such far-off places and therefore never having a reason to study them, having been too caught up in other research to allow her such travel anyway. Simply put; she'd labeled it a distraction and therefore put it out of her mind. She actually thought it rather ironic that she had a home-made globe of the Earth in her Library and no real maps of her own planet outside of Equestria itself in her possession. Twilight, you're a real homebody, even when you don't mean to be...ugh. “I mean, I recognize Equestria, but the rest of these countries, only in name...and even then, barely."
“This is a map of our entire world, Twilight” Celestia explained. “West to East and North to South.” But after a few more moments of wide-eyed viewing, Twilight returned to the task at hoof.
“But Celestia, how does this help me determine the shape of the planet?” the Unicorn demanded. “This map is good and all, but it’s printed on a piece of paper, and that’s bound to distort the shape of the landscape and continents anyway.”
“Yes…yes, it is,” Celestia mused quietly, doing her best to hide her disappointment for now as she idly flipped the page back and forth with her hoof. It’s almost as if half the map is missing…oh well, she’s young yet. She’ll get it; and knowing Twilight, it’ll be sooner rather than later…
“You make a good point, Twilight Sparkle” she finally spoke up, pulling her student’s attention up from the map as she shut the book with a dull THUMP. “Therefore, that is exactly what I want you to study up on in your spare time.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully before an idea formed in her head. “Aha, I know! Since it’s partially yours and Volare’s theory, bring him back here too when you get the chance. It’ll both give me a chance to meet him and you could both learn more about our own planet while working on perfecting your theory.”
Twilight looked past the friendly expression and squinted at her teacher in a mildly suspicious fashion. “You know something we don’t, don’t you?”
“Only what it is my business to know, my faithful student,” she masterfully deflected the question with a disarming smile. “And it’ll be your business as well…once you earn it, of course.”
“Urgh, fine, keep your secrets for now,” the Unicorn pulled her quill from her saddlebag and furiously scribbled a few notes on a spare piece of parchment before folding it up and stuffing it back into an interior pocket of the bag. “We’ll come back to this later once we help him.”
“Hmm-hmm, my, we’re quite the tangenteers, aren’t we?” The Sun Goddess chuckled and levitated the large book up to the top of the corner of the book fort wall and turned back to her student with a silly grin hardly fitting for a pony of her status.
“Princess Celestia, that’s not even a word,” Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes but couldn’t help but smile herself.
“Well, I’m the co-ruler of Equestria,” Celestia sat up and spoke in a mock-royal tone, placing a hoof over her heart as if reciting some sort of pledge. “Therefore, I’ll be the one to decree the existence of new words,” she finished by sticking the tip of her tongue out at her student before they both burst into giggles.
“Well, either way, you’re right. We do tend to fly off on some wild digressions,” the Unicorn shook her mane before having a quick thought of her own. “Princess?”
“Yes?”
“Seeing as how we’re honrary tangenteers and all…you keep mentioning that you’ve known humans for a while, right?” Twilight gauged her teacher’s reaction, which was to suddenly suck in a moderately deep breath and regain her composure.
“Um, yes that’s right. Why?” the Alicorn asked, a tinge of nervousness sneaking into her voice; she’d really thought they’d left this subject behind by now.
“Exactly how long?”
“Well, if I remember correctly, I’ve known of them for over 1600 years,” Celestia’s eyes turned upward as she recalled the memory.
“Wow, for that long huh?” Twilight wondered out loud. “No offense Princess, but now I can see why you said you’re out of sorts in regards to who they are as a species. Depending on what they were like back then, that might go a long way to explaining why you felt so strongly about them, if I might say so, of course.”
“It’s not that simple, Twilight,” Celestia replied with a tone so melancholy that it caught the Unicorn off guard and she froze in mid-thought, her full attention on her teacher. “You know from Volare’s description that humans have a penchant for self-destructive behavior…but do you know how badly?” She gazed at her student with doleful eyes, unable to help her feelings of regret for what she witnessed, even from so long ago, from leaking into her facial expressions.
“Um, he didn’t go into specifics of how they used to be that far in the past; just mainly their current society,” Twilight responded, the sudden change in Celestia’s candor from light and airy to just plain glum greatly worrying her, though she wasn’t sure why. It was just something in her teacher’s attitude in regards to what she was about to recall that caused the fur on Twilight’s hackles to rise ever so slightly, as if in anticipation of…of what?! “Celestia?”
“Twilight Sparkle,” the Unicorn at first thought she was answering her query, but instead she began to speak on why exactly humans bothered her so badly. “When we first discovered humans, they were a ridiculously violent, filthy, self-serving species caught up in something they called The Dark Ages. Did Volare mention anything like that?”
“No, that doesn’t ring any bells,” the Unicorn scratched her mane with a hoof. “We mainly went over the history of his own country and that doesn’t go back nearly 16 centuries, so maybe that’s why he never mentioned it.” However, the number 1600 did strike a chord with her, and within moments she remembered what it was!
“Wait, Princess, you said 1600 years, right?”
“Mhm, that’s right.” She looked on curiously as Twilight quickly rummaged back through her notes in a flurry of flying papers.
“That very nearly coincides with the founding of Equestria!” She couldn’t help but let out a gasp of realization as she recited the information from the parchments. “Humans didn’t exist here at one point, did they?!”
“Oh, heavens, no!” Celestia guffawd loudly this time, her laughter echoing throughout the vast depository of knowledge. “The advisors of my court were doing a little experimentation in a search for a new world to live in because of the blizzards and managed to contact Earth on accident,” she continued her recollection. “As you reaffirmed that it still is just a while ago, it was fairly compatible back then with our races as well, and we honestly would have gone there to live if not for the blizzards being stopped by the three founding nations combined with the presence of the humans on Earth.” She paused and sighed audibly again, suddenly looking very tired, and not just because of the late hour. When she spoke again, it was with a rather distant look in her eyes.
“Please don’t take this the wrong way, Twilight, but what we saw…it very nearly puts the reign of Discord to shame in terms of sheer violence. I couldn’t subject my ponies to that, and so I told my advisors to leave the humans and Earth be; that time spent on that place could be better used elsewhere. That is yet another reason why I’ve seemed so….well, biased against humans and their coming here.”
“Ah, now it all makes sense,” Twilight nodded, though she couldn’t imagine why Celestia didn’t just explain this from the beginning…unless there was something else bothering her about the subject that she didn’t want to talk about in the first place…But before she could broach that subject, the Sun Goddess sat up straight and flexed her wings, casting off the bad memories and worries as if they were a heavy coat weighing her down. In truth, she felt a little better just by getting this off her chest, especially since it now caused her student to see why she felt that way, instead of her just thinking she was abusing her power to overrule anything she wished.
“However, humans like your friend Volare seem to be the exception, if not an overall improvement, to the madness that existed so far back in the humans’ history,” the Alicorn princess nodded approvingly. “What’s particularly noteworthy is that even though he was in the military, he’s not a blood-thirsty, violent warrior.”
“That is pretty true,” Twilight chuckled. “In fact, I’d almost say he was kinda meek for a military person. Then again, he said he didn’t join the military with the sole purpose of fighting and killing.”
“Is that right?”
“Yeah, he says the only real reason he joined was so he could fly jets; he said he loved the freedom of it…the feeling of it he said he couldn’t get elsewhere,” the Unicorn explained, to which the Princess nodded.
“Indeed, the feeling of flight is quite unlike anything else.”
“In any case, he said he didn’t relish being order to go out and kill others just to obtain that feeling, but the system wouldn’t allow him to fly unless he was willing to do so,” her face fell into a pained frown and she looked down at her hooves. “Now you see the true reason why I want to help him get back into the air…and why I believe I don’t want him to leave.”
“Oh?”
“Yes…I don’t want him going back and risking his life fighting on Earth just so he can fly.” She looked up with tears of worry welling in her eyes. “Not when he can peacefully fly as a Pegasus right here in Equestria, if you’ll let him stay.”
The Royal Sister thought hard for a good, long moment, her right hoof grasping her own chin firmly as she silently considered her options. She finally decided to handle this as diplomatically as possible…and as fairly as she could. “You say he bears us no ill will?”
“None,” Twilight assured her with a shake of her mane. “In fact, he even admitted to feeling a little bit guilty that we were so generously helping him, because that sort of generosity is hard to find on Earth, apparently. So, if you were to send him back to Earth, not only would he be crippled and have no human body, probably dooming him to a failed existence there, I’d have built his hopes up for nothing. That’s what I’d feel the most guilty about: promise him help but take no action towards doing so, almost as if I were sugarcoating his own demise…that’s why I was so afraid of you sending him back.”
To her surprise, Celestia grabbed her student up in a crushing hug that rivaled that of Princess Luna, and that was no small task! “Twilight Sparkle…you’ve come a long way from the nose-in-a-book mare I sent to live in Ponyville barely three years ago, do you know that?”
“Hrm?” the Unicorn mumbled into her mentor’s snow-white shoulder.
“It used to be that you cared for nothing but knowledge and books,” she held Twilight at arm’s length and beamed in pride. “But now here you are, putting yourself in harm’s way for a near-stranger, all in the name of helping them have a better life than what they came from. That’s a rare gift, Twilight. And gifts aren’t to be wasted.”
“Huh?” the scholar stared back, puzzled, though yet again for some unexplained reason, a feeling was building in her chest. But this wasn’t doom or dread…this was something much more bubbly and hopeful.
“I promise to do what I can to help Volare. He’s obviously no threat to anypony here, from what I’ve heard and from you’ve seen of him. I’ve still got my reservations, mind you, so I’d like you and your friends to keep as close an eye on him as you all can until he gets fully integrated into Equestrian society. Can you do that for me?”
“Y-yes of course!” Twilight’s swiftly-growing smile began to overtake her other features. “So you’ll let him stay for sure?”
The Sun Goddess nodded and chuckled. “Yes, I’ll let him stay for sure.”
To say that Twilight Sparkle shattered the silence of the building in a manner than any fellow Librarian worth her salt would frown on…would be a gross understatement. “YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!” The Unicorn let all reservations fly out the window as she leapt about in a manner that evoked memories of when she’d first earned her cutie mark. Despite the commotion, Celestia couldn’t help but laugh merrily along with her student’s infectiously enthusiastic display of sheer relief and joy. Once they both calmed down, Celestia stood up and stretched her limbs before speaking.
“I’ll come and get you tomorrow when Luna begins to raise the moon again, and we’ll discuss Volare’s personal situation in further detail. And then,” she grinned. “We’ll get to work on finding a solution to his problem and get him back in the air where he obviously belongs. Deal?”
“Hee-hee, deal!” Twilight hugged the Princess tightly for a moment before letting her go and stepping outside the book fort, followed by her mentor. “Want me to escort you to your tower?”
“Oh, no, I’m a tough old bird; I think I can handle it,” the two mages shared one final chuckle as they headed out the front door of the Canterlot Library and into the post-midnight, moonlit city. In lieu of waking anypony, Twilight merely waved a hoof before practically hopping off down the cobblestone street towards her siblings’ home, no doubt intent on waking them from their slumber with the good news about Volare. Celestia, on the other hoof, simply shook her head and smiled before making her own way back to her tower. In her mind, she flipped over the old map in the book to the opposite, blank side of the page for a moment before mentally closing it again. Celestia old girl, hopefully in your kindness you haven’t begun to dig up something that should remain dead and buried for good…for the sake of everypony.
On the way up the tower steps, she encountered her sister tending to the moon, seeming to be halfway in a trance as she gently waved a hoof at the night sky, causing a comet to streak across the stars and disappear over the northern horizon. After a moment, she came to realize that somepony was standing behind her.
“What was your decision on Volare?” she asked, getting straight to the point, as was her wont.
“He’s to stay in Equestria,” the elder sister replied after taking a moment to observe her younger sister’s hoof-work.
“I take it Twilight Sparkle made a good argument for him then, eh?” Luna glanced back over her shoulder, shooting Celestia a small smile.
“Well, yes…that and the fact that five of the most powerful magical beings in Equestria were all crammed into one tiny little space. Somepony had to be the voice of reason in there so as to avoid destroying the Library,” the Sun Goddess dead-panned. “Goodness knows if the initial explosion didn’t kill me, Twilight probably would.”
“Huzzah, that’s a good jest, sister,” Luna chuckled. “So will you be helping Volare in his plight?”
“Yes, Twilight and I will begin our search for aid for him in earnest tomorrow.”
“I’d like to help as well, if I may.”
“Heh, if you wish,” Celestia said and began to turn to go before Luna grabbed the end of her tail telepathically in the way she used to when they were younger and the Moon Goddess wanted to get her attention. It worked, halting the elder sister in her tracks.
“Tia, I have a request.”
“Yes?”
“When Twilight returns to Ponyville in the next few days, I’d like to go with her and meet this Volare myself.”
“Any particular reason?”
“Well, he’s a good friend of Twilight’s and she claims he’s had some rather bad dreams which I think I might be able to either interpret or at least help him to suppress,” Luna explained; being the keeper of the moon and night also meant she was rather acquainted with dreams as well. “In any case, he seems to be important to her…Important enough that I did what I did back there,” Luna’s translucent-maned head dipped. “I’m sorry I doubted you, sister.” She felt her sister wrap her front hooves over her shoulders from behind and rest the bottom of her chin on her head for a moment, avoiding her crown in the process.
“No Luna, twas I that gave reason to be doubted via my behavior. I should have been more frank and upfront with my feelings instead of sneaking about like that.” She pulled away and spoke again after a moment. “Luna, promise me something.”
“Yes?”
“Please promise me you…won’t be afraid to do something like that again if you feel that I’m not being as I should.”
“Of course, sister,” Luna looked back around entirely and smiled warmly, easing the small amount of worry that still remained in Celestia’s heart. With the evaporation of that shard of concern, all the tension finally left the Sun Goddess’ body and she suddenly felt exhausted. “Are you alright, Tia?”
“Yes, yes,” Celstia chuckled and held a hoof to her head. “Just a bit worn out, that’s all. I think I’ll have a bit of a later dawn tomorrow. Good night Luna, and thank you.”
“Good night, Tia. Sweet Dreams.” Luna turned back to her night sky as she heard Celestia continue up the stairs to her room. The Moon Goddess smiled to herself and flicked her left hoof, causing a star in the west to glow just a little bit brighter than usual. She willed her good tidings out upon the rays of that star, wishing Volare sweet dreams as well. He’d earned it; they all had. He was going to be safe…
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Notes: Whew, took me till 4:30 in the morning, and I know I’ll be hurting at work tomorrow, but by far the most difficult and dialogue-heavy chapter of this story is now complete! New concepts have been forged, things aren’t quite what they seem, and I think Trollestia is still alive and well.
Volare: Let’s have some action next chapter!
Me: Oh trust me, there will be!
*Credit for the Map of the Known World of My Little Pony goes to Hlissner on Deviantart
EDIT: Wow, this puts me over 200k words...just wow...I'm gonna have to do something special for the readers that have stuck around for so long! ^^