//------------------------------// // Empathy // Story: Not-Yet-Princess Twilight Sparkle and the Tale of the Dark Empress of Teatime // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// Back in whatever creek she had started from, Sunset Shimmer waited for the train. She sat atop an enormous trunk, and while waiting, ate an apple. It had been a long, long walk through the wilderness, two whole days in fact, and she had carried the trunk the whole way, held aloft in her telekinesis.  She was ready to go home.  Coming here had changed her in some way, though she could not say why or how. Perhaps she had grown. Her magic was stronger now, and she understood what she wanted with life. This trip had given her remarkable clarity of mind, and now, she itched more than ever to be out from beneath her master’s yoke.  No longer would Celestia hold her back.  Sunset would no longer be denied the power she was owed; she knew the truth, and it would set her free.  If Celestia would not freely give what was owed, well, it would be time to move on. There were other worlds, other places where Sunset knew she could go, and she would not be held back. It was a mystery to her how she knew these things, but she knew alright, and she would not be denied. Something about Cadance’s very existence now enraged her, and this slight, it would have to be answered for.  Something within the trunk let out a muffled moan.  “Miss, are you gonna need help with that trunk?” a porter asked. “Train is a-coming.”  “I got it, thanks.” Sunset smiled, a cold gesture that seemed contrary to her sunny hues. “How long until the train arrives?”  “Not much longer. About five minutes or so, if it’s on schedule.”  “Fantastic. Thanks.” She dispensed the perfunctory courtesy with cold cheer.  The apple was gone in just a few more bites, and with a smooth, effortless burst of magic, she made the core vanish. Where did it go? Why did it matter? With the sweetness still in her mouth, she thought about the dream she had, the terrible, awful dream. Last night, while sleeping in the wilderness, she had dreamed that she stood on a cold, lifeless world, a place with no sky, no sea, a place utterly devoid of the greenery of life.  She had stood on this barren world, and stared into the cold vacuum of empty space, all while strangling, choking, fighting for a breath of air—but there was no air. For a thousand years or more, she had struggled, she had tried to draw breath. A thousand years spent asphyxiating, her lungs burning from a lack of oxygen, but she was unable to die. The fight would not end. Her eyes made every attempt to flee their sockets, and her blood boiled in the cold emptiness where there was no life. On the verge of death for a thousand years, she was unable to die, but didn’t want to continue.  In the morning, when the long, long nightmare was over, when she could finally breathe again, she was drenched in sour sweat, and she reeked of fear. This dream was only the first. Somehow, she knew, this nightmare would return, and every night when she laid her head down to rest, she would dream.  It would be terrible.  The train could not come soon enough.    “—and so Sunny Sunshine came home, with poor Nadir locked in a trunk, comatose. She wouldn’t tell me what had happened. After that, speaking almost felt impossible. I don’t know what happened to Sunny. She left home and came back a different pony. She was a stranger, almost, but also familiar in a peculiar way, a way that I cannot possibly explain. Sunny told me that I didn’t deserve to know what had happened. Our estrangement progressed, until such a time that it became unbearable.”  “What happened to Nadir?” asked Twilight.  “I don’t know.” Celestia found herself shrugging, while wishing that she had answers. “Her mind was gone, and she had no magic. Sunny… never did offer an explanation. I can’t even begin to speculate as to what happened.” Content in telling the truth, but also in confessing her wrongdoing, the alabaster alicorn let go a long, shuddering breath. “Sunny had the most terrible nightmares after she came home. Night terrors, as they are called. I can only assume that Nadir did something awful to her… and perhaps this backfired on Nadir. I have long searched for the answers, Twilight. And that’s the really awful thing. Sometimes, no matter how much you study, no matter how much you want it, the answers will forever remain out of reach.”  “Will there be an astronomy lesson tonight?”  The question caught Celestia off-guard. It was so sudden, so unexpected. Was Twilight so eager to forget? Perhaps she was. After some thought, Celestia found that she could not blame her student. Twilight was not as emotionally invested in this, as Celestia found that she was. This was a terrible story, a tragic story—but a story that Celestia hoped that her student would learn from. Even as incomplete as it was, there was much that could be taken, there were lessons to be learned.  “Yes, Twilight, there will be astronomy lessons tonight. We’ll study the stars, you and I, and I’ll tell you about the constellations.”  Left to sit, the tea had long since grown cold. The unfinished food seemed to lack appeal, though Celestia could not say why. Whatever decadent sumptuousness that had existed an hour ago was gone now. The reign of the Empress of Teatime had come to a tragic end, and with so many questions left unanswered, Celestia feared that she would never know closure.  “Spike fell asleep,” Twilight whispered.  “He is in his happy place, Twilight. Of course he did.”  “I do so solemnly swear that I will try to be more mindful of Spike’s needs, and that I will try to see things his way.”  “Oh Twilight… it makes me happy to hear you say that.” Extending her wing, Celestia dabbed at her eyes, which were watering for some unknown reason. “Come, Twilight. Let us put Spike to bed. We’ll do it together.”  “I’d like that.”  Still dabbing her eyes, Celestia somehow found her smile once more.