Chapter Fourteen
It had been a few days since the second failed invasion in the last five years and already Canterlot was working harder to improve. Despite all the restoration that Princess Twilight had done during her battle with Tirek - despite the wishes of the Princesses to keep it officially ambiguous as not to place any of the Larondans at risk, the fact that Twilight herself had named him during the fight had spread throughout the city and country - there were still a lot of boltholes and secret exits from the city that needed plugging. Royal Consort Pharynx himself had taken the charge in hunting them down, complaining loudly and wondering how more hadn’t invaded in the past as he found more and more passageways.
Meanwhile, Twilight had taken charge of arranging her return visit to Laronda, which had been easier than she'd expected thanks to the letters that Celestia had briefly exchanged with the Larondan Royal Family. She and her friends would be leaving in just another day or so, making use of one of the medium-sized airskimmers that the minotaurs had gifted to the royal family during the war times (Spike's own wasn't quite big enough for all six Bearers). Though first, Twilight was making a detour to visit Neighsay at long last, who according to all accounts was already in the process of reclaiming his profession despite his medical issues from his imprisonment.
Leaving the school in the hooves of Moondancer, who’d agreed to put off her and Trixie’s travels until after Twilight returned from overseas, Twilight had gone to the Canterlot Castle where he had been staying, refusing to leave the other freed people from Tirek’s mines. According to her fellow Princesses, he had refused to give an answer on the matter when they asked, giving a very angry glare in response before turning back to his paperwork.
Now, Twilight stood before the door, looking at the guards before nodding her head and knocking.
“Princess Twilight, you may come in,” Neighsay’s haughty voice spoke through the room with Twilight wrinkling her nose at his superior attitude before she calmed herself. It was a lesson she had learned from Swift-Pad and it had served her well; she would not let him see her reacting to him, but make herself appear confident and sure of herself before she entered the room.
She immediately noticed that he looked almost the same. His frame was far leaner, his beard was not as sharply cut as she saw it before and of course his horn was broken. But his face still bore the same piercing, disapproving glare, though there seemed to be more now.
“Before we begin, your highness, can you please create a sound barrier spell for us?” he asked, looking at the other survivors that were being looked over by the medical professionals with his attention lingering on a mare, with his face growing softer before he snapped his focus back to Twilight.
Twilight nodded and cast the spell, then waited for him to speak.
“Let me begin with the fact that yes, I do blame you for all that has happened to me and there is nothing you can say or do that will change my opinion on that matter,” he said sharply. “Not even if you got your friend Discord to repeat his actions as he did for that miss Tempest Shadow, I will not ever forgive you.” He glared at Twilight, who kept her jaw shut and her eyes locked with his own. “Secondly, while I do plan to reclaim my position as the high chancellor of the Equestria Education Association, I have already planned to recuse myself from any decision-making on your school due to personal bias on my end. And finally, I would prefer if you would stay out of my life from now on; as I alluded to previously, I wish nothing to do with you or the Royal family despite my undying loyalty to the crowns.”
Twilight nodded. “I see.”
“Thank you, your highness,” he said, his glare still harsh but there was a bit less steel now. “Now if you will excuse me, I do have work to finish and I am out of practice with my hoofwriting skills.”
Twilight nodded, turned around and left.
While she had seen others grow and change for the better, some people would never change, she supposed.
But then, as she neared the door, she heard Neighsay’s voice once more. “Golden Spear, can you make sure that Geof has an increase to his meat diet?” Turning her head, Twilight saw that Neighsay was looking at a young and groaning griffon with a blush on his face as the medics began to lecture him. “Knock it off Geof; there is no longer a need to break off portions of your own meal for the others. As I said before, we are safe here.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” the griffon said.
Twilight looked at Geof then at Neighsay, who was now giving her an even dirtier look than before. “What once was is never the same, your highness,” he said bitterly before turning his attention back to the griffon.
Taking the hint, Twilight left the room.
That meeting done, she had hours ahead of her before she had to do anything in particular, so she went wandering. Both of her fellow Princesses were busy, so she couldn’t speak to them - Celestia had Day Court, and Luna was sound asleep. Pharynx was still off on his own duties, Tempest had her studies to do… and much as she cared for her fellow Bearers, she just didn’t feel the urge to see them right then. They’d have plenty of time to chat at dinner that night and in the air the next day.
There was nobody else in the castle that she felt like visiting, and she felt a bit of a twinge of irritation at that. Why, she wondered, am I not able to speak with anyone when I’m most in the mood for company?
“Your Grace?”
Twilight looked up startled, then her expression turned to a smile. “Ambassador Swift-Pad! I didn’t know you were coming.”
“I just got in a short while ago,” the wolf said. “I’m not here for formal business though.” He tilted his head. “I came to see you, on personal matters.”
Twilight nodded. “It’s always good to see you too,” she said. “How’s Maxilla doing?”
“Rather well, though a little irked at how much she’s being fussed over,” Swift-Pad said with a smile. “But given her condition, it’s only natural. At any rate, she insisted that she had enough help for now and that I could come and see you.” He looked around. “Is there anywhere we can speak in private?”
Twilight smiled back, easily realizing what he’d been referring to, and gestured for him to follow. Once they’d settled into a room and she’d made sure to put up the necessary spells, she looked at him. “What did you want to see me for?” she asked.
“Recent events.” Swift-Pad looked at her. “Twilight, my friend,” he said. “Having seen the extent of what you were capable of during the recent incursion, I now have new perspective on things.”
Twilight’s heart skipped a beat before he continued. “Hearing about times past is one thing. But seeing the kind of power you unleashed when you faced Tirek, via the recordings our Observers brought back… I am no longer surprised at why you fear losing control of your magic and your emotions.” He leaned in. “Know this, Twilight. Regardless of the kind of power that lies at your command, I will always trust you. You are my friend, and I understand why you unleashed such might against him. And while some may fear you for it, I do not. Nor does my mate, and were she up for traveling at the moment, she’d be here to tell you that herself.”
Twilight smiled. “Thank you, Swift-Pad,” she said. “I appreciate all this, so much.”
Swift-Pad sat back, a satisfied look on his face. “I had a feeling you could use some truthful reassurance,” he said. “I’ve heard that there are some who saw what you could do and reacted with fear. But I can promise you that there were many others who were more concerned about how you personally were doing - I personally know of Maxilla, myself, the Alpha, Wise-Mind and some of the Queens. There are no doubt many more as well.” He leaned forward and laid a paw on her shoulder. “Understand, Twilight, that while many are questioning all this - and I admit to being curious myself about some aspects - there are just as many who are more concerned for you and your well-being.”
“I know,” Twilight said. “I… I kind of freaked out about where all that power came from myself.”
“A reasonable reaction.” Swift-Pad nodded. “But you do not have to tell me, if you do not wish to. Or if it is a matter of national security. Regardless, I will still trust you.”
Twilight smiled gratefully before changing the subject. “So tell me, when you do you expect the pups to be born?”
“Another few months,” Swift-Pad said. “Around the same time as your own niece or nephew, if I am not mistaken.”
Twilight nodded, and smiled. “Cadance and Shiny are both eager for the day,” she giggled. “So is the entire empire; they have had to have guards shoo away more than a handful of people too eager to see the couple.”
“No harm has been done, correct?” Swift-Pad asked with a raised eyebrow.
“None at all,” Twilight said gratefully. “They’re just excited - it’s been so long since they’ve had a royal birth.” She looked distant for a moment. “The last time a royal foal was born, she grew up to become Princess Amore, the pony Sombra defeated when he usurped the throne.”
“Goodness, it has been a long time then,” Swift-Pad said. “No wonder they’re excited.”
Twilight nodded. “It’s calmed down somewhat, thankfully, since Cadance made the official announcement that if they want to see the royal foal, they can wait until the day of the Crystalling.”
“Ah.” Swift-Pad nodded his head, then switched topics himself. “So I suppose you are here on business of your own?”
Twilight nodded. “My friends and I are going out to Laronda tomorrow, to personally inform the Royal Family of what happened with… with Tirek.”
“There is an issue I am glad that I have no part in,” Swift-Pad said with a bit of a chuckle. “I still have much more to learn myself and I still believe I would stay in my own small department than go onto the larger stage that you are on, Twilight.” He then focused his face on her. “But I am sure you have this properly planned, correct?”
Twilight nodded. “Princess Celestia has already contacted them to inform them that a matter came up regarding one of their people in Equestria, and that my friends and I will be coming to see them and explain everything, since I’ve been there before myself and they know me.”
“And I suppose they, like the rest of the world, are aware that citizen is none other than Tirek?”
Twilight sighed. “We haven’t formally announced that yet, and weren’t going to until we went to Laronda and explained everything in person, but it feels like everyone knows it anyway.”
“It does happen when one openly proclaims the name in the manner you did so, Twilight,” Swift-Pad teased her. “It couldn’t be helped, given as you were not completely in control when you defeated him.”
“... yes,” Twilight admitted. “It’s not something I am too overly happy with but I have to accept it for it is. I can’t change it, after all.”
“You’ve grown much, Twilight,” he smiled as he nuzzled her. “I am proud beyond words of your maturity and responsibility.”
Twilight smiled as she rubbed her face against his. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,” she said. “You taught me so much… and I owe you a lot, for all the help and inspiration you gave me.”
“And I will say as I have before, you give yourself too little credit,” he replied. “I am sure you would have reached this same level of growth on your own eventually.”
Twilight smiled at that. “Thank you Swift-Pad,” she said. “It has been wonderful to meet with you.”
“If you ever need a friend to talk with, you know how to reach me,” Swift-Pad replied. “Now, aside from these recent events, is there anything else going on in your life you’d like to speak about?”
Twilight hesitated for a moment, and then began to talk.
Their conversation lasted much of the rest of the day and, to some extent, into dinner as the rest of the day passed; Celestia was very welcoming of him joining him for their evening meal. The next morning, after saying their farewells to Swift-Pad and everyone else who’d been there to see them off, the Bearers and Spike boarded their airskimmer and headed west.
Rainbow Dash had asked for, and had been repeatedly denied, a spin at the wheel. “You haven’t had formal training with this, let alone gotten a license for it,” Spike told her. “I have. And the minotaurs are very strict about making sure their drivers know what they’re doing.” He tilted his head. “Even their craziest pilots are surprisingly good when it comes to handling emergency landings.”
“I was born with wings, Spike,” she huffed. “I think I am more suited to the air than most others.”
“Controlling your own body and controlling a machine that’s far larger are two completely different things,” Twilight said. “I was an experienced balloon pilot long before I got my wings, and I proved it to my teachers, but that doesn’t mean I’m automatically good with airskimmers.” She looked at her friend. “When I was using the testing model for student drivers, they made me go through all sorts of training with the controls before even letting me turn the engine on for the first time, and they’d do the same thing for any pegasus, griffon or hippogriff, if any ever showed up.”
“Besides Dashie, haven’t you told Scootaloo that she should always do practices and warm ups before she even attempts to fly?” Pinkie asked
Rainbow Dash hesitated. “I - okay, you’re right,” she admitted. “But I still want to give it a shot at some point.”
“There are minotaurs back home who’d probably be willing to teach you,” Twilight told her. “There’s been enough interest from others that they’re actually looking to open up their own driving school in Canterlot, and maybe to expand into other cities later.”
Spike nodded. “Cherry Berry’s dropped by more than a few times to look at our skimmer and ask me about it since we brought it home last year, and I know she wants to learn how to fly them too - she likes flying her balloon, but any kind of air vehicle fascinates her.”
Rainbow Dash smiled at that. “Hard to blame her; flying is the best.”
“Indeed,” Rarity said. “There are times I wish there was a more stable version of the spell Twilight used to give me wings, so I could experience flight under my own power again without having to worry about them burning up if I went too high.”
“It’s one of the many things on my docket to go over,” Twilight said. “And one of the many things I need to ask Magic about.”
At that, the others nodded. Twilight had filled all of them, plus Trixie and Moondancer, in on her first face-to-face meeting with her Mantle the morning after.
Fluttershy looked a little wistful. “I wish I could meet Kindness,” she said. “Just to talk to her. Or him.”
Pinkie nodded, laying an arm on her. “And I bet Laughter’d be real fun to talk to too!” she said happily.
“Are you sure that wasn’t them speaking through you that one time?” Applejack asked.
Pinkie nodded. “That was definitely a Power, and they felt special... but it wasn’t Laughter, I know,” she said. “Now, the day I talked to Cheesy, that time I felt Laughter’s presence.”
“Speaking of Cheese, are you two still writing back and forth?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Pinkie nodded eagerly. “He threw a really big party down in the Cuanmiztl Kingdom just last week!”
“Sweet.” Rainbow Dash grinned.
“Wish Twilight and I could have met him,” Spike commented. “He sounds like a really fun guy.”
“Yeah, he is…” Pinkie said dreamily, and Twilight could see Rarity hiding a knowing smirk behind one hoof. “He’ll probably come back to Ponyville some day.”
“I’m sure he will,” Rarity said coyly. “Now, if only I were as lucky and could find a stallion who was as kind and respectful towards me as he was to you…”
Spike twitched at that, though Twilight was fairly certain only she had noticed. “You’ll find the one you’re meant to be with some day,” she said. “Maybe you’ve already met him and just don’t know yet.”
Pinkie was suddenly in Twilight’s face. “That’s a very Cadance thing to say,” she said, looking at her suspiciously. Then she smiled. “Doesn’t mean it’s wrong though.”
With that, she settled back into her seat, and talk soon turned to other things, to Twilight’s relief.
The flight took them most of the day, and it was almost sundown by the time they landed on a small island, not far from the shores of Laronda borders, so they could set up camp for the night.
“Still got that giant tent of yers, huh Rarity?” Applejack asked as they set it up.
“When do I not?” Rarity asked. “I was expecting this stop, after all.”
“Right.”
When they’d finished setting up and Spike was at work cooking, the others looked at Twilight. “So, what’s this place like, anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“It’s… magical,” Twilight said. “The people are very friendly, and Spike and I had a very good time there.” She looked down. “You might be more than a little surprised when you meet the Royal Family though. Their King is… well, he’s a gargoyle, and he’s very wise.”
“And his wife’s a centaur,” Spike added.
“Any children?” Pinkie asked.
Twilight nodded. “The Royal Family always has at least two,” she said. “It’s a tradition with them, even before the centaurs became citizens. Some of the nobles have advocated having more than two, but… well, that always got shut down.” She looked almost embarrassed. “The King told me that apparently, they have some of the same problems with noble families wanting to leech some power away from the throne as we do in Equestria, and they figured that if there was more than two Princes or Princesses, they could have a better chance at having their own families marry into the royal line. So of course the Royal Family doesn’t want to risk the chance of that happening; they’re very… particular about their children’s spouses.”
“That doesn’t sound very nice,” Fluttershy said softly.
“It’s nicer than you’d think,” Spike said. “See, they’re particular because they want to make sure their kids marry for real love, and not someone who’s just being used by their parents to make a political alliance or something. Alter Diplomacy, they call that, and the Kings and Queens have made a point of officially disapproving of it for ages.” He shrugged. “Doesn’t stop some of their people from practicing it, but that’s their life.”
“Ah may not really get it but it ain’t mah place to say nothin’ over it,” Applejack said. “So… what else is there we should know?”
“Not that I can think of,” Twilight said. “They’re not like the Packlands - they don’t get upset if we use magic, or do anything with the weather. Not that you should go meddling, with it,” she added quickly. “They mostly let it handle itself, but the gargoyles have their own weather teams to deal with the more severe problems that crop up from time to time.”
“Gotcha,” Rainbow Dash said. “Besides I already knew that; I’ve been poking around and seeing how other countries do their own weather.”
Applejack gave her a surprised look, but then shrugged. “How do they feel about Earth pony magic?” she asked.
“They don’t mind it, but again, they only use it when they feel the need,” Twilight said. “As long as we don’t go out of our way to be rude or insensitive, we should be fine.”
There were several nods before Spike began serving their food.
As they dug in, Applejack looked over at Twilight. “So, our Princesses are Powers,” she said. “The Queen of the Seaponies is one, so’s the Dragon Lord. And the Alpha. And Chrysalis used to be one too. Are there any here that we should know about?”
Twilight shook her head. “Centaurs and gargoyles are long-lived, but they don’t have any Powers among them that I know of,” she said. “Tirek definitely wasn’t one, I’d have felt it in him when I was in my other form. He did have a trace of a magic on him I didn’t recognize, but it wasn’t a Power.”
“Any idea to what that is about?” Rarity asked.
Twilight hesitated. “Well…” she began slowly. “It almost felt like the magic in the gem from the Staff of Sacanus. Different enough that they weren’t from the same source though. I still haven’t figured out where that gem came from…” She frowned. “As far as I can tell, whatever magic had touched Tirek was enough to make him… not obvious, I guess, so he could get around Equestria without his movements or his magic draining being detected, even by Discord. We also found traces of similar magic - not the same spell, but from the same source - on the gates of Tartarus before it faded away, so I think whatever this came from must have helped him escape there and then sealed the gates so he couldn’t be trapped back in his cage so easily and we couldn’t figure out it was him who was missing.”
“Didn’t count on you and Magic then, huh?” Rainbow Dash asked with a chuckle. “Seriously, you kicked his plot big-time.” Then she saw the look Twilight was giving her and backed off.
“Rainbow Dash…” Twilight shook her head. “You realize he’s basically going to spend an eternity constantly hurting and healing at the same rate because of what I did.”
“Er, what?” Rainbow Dash blinked.
“I was incredibly hurt and angry,” Twilight replied, biting her lip with her eyes tearing up. “When he attacked my home and school. I had thought two of my friends and my teachers and students were killed and I wanted revenge at that point. I wanted to hurt him as badly as he hurt me so I made sure that he would be in pain.” Twilight forced herself to continue, feeling the need to get this off her chest. “His arm basically rotted away from the solar magic I used. His body is constantly wracked with tumors that are healing even as they grow. His mind is broken from trying to understand my nature and while I could tap into my powers to heal him, I won’t.” She then stared at her friends. “And even knowing everyone survived, I do not feel any guilt in my actions because he would have killed them all without a second thought and I…” She looked down. “And I feel guilty about not feeling guilty,” she admitted.
The others looked at her in horror, and Twilight shut her eyes, tears now streaming down her face.
A moment later, she felt a pair of arms wrapped around her.
“It’s okay,” Fluttershy’s voice said softly. “It’s okay.”
One by one, the others joined the embrace, and as she let herself weep, both anguish at how upset she was and joy at how her friends continued to support her despite her actions, she fell into slumber.
Her eyes opened, and she found herself in the library again.
“Hello, Twilight,” Magic greeted her. “I’ve been expecting you.”
Twilight blinked, then reached up and wiped away the tears that still ran down her face. “You have?” she asked.
Magic nodded. “We’ll be seeing a lot of one another,” she said. “You’ve had many teachers, and I am but the most recent. Besides.” She patted a hoof on the seat next to her. “You look like you could use a friend to talk to. And friendship is magic.” She had a faint smirk on her face as she said that, but Twilight could tell she meant it. “So what’s on your mind?”
“Shouldn’t you know already, considering you live in my mind?” Twilight asked, before looking stricken.
Magic just laughed. “True. But I wanted you to tell me.”
Twilight looked down. “It’s about Tirek,” she said. “And what I did to him. And why… why can’t I bring myself to feel guilty over what I did?”
“Because you know it was a just act; he had threatened the people you cared for, Twilight, and you know that to be true,” Magic said. “I’m not one to advocate eternal torment, but… he went out of his way to try and hurt you personally, and he paid the price for it.”
“Still,” Twilight said, shaking her head slowly. “I never thought I could be capable of such an action, let alone be so okay with it.”
“You are not the same young mare that you once were,” Magic said, placing a wing over her shoulders. “With your title comes greater responsibilities and you rose to meet them and dealt with it with how your heart begged you to act.” Magic sighed and nuzzled her head. “That is the crux of the issue, your heart is saying you acted flawlessly yet your mind wonders if there was another way to handle the issue that did not require you to act so drastically, right?”
Twilight nodded.
Magic smiled. “There are many who have their doubts, Twilight. But you cannot be controlled by them. As one of my more… proactive counterparts in another world once told that world’s version of you, Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate. You are better than you think you are, even in your deepest, darkest moments.”
“And why I need to learn how to use- er, work with you so I am not controlled by my actions but I control them,” Twilight said with Magic laughing.
“It is fine, Twilight, I am less a person but more of the closest perception of true magic you understand so far,” Magic said. “To be honest, I was expecting to appear more like Celestia than yourself, considering how much you still worship her.”
Twilight’s ears flicked. “I don’t worship her,” she muttered. “And not just because she doesn’t like being worshipped - and if you’ve been with me this whole time, you should know that. I love her, she’s family... my second mother in all but blood.”
Magic stared at her knowingly with Twilight pouting. “Okay, okay, so maybe I hero-worship her,” she grumbled. “There’s nothing wrong with that! I almost feel the same way about Starswirl, and I haven’t even met him.”
“You might feel a little differently if you ever do, Twilight,” Magic replied stiffly. “I’ve felt his sorcery myself, and the imprint of himself that he left in it. He is a rather prideful and cranky fellow, if I do say so myself, and while he is able to form bonds, his are nowhere near as strong as the friendships you hold closest to your heart.”
“You mean that in the past tense, right?” Twilight asked, her mind beginning to comprehend what Magic was saying.
“I did not err in my words, Twilight,” Magic said. “He and his companions still live, though the means are a bit complicated.” She smiled mysteriously. “You will understand in time.”
Then she looked at Twilight. “While we’re here, you’ve also been wondering about our Opposite, if I’m not mistaken.”
“I - yes, I was,” Twilight admitted.
“Well, don’t worry about them. Magic and Technology can generally be well-balanced and work well together, if they don’t have outside interference.” Magic looked around. “The airskimmers you and Spike have flown are a good example. The models that exist in this world all use technology fueled by magic.”
“Do you know who they are?” Twilight asked.
“I’m not allowed to say until you meet them,” Magic replied. “I’m sure you’ll cross paths eventually though.”
Twilight stared at Magic and Magic sighed warmly. “Yes, Twilight, I am from Chaos, I know you are too unsure to say it yourself right now,” Magic lifted her head upright as she walked in front of Twilight with a sprawl of colours, both ones she recognized and others she had no idea what to call. “That is part of your nature, even from the beginning.” An image of her test at Celestia’s school appeared, with her losing control over her magic. “But remember, Chaos is not evil by nature, despite what some might think. It is change.”
The image vanished to show a caterpillar quickly going through its chrysalis phase before turning into a butterfly, before Magic continued. “And you have brought on many positive changes in this world with your actions, helping it become a better place.” Now the colours showed her a series of images over the last years, many of which she recognized from the night she had met Celestia on the astral plane and become an alicorn, and many that had happened since.
“I am not truly supposed to show you this but I will,” Magic said, all of them winding back to the astral plane with a bevy of new images that appeared that Twilight didn’t truly understand at first. A blue-maned mare with rainbow light in her eyes, herself and Spike looking horrified at Starlight as she held up a scroll, Luna and Celestia attempting to halt a mighty snowstorm, a scene of Starlight next to Thorax in his current form as they faced a fallen Chrysalis… and many, many more, from an image of the Tree of Harmony clutching pieces of colored wood to a number of beings standing side by side and emitting a rainbow light.
“What… was that images of the Prime?” Twilight asked.
“No, that is something I would not be permitted to show you,” Magic said. “They are from other worlds though. Ones where you did not gain the lessons you were given by Swift-Pad, where you took a slower path to grow into your role.” She grimaced. “Worlds where Celestia, well-meaning as she was, really sc- er.” She coughed. “Sorry, even as mature as you are, that’s not the kind of language you need to hear about her just yet. But anyway, worlds where she really threw you in the deep end of ruling without proper preparations.”
Twilight sat down, trying to come to terms with what she saw. “I don’t want to believe that Celestia would do that to me, but I know it’s not true,” she said. “She prefers to teach, yes, but she also prefers others to learn important lessons on their own and she has done the same to me as she did for the other me as well.” Twilight knew that what she said wasn’t grammatically proper but she knew what she meant which meant Magic knew as well. “So all that I have done to help others here wouldn’t have happened elsewhere, right?”
“It may or may not have, in time,” Magic said. “Some of them would, just later or in a different way. Some might not have happened at all.”
She sighed. “The thing I feel you should know is… helping you to learn on your own is one thing, and sometimes that can be good. But suddenly announcing that she and Luna want to retire and just let you and your friends take over ruling Equestria, with no forewarning, is quite another. And that, unfortunately, happened in some of these other worlds, with the end result that things went more than a little hairy in the process.”
Twilight blinked, then shook her head. “You’re right, that’s definitely something I’m glad hasn’t happened to me.”
Magic nodded. “Our Celestia is a lot smarter in that regard. She might want some time off every once in a while, but outright quitting is not on her agenda. At least, not just yet.” Magic shrugged. “She’s been at the job for a very long time when she had no true plans to rule for this long and most of those years she has been alone. In all likelihood, she will begin the preparations after Luna’s child is born and raised so that you two can begin rulership over Equestria if that’s how you wish things to be.”
Twilight stared. “I… er… um.”
Magic smiled. “Remember your lessons, Twilight,” she said softly. “If you do not wish to become a leader of Equestria in that fashion, then when Celestia brings it up you need to make your stance known.”
“I thought I already had made it clear to her,” Twilight grumbled.
"This was before Luna had an heir to the throne," Magic said. "That shows the Royal lineage of Equestria can continue and the eternal royal sisters do not need to be ever-present. Do you expect Luna to allow her child to lounge about, or would she expect them to take their future duties with all they could muster?"
Twilight shook her head. “No,” she said. “But… I have my own duties and life, and while helping connect the world is one thing, taking over running an entire country… it just isn’t me. Besides, Luna’s child is half changeling, how do we know they won’t have their own Role in life that doesn’t involve running Equestria full-time?”
“Then when the time comes, you must make your case clear as her day, Twilight. Tell her that you are willing to stick to your Role and Duties, but that ruling the country is not one of them.” Magic shrugged. “While more than a few Powers have found themselves in leadership positions, it is by no means required. Why, one of my counterparts - well, her Princess Twilight, and that Twilight’s ruling partner - managed to set it up so there were councils that did all the work of ruling, and eventually, after a few centuries of not showing their faces in public unless they were in disguise, everypony thought alicorns were a myth. So that Twilight and her co-ruler were able to spend eons just relaxing and doing whatever they liked, while knowing their citizens were ruling themselves just fine.”
Twilight blinked. “Oh-kay…” Then she looked at Magic. “Just how often do you talk with your Others?”
“More often than you’d think,” Magic said. “When we can’t talk to our Bearers and they’re doing things like sleeping, it’s easy to get bored and wish for company. And while a Lord or Lady of one Power can’t go over to a world where another of them is active without an invitation, that doesn’t stop us from talking to our counterpart Mantle there.” She looked abashed. “Technically speaking, we’re not supposed to share that information unless our partner has already met one of their Others, but you have at least already seen proof that one of them exists.”
“Could I ever meet another Lady or Lord of Magic; I mean go visit them?” Twilight asked.
“The rules of that are… complicated,” Magic said. “Most of the worlds out there have two that are intrinsically linked in such a way that a native Power can freely visit one or the other without requiring permission and without fear of another of their Power invading while they’re away.” She looked at Twilight. “Now, visiting a different set of worlds entirely would leave a gap and risk an invader. But it is possible, if you make contact with an active Lord or Lady of Magic from Outside this dimension entirely, that you can invite them in or they you. Then you’d be able to go and meet them in person.”
Twilight bit her lip. “What about… invaders, you said?”
Magic nodded. “If there is an active Power, they can typically fill in on both sides. But if they actually leave their paired worlds, that leaves a vulnerable gap. When that happens, the Champions of Chaos - who are always watching out for such things - would know if another Power was invading in place of the one who left, and would take steps to ensure they were cast back out.”
“Could it actually happ-” Twilight stopped and stared at Magic. “What am I even saying; of course it could happen. And like people have told me, magic is more of a concept of change than pure magic. It is not good or bad, just how one acts. And with countless worlds out there, it stands to reason that one or more of them might be hostile.”
“True,” Magic admitted. “It’s a relatively rare thing though. And while there are some of your Others that are… not as nice as you, we consider them to be aberrations. The vast majority of the Twilight Sparkles we have seen are just as charitable, compassionate, devoted, principled and optimistic as you are. But I do think we have deviated from the point you wished to establish at the start. You wished to have your first lessons.”
Twilight nodded. “So… if you’ve been listening in… about that wings spell Rarity was asking about?”
"That does exist; another Lord of Magic did create one spell weave that granted wings that were permanent until a counter-spell was used, and even figured out how to turn both spells into potions," Magic said.
Twilight smiled. “How do we do it?”
“Well then,” Magic said, recreating the sprawl of colours. “You know the spell to temporarily create wings, correct?”
“Yes,” Twilight said. “I used it on Rarity once.”
Magic nodded her head and a strand of nameless colours flew down to them. “You are aware what this is, right?”
“That’s the spell itself, right?” Twilight asked.
“The way you comprehend it, yes,” Magic replied as the spell flew around Twilight. “You know the principles that constitute it; now here comes the question, how can you modify it to suit your whims. What strand of magic do you need?”
Twilight felt the magic spell settle beside her as she stared upwards to the infinity of colours and magic and was momently at a loss in how she was even supposed to do any of this before she stopped herself. This was her special talent, what she’d earned her Cutie Mark for. Examining the spell and reading what each strand meant, she answered confidently, and Magic smiled.
“Absolutely right,” she said as the strands of magic flowed together. “The spell that would allow permanent wings. So your work is complete, correct?”
Twilight shook her head. “We still need the counter-spell,” she said with Magic nodding in approval, before she began asking Twilight how to put one together.
By the time the two had finished, Twilight was more assured of herself than before and while she was eager to learn more, she knew she had to have some form of moderation. Still, she could ask questions.
“So this Lord of Magic, why did he create this spell?” she asked.
Magic shrugged. “The way I heard it, one of his friends was an Earth pony who wished she could fly so she and her coltfriend could settle a matter,” she said. “So he made it happen.”
“What was the end result?” Twilight asked.
Magic smiled. “Well, let’s just say that eventually a lot of younger ponies called them Mom and Dad.”
Twilight’s ears drooped as she blushed happily. “That’s sweet,” she said.
Magic nodded. “The local Lady of Love was happy about it too,” she said. “According to the Lord of Magic, she - the Lady of Love, I mean - always did think those two would end up together, and she was right.” She grinned mischievously. “Who knows? Maybe their Others here will end up in the same type of relationship… regardless of gender, it’s far from the first time an Applejack and Rainbow Dash have become a couple.”
Twilight’s jaw dropped, and then suddenly, she woke up.
The sun was just coming up as she blinked her eyes, and looked around to find herself in Rarity’s tent, with Spike by her side.
“Twilight? Are you okay?” he asked.
Twilight shook her head, trying to get it straight. “I’m all right,” she said. “I just had a long, long talk with Magic, and we straightened some stuff out.” Then she groaned. “But if I ever had any doubts about Magic and Disharmony coming from the same source, that last thing she told me ended it right there, because in her own way, her sense of humor is just as wild as Discord’s.”
Spike started to open his mouth, when Twilight raised a hoof. “She told me something I didn’t know, but now I do know, and I’m telling you, you do not want to know.”
“I don’t want to know.”
“Good to know.”