--- Painful Reminders ---
Despite its hectic start, the morning went on in a relatively normal fashion. Twilight went on to make breakfast as she always did, nothing more extravagant than a simple meal of eggs and toast with a generous serving of coffee. The only difference in Twilight and Spike's routine was the inclusion of a certain cyan pegasus, who had stayed of her own accord. Something that Twilight encouraged, knowing full well that there were going to be some questions. Which was fine by her, she had her own as well. The only thing really standing in the way of that was Spike's presence, as neither one of the two ponies seemed willing to put the dragon through this.
It was doubly fortunate for them that Spike had elected to go back to bed after eating his fill, the result of his sleep being harshly interrupted only a half-hour prior—He hadn't been much of a conversationalist during the short meal, after all. And when he went to go back to the land of slumber, Twilight was hesitant but supportive in getting him back to bed. She was unsure if he'd be safe from the Mare in the Moon's influence, but at the same time, the only other option was to deny him his sleep altogether. If nothing else, she at least knew that she could shock him awake just as Rainbow had done to her earlier this morning.
It was only after he was soundly back asleep that Twilight went back to address the issue waiting for her in the dining room. Said issue was waiting with uncharacteristic patience upon her chair—idly sipping her coffee as she awaited Twilight's return. It didn't take her very long to notice the alicorn in the room, turning a cold inquisitive glare in her direction. One that Twilight was able to match verbatim. But this stalemate didn't last long, and Rainbow was the one to fire the first shot.
"So. Something very interesting happened tonight," Dash began with a cold sarcasm about her tone, "Either you developed the world's most ironically timed case of narcolepsy, or you found something relevant and didn't tell me. You know, like you were supposed to."
"I wasn't exactly given a lot of time to give you the heads up," Twilight explained in just as cold of a voice as she returned to her seat at the table. She calmly took a long drink of her own beverage as she waited for Rainbow Dash to respond. "I don't think the amulet was the only thing Knox had cursed up there."
"Good theory, but I did a little snooping of my own before I got you outta there. And I found something... well, something I think you didn't want me to see." The pegasus paused for a moment before going to dig through one of her bags. For a moment, Twilight was fully expecting the stone that caused that nightmare to begin with. Only to be fully surprised when Dash drew forth a familiar looking book.
Corul Luminii Lunii.
Twilight could almost feel her heart stop as she looked upon the well-worn cover of the book she had taken, and that sentiment was shown plainly upon her face. In the chaos of everything that happened, she had almost forgotten that she had stuffed it into her bag whilst going to check on Dash. The young alicorn was very tempted to search her bags for that very same book, hoping in vain that maybe there were two copies of the book to be had. But she knew better than that.
"It's funny, the kind of things you just find lying around on the floor," Dash said with a smile as she observed the book's cover. But very quickly she turned back to Twilight with a dark glare that managed to spook her. "Next to an unconscious alicorn, and her open saddlebag." The book was placed atop the wooden table and held there by a stern hoof, Dash's glare only growing more intense as she went on without even pretending to wait for a reply. "I told you not to touch, and to tell me if you found anything. Do you just like putting yourself in needless danger?"
The alicorn furrowed her brow. "You're the one who brought me up there in the first place."
"Yeah, because it was easier than dealing with you bugging me about it. So I—Whatever, what's done is done, not important right now." The pegasus stopped herself, biting down on one of her lips for a moment before she continued with a different tone. "But you need to tell me if you read this or not." Dash tapped the old tome a couple of times for emphasis. "Because if I know one thing about you, it's that you're a smart cookie. So if anybody in town could read this dusty old thing, it's you."
"I... don't think I should tell you that," Twilight spoke sternly and confidently, "Not until you answer some of my questions."
The two stubborn ponies glared back at one another with great ferocity, like two ancient dragons ready to fight to the death. "You're really going to try and pull that? After I bent over backwards and risked my job for you? Just so you could maybe answer a few questions that you really don't need answers to?"
"I'm just trying to help," the purple pony almost snorted in frustration. "Whatever this is, it's big. Bigger then either of us knows. Don't tell me an alicorn's help wouldn't be useful in getting this done." Anger continued to build up as she made her argument again.
"Oh, will you stop it with that?" Dash emphasized with the rolling of her eyes, "I get it, you're an alicorn. But you're still a civ."
"A civ who's graduated from the School for Gifted Unicorns."
"Irrelevant." The pegasus remained adamant.
"A civ who's been personally taught by Queen Celestia."
"... Slightly less irrelevant." Dash's persona faltered ever so slightly. "But still no. Gotta keep civs safe and all."
"Why can't you just let me help?" Twilight grunted bitterly back, "I'm not safe either way. Why can't I—?"
"Give it a week or two, I'm gonna send for a professional mage-breaker," Rainbow explained confidently and sternly, crossing her forelimbs as if to emphasize her point. "Need someone to look into that 'memory alteration' thing you were talking about. I'm sure they'll be able to help you out, too."
"Okay, then give me a week or two. Let me use that time."
"Use it for what? Everything's basically wrapped up," Dash's statement came with the same smug attitude that Twilight knew well from way back when. "Once Knox and his weirdo friend are behind bars, there won't be anything left to worry about."
That statement brought visible shock to Twilight's face, the alicorn having to stop for a solid few seconds to fully understand what she had just been told. While there was some logic behind Dash's statement, there were also a number of holes that could be poked into it. Whatever it was that was going on in this little town, locking up two ponies wouldn't stop it for good as their schemes had undeniable ties to much larger problems. The Great Shadow War, the timberwolves, the Choir of Moonlight, the list went on and on. Taking care of those two would certainly take care of a few symptoms, but that wasn't going to cure the illness as a whole.
"Are you being serious right now?!" Twilight asked after a moment's thought, outraged by the apparent laziness Dash was showing right now. "You know damn well there's more going on."
"And all of that's above my paygrade. I was given a mission, and I've accomplished it. What else is there?"
"Stopping the Choir?"
"You don't stop the Choir. You stall it." Dash shook her head with disappointment before leaning forward and glaring over the table with great intensity. "Why do you even care so much? You don't need too—"
"Because Celestia gave me more power than anyone should ever have and never told me why!" Twilight suddenly snapped back with unjustified righteous fury, her front hooves finding themselves atop the table with a loud smack. "And now I have to live longer than anyone ever should!" She smacked her chest with every occurrence of the word ever. "Because I'm supposed to do something with this curse, and everything in the past few days has told me that this is it! There are just too many coincidences! This is why she made me!"
Twilight's haggard breaths following her rant was the only thing breaking the silence of the room. The cloaked alicorn sat there with her outraged scowl, waiting for Rainbow to even try and argue with her again. She could feel tears begin to well up in the corners of her eyes, but she fought them back just as soon as they were about to fall. She wasn't going to cry, not right now. It wasn't the time.
The outburst had come out of nowhere, even from Twilight's point of view, and had encompassed a number of emotions and thoughts that the alicorn had been wrestling with for as long as she could remember. As far back as her first few weeks as an alicorn, and as recently as just the other night. The idea that there was some grander purpose behind Twilight's ascension had been a topic of self-discussion that she wasn't very fond of lingering on for very long. After all, who would want to confront the idea that the course of their entire life had been irreparably altered for the sake of someone else's agenda? Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, Rainbow Dash bore a look that could best be described as shocked enlightenment. This wide-eyed, almost weary expression that showed traces of concern, compassion, and understanding. Pitty would be another good word for it, and that was the one Twilight chose to use in her angered state of mind.
"So that's what it is..." Dash spoke softly, leaning back into her chair with a soft breath. "You want to justify what happened to you."
"Don't talk like you know! You have no idea what I've—!"
"August twenty-second. 1,005." That date made Twilight shut up in a heartbeat, her mouth left agape as slowly Dash went on. "That's the day it happened, right? Or close enough to it, anyway."
"Why... why do you know that...?" The ferocity and passion Twilight had shown mere seconds ago was long gone. In their place were only confusion and distress at the implications of Dash knowing. There were very few people in the world who knew about Twilight being an alicorn. But even fewer knew the circumstances that lead to that status, and Dash had just proven without a shadow of a doubt that she was one of them. "Who told you?"
"The Black Hooves keep tabs on a lot of things. Before I was a field op, they had me pushing papers. Rookie stuff, basic initiation. You get the idea. Anyway, I found a file with your name on it one night, and curiosity got the better of me." Dash closed her eyes softly and breathed in slowly, the following exhale even slower. When next she next spoke, there was no mistaking the timbre in her voice as one of apology. "I didn't know it would be that... well, you know."
There's a file about me... The realization hit hard and strong, like a lead pipe to the teeth. Twilight's deepest and most personal secret, nothing more than a tidbit sorted away in some filing cabinet back up in Canterlot. Who could say for sure just how many bureaucrats and other government agents had read into her life without her ever knowing? How many people knew? "... I wish you didn't tell me that..."
"Sorry... about everything, I mean..."
Once more the room fell silent, neither party having anything further to add. The weight of this quietness was oppressive and heavy, like heavy iron chains literally tying Twilight to a facet of her life she had spent six years trying to forget. But even still, the unpleasant visions were still as painfully vivid as ever. August twenty-second, 1,005. The day that Twilight's destiny irreparably altered, for better and for worse. And no matter how hard she tried to repress and block out those memories, no matter how long she hid the aftermath of that day under her dusty old cloak, she couldn't ever really forget that day.
After all, it was also Spike's birthday.
The silence was shattered when Rainbow Dash cleared her throat in order to reclaim the other pony's attention. "Look... if this all really means that much to you... then I guess I could let you tag along a little while longer."
Twilight glanced back over to the pegasus with an austere look. "I don't want your pity."
"And I didn't want your help, but you've made it very clear that you're going to give it to me either way." Dash was able to give a strained chortle in response despite the grim atmosphere of the conversation. "It's only fair I return that favor." After a few seconds of letting the small smile longer, she returned to a more serious expression. "But I'm gonna need a few hours to get everything sorted out. Gotta talk to the police about detaining Knox and that Starlight weirdo, gotta send an update back to HQ, and I need to go the buck to sleep because I've been awake for twenty-six hours straight and I feel like I'm about to pass out. Do you think you can go that long without getting into any deeper shit?"
The cloaked pony took the time to let Rainbow Dash's words sink in as deep as they could get, using this as an opportunity to reclaim her composure and settle her racing mind. "Yeah... I can do that."
"Good." Dash gave an affirmative nod as she stood back up, taking the blue book back into her bag before she started on her way towards the door. "Now do yourself a favor, take some time for yourself. Stop stressing out for a while. Get some ice cream, spend some time with your little dragon friend. Something to... I dunno, lighten up a bit."
She sat there quietly, watching as the pegasus walked over towards the front entrance. She didn't know exactly what else she could contribute to the conversation at this point, still mulling over the suggestions she had been given for how to kill some time. One, in particular, stuck out to her the most. That, combined with the most recent reminder of the life she left behind, got her to think about a few things. These things were enough to provoke Twilight into action.
"Rainbow Dash," Twilight spoke confidently enough, trying to sound stronger then she felt at the moment. The address did its job in stoping the cyan pony from leaving, if only for a few scant moments.
"Hmm? What's up?" She turned back to the table to face the alicorn in question. "Something on your mind?"
"He's not just my friend," Twilight looked her straight in the eye with unwavering resolve, "He's my son."
"Oh... well, it's about time you admitted it."
That was the last thing either of them said to one another before Rainbow Dash departed. And with her young draconic companion soundly sleeping a few rooms over, and Rainbow Dash off to do much the same, Twilight was left with none other than her thoughts to keep her company. It was only now that Twilight was given time to notice that she wasn't suffering from any kind of fatigue at all, despite having been up nearly as long as Rainbow Dash had been. Aside from the unexpected nap in the library, she had been up since yesterday. Yet she felt as if she'd gotten an entire full night's sleep. A fortunate side effect of that encounter, if nothing else.
But that also meant that Twilight wouldn't be getting to go back to sleep any time soon, even if she wanted to. Which put a few roadblocks in her path for how to pass the time. Unlike up in the library's third floor, she had no intention of going behind Rainbow Dash's back again. Especially not when Dash had just promised to let her continue helping in this operation. Which, of course, led her to have an abundance of free time on her hooves. Looking at the clock, she was able to see that it was just about to be half-past seven. Still fairly early, and a few hours before she had to go to work. And that was assuming she was even going to go in today, all things considered. With all these possibilities and avenues in mind, Twilight had some decisions to make.