“...Mother? Celestia asked in disbelief.
Luna simply scoffed in response.
“Ah, so you are Celestia and Luna. We thought as much.”
“We...?” Luna mumbled to herself, just loud enough for Celestia to hear.
Celestia, however, didn’t bother to ask her sister what she was on about. Her mother was obviously more important.
“...Is that really you?”
Harmony flashed a frown, but her smile quickly returned. “Yes, Celestia. We've returned."
Luna's scowl, however, stayed. "Again with the we?" she said.
“But... how? Where have you been? Why didn’t I know of you? How did you find us? What took you so long?” Celestia raised her voice as she spoke.
“Patience, Celestia. I'll explain, if you'll let me,” Harmony said, smiling. “You should be able to understand that what we’re about to tell you happened a long time ago,” she said. Both Celestia and Luna nodded, although the latter not nearly as vigorously as her sister. “It happened back when Discord was still at large, and the kingdom was hard pressed to fight him. True, we could have defeated him, if he had stayed around to fight. But of course, Discord being what he is, he never did.”
Celestia frowned, unsure if she was willing to believe that Discord would hide from danger rather than play with it. Regardless, she kept listening.
“The kingdom needed something to keep Discord under control," Harmony continued, "so we left to find it. It was not an easy decision to make, but the ends justified the means, we think. Discord had to be stopped, and eventually he was.”
Celestia hadn’t replied. She was too busy staring at Harmony in shock, unable to believe that her very own mother would do such a thing. “You... left your kingdom in a time of need? How could you do such a thing?”
“It had to be done," Harmony said, giving Celestia a deadpan stare. "Discord wasn’t about to be defeated by us, so we needed something more to rid ourselves of him.”
Celestia recoiled, appalled by what her mother had done. "You abandoned your people, and now you think it was the right thing to do? How? And even ignoring that, Discord was defeated centuries ago! Where have you been?!"
"Occupied!" Harmony yelled in reply. "You think we wanted to stay away? You think we enjoyed leaving our people?! You know nothing of what things were like back then!"
Celestia stepped back, her eyes watery.
“Why did you only come back now, Harmony?" Luna said, stepping forward cautiously. "Surely you must have realized that Discord was turned to stone years ago. He returned not too long ago, but was quickly turned to stone once again."
“As we said, we had... prior engagements,” Harmony replied, trailing off as she finished her sentence.
Celestia’s turn to remain silent. Luna seemed to agree with her, so Celestia stood back, allowing her sister to talk the alicorn who claimed to be their mother.
“Of what nature? What was so important that you couldn’t return to serve your kingdom? Or your own daughters, even?”
“None of your concern,” Harmony snapped at Luna. “The problems have been dealt with, and we have returned at last. One would think that you, of all ponies, would be grateful for our return.”
“One would also think that a queen would have the benefit of her kingdom in mind, not her own personal problems.”
“Enough, Luna.” Celestia stepped in to bar her sister from the conversation. “Though I disagree with Harmony’s actions just as much as you do, she must have had some reason. Is this really how you intend to welcome our mother?”
“Indeed, it is. What did you expect? Did you think I'd welcome her? Did you honestly believe that I would just accept her back into my life, like she never left? She left us, Celestia! Her own daughters! She has a lot of explaining to do, and for the time being she doesn't seem to want to do so! Until she does, I have no interest in talking with her, and neither should you.”
Celestia nodded, “She has a lot to explain, that's true. But does that mean you can't at least be happy she's back? She's finally back! I know this is sudden, but if what she says is true, she’s our mother, Luna. Don't you remember all the conversations we had, wondering what happened to our parents?”
Harmony waited patiently for the two sisters to calm down, but when they finally did, their attention had not yet returned to her. True, the two princesses had gone silent, but each of them staring the other in the eye, as if trying to get a message across without wasting words.
Finally, the two broke up. Luna was frowning, as was Celestia, although the latter quickly made an effort to regain a neutral expression.
Luna’s frown remained, but she decided not to pursue the matter, in stead opting to turn away and leave the room. Celestia watched her go, raising a single eyebrow in a questioning expression. She raised a hoof to follow her sister, but Harmony interrupted.
“Leave her, Celestia,” she said. “It seems she has trouble accepting our return. She’ll come around; just give her some time.”
“I suppose, Harmony, though I‘m inclined to agree with her. There have been some... issues, in your absence, and I assumed Luna would be grateful to be together with another member of her family once more. She doesn't seem to think so.”
“Another member of our family? You mean to say we are not the first?”
“Not quite. It’s something I’d rather not discuss at the moment, Harmony. We had a difference of opinion and Luna... had to leave. I’ll tell you more when Luna sees fit to return, but for now, I think you should rest. Sleep well, Harmony."
Celestia left the room, following Luna. She was surprised to see none other than Twilight Sparkle standing outside the door, a slightly worried expression on her face. She had been waiting for the princess.
“Twilight Sparkle? What on Equestria are you doing here?”
“Well... I ran out of books to study in the library about royal families, so I figured that I could come over and help out with the studies in the royal library instead. One of the guards in the throne room sent me this way, and I kind of almost bumped into Princess Luna as she left the room.” Twilight smiled nervously as she spoke.
"I... see. That won’t be necessary, though. The librarian should be almost done with his research. I’m sorry, Twilight."
“Ah.” Twilight dropped her gaze, then quickly raised it again, a spark of curiosity in her eyes. “So... what was that all about?” she asked, pointing a single hoof down the hallway.
“What was... what about, exactly?”
“Princess Luna, leaving the room like that?"
“Oh, that. It seems that Luna, much like myself, has some issues with our mother’s return.”
“Your... mother, Princess? The alicorn you wanted me to research was your mother?
The two just stared at each other, Celestia frowning slightly and Twilight almost literally bursting with questions. Her curiosity getting the best of her, Twilight asked another one of her questions.
“You never told me you had a mother, Princess. Why didn’t you?”
Celestia sighed. “To be honest, Twilight Sparkle, I wasn’t sure I still did. She left a long time ago, when Luna and I were but fillies, and she never told us what it was she left for. She still hasn’t, come to think of it.”
“You... were fillies?” Twilight asked, surprised. “I guess it makes sense, but I’ve never really thought of it...” Twilight fell silent, apparently lost in thought. After a few moments of thinking, she looked up to her mentor with a hesitant look in her eyes, and asked her next question. “So... what about your father?”
“My father? To be perfectly honest, we don’t know much of him, I’m afraid. Honestly, it'd be easier to assume I never had one.”
“I’m... sorry, Princess. It wasn’t my intention to spark unpleasant memories.”
“Oh, don't worry. There isn’t much to remember.”
A few minutes passed in silence before Twilight asked her next question.
“What was his name, Princess?”
“My father?” Twilight nodded, and Celestia sighed. “I'd have to ask Harmony to be sure. My parents... our parents, were never a pleasant thing to discuss. I’ve never heard much of him, nor do I remember very much. I imagine that he was a busy king, but I'd be speculating if I were to tell you any more. I'm sorry, Twilight, but if you want to know more about my father, you're going to have to find out by yourself. I've enough trouble with my sister, and now also my mother."
“I’m sorry to hear that, Princess.”
“That’s quite alright, Twilight. My family hasn't exactly been very close, lately. Being royalty does have its disadvantages. But enough about my father. Harmony still has a lot she isn’t telling us, I think, and I intend to find out what she’s keeping to herself.”
“Harmony is your mother’s name, I assume?”
Celestia nodded.
Twilight hesitated, her eyes drifting away to avoid Celestia's gaze.
"Is something bothering you, Twilight?"
"Well, yes. I don't want to be rude, Princess, but can we be sure she's your mother? Wouldn't we know something about her if you even had one?"
Celestia shook her head. "It doesn't really matter much. Harmony being my mother, or not, influences little. It does explain why seemed... familiar, though. No matter who or what she is, she's still an alicorn we didn't know about, and that needs my attention."
"I understand, Celestia," Twilight nodded. "But... what if she is your mother? Wouldn't that make her..."
"The queen?" Celestia interrupted. "Yes, technically it would, but don't worry. I'm not letting her take that place until we're sure it's her, and it will take some time for everypony to adjust to her."
Twilight simply sighed. "I'm glad you're being careful about this. I know you said I shouldn't, but I'd like to drop by the library anyway, if that's alright, Princess."
Celestia nodded, her mind elsewhere. She couldn’t help but agree with Luna. Harmony showing up out of nowhere like that was suspicious, at best. And why hadn’t she sent word of her arrival? Why bother to sneak up on the castle like she had, only to have a guard alert the sisters to her presence? No matter how much Celestia thought about it, it just didn’t seem to make any sense.
Many minutes of pondering later, the princess gave up on trying to make sense of these developments, shoving the thoughts aside. This was her mother she was thinking about, not some criminal... right? True, she had never gotten to know her mother, but how bad could she be?
“Well... I think I’m just going to... go now, Princess," Twilight said, having expended her patience as she waited for Celestia to respond. "It’d be a shame to go home so soon, and I never did get to study Equestria’s history in the level of detail I would have liked."
“That’s fine, Twilight. You can stay for as long as you want, but please, don't bother the librarian too much. He’ll probably be busy checking all the records again."
“Will do, Princess.” And with that, Twilight left for the library, leaving Celestia alone in front of the door behind which her mother was now resting. She turned around before she rounded the corner, though, and looked Celestia in the eye one last time. "Good luck, Princess," she smiled, and trotted off.
Celestia sighed. As her mind continued turning recent events over and over to try and make some sense of them, her legs took on a mind of their own, and sent the princess wondering idly around the castle grounds. Harmony’s story didn’t seem right. Discord hiding from somepony just didn’t sound like him at all, and Harmony hadn’t even bothered to hide that she wasn’t telling them something.
As the princess kept pondering her mother’s sudden appearance, the hours crept by. When Celestia finally decided that she’d spent enough time thinking about something she didn’t really know enough about to draw conclusions, it was already time for the sun to start its descent.
The rest of the evening passed in silence, Celestia going to bed as soon as she had lowered the sun beneath the horizon. Thoughts of her mother never completely left Celestia's mind, sending her through the same loop time and time again. Eventually, her own mind wore itself out, and Celestia drifted off to sleep.
"You and I both know you're not going to stay in this bed for long," Luna snapped, "so I'm telling the guards to watch you. Until you explain just who you are and where you've been, I'm not letting you out of my sight."
The fight had been going on for a while know. Having angrily stalked up and down the castle's corridors, Luna's patience had been worn thin, and she had stormed back into Harmony's room, yelling as she entered.
"Indeed, we were planning on leaving before long. But, if you wish to keep us nearby, we will oblige. Is that all you wanted to share?"
"No," Luna stammered, taken aback by her mother's reaction. "I... I also wanted to give you another chance to answer our questions."
"You want to know where we've been all this time?"
Luna nodded silently as Harmony averted her gaze.
"We were... occupied. It's not something we wish to speak of, and we implore you to believe us when we say it was all but voluntary. We were taken, imprisoned against our will. That is all we wish to say, for now."
"I... understand," Luna spoke softly, gazing at her hooves as she did.
Harmony perked up. "Is something bothering you, Luna?"
"Celestia, she... I was... No. I'm fine," she snapped. "It's none of your business. Not until you prove who you are, at least."
Morning came too soon for a sleepless Celestia, yet after a full night of ponder, her suspicions remained. The princess got up quietly, and made her way to the tower chamber. After having raised the sun, she wandered around aimlessly, pondering her options for the day.
Harmony seemed to have recovered significantly, as one would expect from an alicorn, and was already taking strolls around the castle grounds.
Luna's opinion had remained unchanged, and she had made it a point to avoid Canterlot's latest arrival.
The librarian's research mattered little, Celestia thought, though some curiosity about the absence of knowledge still remained. Despite this, she decided that her best course of action would be to go directly to the source of her problems; Harmony.
“Have you seen the alicorn Princess Luna warned you about?” Celestia asked a nearby guard. He seemed startled by the sudden question, and dropped his spear in fright. He quickly picked it up, and stammered something resembling an answer.
“No, P-Princess. She uh... she’s been in the castle gardens all day, apparently.”
“Thank you," Celestia nodded.
Celestia needed no more. She left the castle and started wandering the castle grounds in search of her mother. Making for the gardens, Celestia decided to work her way down all its areas one-by-one. The maze, she'd save for last, seeing as it would take the longest. So, she started with the flowers. Beds of flowers in each and every color imaginable stretched as far as the eye could see, dancing softly in the breeze. Harmony, however, was nowhere to be found.
Some time went by as Celestia continued to scan the gardens, but she remained alone. It wasn't until she reached the statues, the last area she checked before she would have started on the maze, that she was finally rewarded.
Harmony was sitting next to Discord’s statue, staring up at it with something resembling a melancholy smile on her face.
“Harmony?" Celestia began. "Are you alright?” Celestia asked as she approached, a hint of concern in her voice.
Harmony looked away from the statue she had been admiring so solemnly and faced her daughter, a hint of annoyance in her eyes. “We’re fine, Celestia. We appreciate the concern, but you needn’t worry about us. We were simply thinking back to the cause of our problems. Discord has brought us a lot of pain, even when petrified.”
“So you said," Celestia said dismissively. "Something about this struck me as odd, though. Why did you not simply use the Elements of Harmony against him? You said he was in hiding, but Discord’s desire to spread chaos would make him easy to find, would it not?”
Harmony smiled. “Things were not so simple back then, Celestia. We couldn’t pursue Discord. There were matters of greater concern, to us.”
“Matters of greater concern than your own kingdom?” Celestia asked, again unwilling to believe that Harmony could have thought other matters to be more important than her kingdom and its citizens. Celestia had always placed her kingdom first, not even her family taking priority. It seemed strange, to her, that Harmony would have found something of more importance to her than family, or even her kingdom.
“We’re afraid so, Celestia. Now, if you’ll excuse us, all this talking has made us suddenly aware of our appetite. Tell us, where can we find the dining hall?”
Celestia nodded. "Much of this castle was inspired by our previous one, for the sake of tradition and consistency. Keep to your left after you enter, and you'll find yourself facing its entrance at the end of the third hallway."
Harmony nodded, and made for the castle, leaving Celestia alone with the statue of her greatest adversary. She looked up at it, thinking back to the expression Harmony had been wearing as she was admiring the statue. Celestia had seen sorrow in those eyes. Remorse, even. It only made sense, she thought, considering what she had shared so far.
Celestia looked away from the statue. Discord wouldn’t be able to provide answers in this state, and he probably wouldn’t answer her questions had he had the possibility. The draconequus would be much too busy spreading chaos, Celestia reckoned.
The princess turned to follow her mother to the castle, having nothing else to do in the gardens. She paused, however, when she walked past the entrance to the Canterlot library. Perhaps, Celestia thought, she could help the librarian with his studies? Her mind made up, Celestia headed straight for the library. If Harmony herself wouldn’t tell her anything about Equestria’s history from that time, perhaps the library would.
The librarian, always aware of his surroundings, approached as soon as Celestia entered the library. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but we haven't yet finished our search," he said nervously.
"That's quite alright, librarian. Tell me, though, have you found anything of use yet?"
The pony raised a hoof to his face, pushing his glasses firmly back in place before speaking. "I'm... sorry, Princess, but no. There seem to be no records of an alicorn such as the one you described. For all we know, she's never been seen before."
Celestia nodded. "Thank you, librarian. I'll check back tomorrow to hear about the rest of your search. The final few books should be looked through by then, correct?"
The librarian nodded, glad to see that Celestia wasn't disappointed in him. Not visibly, at least.
With that, Celestia left the library, resorting to her royal duties at last. Again, some ponies had required an audience with her, and she was required by her own law to hear them.
It was already evening when the last of her subjects finally left.
Luna was nowhere to be seen, although she would be needed to raise the moon before long. Celestia made for the balcony the two sisters used for their magic, and lowered the sun. It was never easy to do, and it created quite a show of magic, but Celestia had grown accustomed to the strain of moving the sun along its orbit over her years of doing so. She turned to leave the balcony, and almost stumbled into her sister.
“Ah, Luna! Come to raise the moon, I see?”
“Indeed," Luna nodded. "The guards told me you spoke to Harmony in the gardens. Did you learn anything about her past?” she asked.
“You were spying on me?”
Luna shook her head. “Not you. Harmony. I’m sorry to be so rude, but I have to ask. Did you learn anything about Harmony’s past?”
“No, Luna. Harmony doesn’t seem very willing to part with any information about her past.”
Luna frowned, but allowed her sister to continue.
“We already know she’s not telling us certain things, but that's not the worst of it. The librarian still hasn't found any mention of her. Nothing, and he's almost done searching through the entire historical section of the library. I don't know what, but something strange is going on here,” Celestia finished.
“Agreed, but we must be careful. If she is our mother, no matter how slim the odds, the last thing I want to do is offend her.”
Celestia nodded. Harmony's secrecy made it hard for her to accept, but just the thought of having a mother put a smile on her face almost without fail.
“Perhaps we are getting ahead of ourselves, Luna. Yes, she might be our mother. In fact, that's getting more likely as we learn more, I think. But we can only imagine the things she’s had to endure on her journey. It makes sense that she’s reluctant to tell us about her past. Who knows what happened to her on her travels?”
Luna frowned once again, noticing for the first time how she had been making a habit of the expression. “I... suppose, sister. But a mother ought to trust her daughters, I thought. Reluctance to speak can be understood, but we shouldn't be so quick to trust her. She's still hiding a lot."
“She's been gone for a long time, Luna. It makes sense that she'd have a hard time coming back. Besides, if anything we of all ponies should be grateful for her return, as Harmony said. You mentioned yourself how we used to talk, so long ago. We have a parent, Luna. Aren't you happy?"
"Maybe you're right. Maybe I have been too suspicious of my own mother,” Luna said, her face completely blank. “But can I be blamed? Anypony would agree that the conditions of her return are strange at best. Maybe... we should ask your student for her opinion? She has parents, so she’ll already be more experienced in these matters than we are."
Celestia paused to think. “Perhaps you're right, Luna. We’ll ask Twilight for her opinion tomorrow. For now, I think it's time for you to perform your royal duties.” Celestia smiled and left the room, leaving Luna to raise the moon and start the night.
And so, the night began. Harmony was nowhere to be found, and the guards at the doors of the dining hall told Celestia that her mother had left the room hours ago, returning to the corridor from which she had emerged on her way to the dining room itself. This only served to worsen Celestia’s already bad mood, as she was hoping to inquire about her mother’s past yet again, this time a little more carefully. Harmony obviously had trouble dealing with the past, and Celestia wanted to know what was bothering her mother.
The rest of the evening passed without any further conversation between Celestia and her mother. She had gone to ask the guards at the entrance to the Canterlot gardens, and they told her that Harmony had passed them, but hadn’t returned. She was gazing at Discord’s statue again, Celestia just knew it.
The princess went up to her bedroom, and looked out from one of her bedroom windows just once before she went to bed. Sure enough, as she had suspected, there was a small, ivory dot next to one of the statues. Harmony. Her red mane, flowing into yellow at the tips, wasn’t easy to spot in the moonlight, but her coat was bright and easy to find. Celestia turned away from the sight, wondering once again why her mother was so enthralled by a statue of a danger long since passed.
Celestia went to lie down, making a mental note to ask her student for her opinion on the matter, as Luna had suggested. Luna had been having trouble with her mother’s arrival, but her idea was a good one. Twilight did have the most experience with parents of any of them, and she would be able to help them choose their actions.