6897 years after Twilight’s coronation
“Thank you for coming, Princess. I didn’t know what to do anymore,” Sweet Tooth said as she breathed in relief.
“You are welcome. You said it was something serious, and I always listen to the call of my subjects,” Twilight replied as she looked around.
She was in an orphanage, and talking to its director. She was called to this place because of a very special unicorn. Sweet Tooth didn’t tell her the details in her letter, but it seemed that one of the young foals was quite unique and hard to deal with.
“You see, we have a filly unicorn here since we found her in a basket in front of the entrance door. It was a year ago; it wasn’t the first time someone abandoned their foal in such a way; however, there wasn’t even a name attached to it. The problem started a few weeks ago… every night, she uses her magic in her sleep, and wreak havoc everywhere. She almost lifted the whole building one day!” Sweet explained as she led Twilight to the room where she put the young filly.
“I see… She must have too much magic for her body to handle, and it’s releasing it during night time. What is her name?” Twilight inquired in a serious tone. She saw many cases of the sort throughout the years. Some unicorns had a body far too weak to handle their own magic power. The worst case scenario was the complete destruction of their body.
“Well… She doesn’t have a name…” Sweet answered embarrassingly.
“Didn’t you give her one?” Twilight raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
“We tried, but she said she would only be called by the name her parents gave her. We don’t know it, and she doesn’t either!” Sweet replied.
“How are you the director of an orphanage when you are this bad at your job?” Twilight scolded, sighing in annoyance. Sweet looked down, undaring to talk back to her.
“We’re here… I’ll let you see her,” Sweet said as she pointed at the door at her side. Twilight lit her horn and opened the door with her magic aura.
The Princess glanced inside and saw a small filly with a purple coat and a small horn atop of her head. Her mane was dark pink. The filly dropped the puppet she was holding in her hooves before turning her around to look at the newcomer. She didn’t look intimidated in the slightest, which greatly surprised Twilight.
“Who are you, Lady?” The filly asked as the Princess slowly approached her.
Twilight stayed silent, then lit her horn. The filly stared at her in curiosity as the Princess kept a straight face. A couple of seconds later, her horn lost her light. Now she understood why the filly had these accidents while sleeping. It wasn’t just her body’s fault, her magic reserves were colossal! If she didn’t learn how to control her magic, she could explode the whole city. Who was this filly? Where did she even come from?
“I came to see you, Celestia,” Twilight answered as the filly raised an eyebrow.
“Celestia?”
“Isn’t that the name your parents gave you?”
“Is it?”
“Yes,”
“Oh,” The filly looked down in thought, unsure of what to say. Suddenly, she smiled. “I didn’t know! Thank you, Lady!” She thanked, smiling at the tall alicorn. Then, she walked around her, seeing that she a horn and wings. “You are so weird, Lady! You have wings, but you are a unicorn!”
“That’s because I am a Princess. My name is Twilight Sparkle,” The Princess replied, smiling.
“A princess? What do you do?” Celestia inquired as she sat down in front of the tall alicorn.
“I rule Equestria, mostly. And I teach magic to some lucky unicorns,”
“Magic?” Celestia tilted her head.
“Look,” Twilight replied as she lit her horn. Suddenly, a grey cube appeared out of thin air. Celestia stared at it in awe as it started changing forms, sometimes becoming a ball or even a triangle. “You can do a lot of things with magic. Sometimes, you can even fight the laws of nature. One learns magic to discover the world’s secrets, or even the ones inside themselves. Some would tell you it’s a path to power and supremacy, but they’re wrong. It’s used to bring ponies together,” Twilight explained as the cube slowly turned to dust.
“This was great! Do it again!” Celestia shouted as she bounced up and down.
“I can teach you if you want,” The Princess offered, stopping Celestia in her bouncing. SHe stared at Twilight in surprise.
“Really?” She asked as the alicorn nodded in reply. “I want to! I want to! Please, teach me, Princess!”
“Then come with me,” Twilight replied as she walked out of the room. She threw a quick look at Sweet Tooth. “Prepare the required papers. I am taking her with me,” She said before walking away, not even listening to the director’s reply.
“A-As you wish, Princess!” Sweet stuttered as she followed behind the two.
This was the first time Twilight and her new student, Celestia, ever met. The princess quickly realised the young filly had a gift for magic. Not only was she strong, she also had an incredible talent to learn easily everything Twilight taught her. She was someone the Princess would call a prodigy. She had a great time teaching her; however, she didn’t only teach her spells. She also had to take care of her since Celestia didn’t have any family; she lived in the castle and sleeped with the Princess for the first three years. They spent much time together, which pleased the both of them. However, no matter how much Twilight loved her student and appreciated teaching her, she couldn’t neglect her flaws. As time passed, she quickly realised Celestia wasn’t the friend-making type of pony. In fact, she wasn’t interested in making friends at all, and preferred learning spells with Twilight. Even after all those years, Twilight still gave great meaning to the magic of friendship. She still considered that no matter how many spells she learned and created; it would never surpass that magic.
“You have successfully mastered this spell, and in such a short time at that. I am impressed,” Twilight congratulated Celestia, who was standing proudly in front of her. It had been five years since Twilight picked her from the orphanage. Her magic abilities had greatly evolved.
“Of course, I did! I’m the best!” Celestia bragged, smiling smugly.
“You still have a lot to learn,” Twilight replied in an emotionless tone while Celestia frowned. “What about friends? Did you meet anypony yesterday?”
“Yeah… I tried doing what you said… but I came back home super quickly! I don’t want friends! I want to learn magic!” She answered, already having enough of hearing this question.
“Please, listen to me… I told you that friends were a big part of learning magic,” Twilight reasoned with her while the filly pouted. “Alright, if you try, really try, making friends again today; I will buy you an ice cream. And I won’t bother you with this for at least another month. What do you say?” She offered with a smile as Celestia stopped pouting and thought about it.
“It’s a deal!” Celestia exclaimed as she hugged Twilight’s leg.
“You planned this to have an ice cream, didn’t you?” Twilight smiled as her pupil giggled proudly. The Princess playfully rolled her eyes. She should have seen it coming, then again, a deal’s a deal!
She was disappointed Celestia didn’t make any efforts to even try making new friends, but she couldn’t stay mad at her too long. It had been like that since she took her in the castle. The two of them used to spend all their time together, even when Twilight had important reunions. It was clear the filly loved their time together, and for once in her life, Twilight didn’t just teach magic and friendship. She taught her how to dance, and even cook! It was a relationship the Princess never had before with one of her students, or any pony for that matter. To raise someone… To teach them about life.
“And that’s how you make a cake,” Twilight said as she placed the cake on the kitchen table, using her magic. Celestia, still a filly, stared at it in awe.
“It looks great!” She drooled. It was a strawberry cake, pink and white, and with strawberries placed in circle on its top.
“Well, I had a few millennia to learn,” The Princess replied with a small smile.
“I wish learning to bake one would be less boring, though,” She added as Twilight blinked.
“I beg your pardon?”
“You’re always so serious, Princess! And the way you bake isn’t fun at all. I thought you would-” The filly started before Twilight suddenly interrupted her by placing her hoof on her shoulder.
“I think there’s something wrong with the cake. Why don’t you take a look, so I can see if you learned well?” Twilight offered as Celestia hesitantly nodded. The filly walked close to it and climbed on a nearby chair before leaning her head down. However, she couldn’t see anything wrong with it. It still looked great! Suddenly, the cake was surrounded by a lavender aura, and before the filly could even react; it flew right into her face! She screamed in surprise as she fell onto the floor, cake dripping from her mane.
“So… I am boring, right?” Twilight laughed while the filly pouted for a couple of seconds, then giggled, joining the Princess in her laughter.
It was obvious Celestia wasn’t interested in making friends; however, she did become close to Spike. It reassured Twilight greatly to know the filly still had the potential to learn the magic of friendship. Moreover, it had been a long time since Spike had any company at all. Even though, that huge bag of scales wouldn’t admit it; he liked her. Maybe she reminded him of some friends he had in the past?
“Are you sure Twilight authorized you to do this? You didn’t just use the portal spell while she had her back turned, did you?” Spike inquired as he glanced at Celestia with the corner of his eyes. She was sitting on his colossal back while he was flying high in the sky, even higher than some clouds.
“Of course not! She wanted me to have some fun! Go faster!” She replied excitedly as she felt the air flowing through her mane.
“I’m not sure; it seems quite dangerous. You might fall off and I won’t even notice! That’s why I doubt it was Twilight’s idea,” Spike grumbled, loud enough for the filly to hear.
“Aren’t you her closest friend? I remember her saying you are the most trustworthy friend she knows. That means she trust you, so she’s sure you won’t let anything bad happening to me,” Celestia retorted as Spike remained silent, thinking about it. “Now, do a loop!”
“I guess you are right… I can’t argue with that! I’ll go faster, but no loops!” He answered as he flapped his wings harder.
Celestia clapped with her front hooves as she held to Spike’s scales with her magic. She looked around her, admiring the setting sun, shining above the clouds and bathing them with its light. She got to see the beautiful planes below; nature at its finest. There were no pony constructions; and even the people living down there weren’t ponies! All sorts of creatures; kirins, sea snakes, minotaurs…
“It’s so pretty…” Celestia mumbled in awe.
“Now you know why races with wings totally rule,” Spike said as Celestia widened her eyes in surprise. She wasn’t expecting him to hear through all this wind! “I must thank you. Even I forgot the feeling of flying freely in the sky. I’ve been on the ground for so long…”
“You’re so lucky! I wish I could fly, too!” Celestia pouted.
“Maybe you will; who knows? But for now, I will humbly accept to be your mount,” Spike replied playfully as Celestia giggled.
“Do the Princess fly with you sometimes?”
“Nah… She’s far too busy nowadays. You’re lucky she can even spend so much time with you,”
“I thought she wouldn’t want miss this sight, but I guess she prefers using her horn rather than her wings,” Celestia thought out loud.
“She did have a friend she used to fly a lot with,” Spike said in melancholy as he thought of the past.
“Again with the friend thing… Friends are so boring! I don’t understand why the Princess bothers me so much with it! I’d rather learn cool spells! Fighting bad guys looks much funnier!” The filly complained.
“Believe me, she’s doing it for your own good. Being alone is… She wouldn’t want you to know how it feels,” Spike reasoned with her as the filly pouted in annoyance. “Besides, I thought like you before; that fighting villains and all that is cool. However, it’s not so easy. I’d rather fight to protect my friends than fight to hurt others,”
“There’s a difference?” Celestia raised an eyebrow.
“A key difference… But I guess you’re still too young to see it. Don’t be too harsh on Twilight; she’s doing her best for you to be happy, alright?” He asked as the filly looked away, refusing to reply. “I guess it’s enough for now. I’ll get you down, so you can go back home,”
Celestia sighed, of course even Spike wouldn’t understand. It was obvious he would be on Twilight’s side. Yes, maybe she was throwing too many tantrums lately, but that didn’t mean she was in the wrong! Not having friends and focusing on learning magic was her choice! It was what she wanted to do! She had been alone as far as she could remember, but there always that feeling of someone standing by her side… She felt that presence growing even stronger ever since the Princess took her under her wing. It was strange, but she felt like that presence was magic itself! Was it the only one she could rely on? No… This was pure nonsense! Magic wasn’t a living being! How could it? Spike finally landed on the ground, where the portal to the castle was still open. The filly glanced one final time at the dragon, then entered it.
Several years later, Twilight was walking in circle in her throne room, where stood three containers, each filled with something. Rocks, water, and fire. The Princess sighed in annoyance as her impatience grew with each step she took. Her student was late, yet again. It happened a lot lately, and she didn’t have any good reasons. Her insolence was visible even to the most oblivious guards. Twilight felt like she was the only one to blame; she wasn’t harsh enough on her pupil, and her accomplishments made her arrogant. She must had thought she was so good she didn’t need to be in time for her lessons and test. How wrong she was… Twilight was planning to scold her as soon as she got there!
Suddenly, the doors of the room opened, surrounded by a magic hold the Princess quickly recognised. Celestia, her student, entered the room, looking bored. She had grown a lot since Twilight took her in; she was slowly becoming a real mare. Her mane was long and a mess, unlike one of the Princess’ past friends, she didn’t take care of her appearance that much. However, Twilight also noticed several bruises covering her body. The Princess narrowed her eyes and frowned.
“Where have you been?” She asked coldly, expecting a good justification.
“Outside, it’s obvious, isn’t it?” Celestia sighed as she looked away.
“Please. Don’t play that game with me, Celestia. You’re late; where were you?” Twilight stomped the floor in annoyance.
“I was outside, okay? I just went for a walk around the city. Just because I love magic doesn’t mean I also like being trapped in here,” Celestia answered as she flipped her mane behind her when they got in her face.
“I’m not saying you should be trapped here. You know well enough I’ve always told you to go out and meet new ponies. However, the issue here is that you are late for a test,” Twilight replied as Celestia rolled her eyes.
“I don’t need a test; I already know I am the best. I’ll ace it anyway!”
“Were you in a fight?” Twilight narrowed her eyes.
“I… No!” She stuttered; however, the Princess kept frowning at her. Celestia knew very well she couldn’t lie to her. “Alright… Yes, I was,”
“How can you…”
“It was just random guys! They wanted a drink with me, and I said no. I didn’t want to repeat it a second time,”
“They wanted a drink? Just because they didn’t want to drop it didn’t mean you could beat them up!”
“That’s what I’ve been doing from the start! Beating up bad guys! That’s what magic is for!” Celestia gritted her teeth.
Twilight shook her head. “No… I told you, ponies should only use magic for peace… not for respect, fear or just for your own ego! That’s the first lesson I’ve ever taught you, and you still haven’t learned it,” She explained, before calming herself. “We’ll talk about this later. You still have a test to do. You must use the elements of nature here to build something as detailed and sturdy as possible,” Twilight pointed at the containers.
Celestia stepped forward and lit her horn as her magic aura surrounded the containers. Twilight watched with a stern look as Celestia easily manipulated the elements, slowly shaping them into something. The Princess couldn’t deny it, the way she was doing it was nearly perfect. She had no difficulty at all… like it was a gift. Soon enough, it was over. Celestia had built a statue of herself, fire burning at the tip of her statue’s horn, and water leaking out of her mouth to the floor of the throne room. Twilight inspected it; everything on this statue was the same as Celestia’s body. She hadn’t missed any detail… The Princess wanted to praise her, tell her how proud of she was… but it was impossible. How could she praise her when she had done nothing but disobey her the entire day, when she got into a fight and most likely sent ponies to the hospital or worse?
Celestia smirked in pride at her own creation. That was why she was the Princess’ student; there was no unicorn better than her at magic. It was obvious, of course. That should have been enough to shut the Princess up, and get her off her back. However, Twilight didn’t look proud or amazed; she was frowning, glaring at her very soul. Celestia gritted her teeth; what was wrong now?!
“It’s not bad… You did well, but it could be better. Looks like fighting your fellow ponies isn’t enough to make you a good pupil. Go into your room. You are grounded,” Twilight said.
“What?! Are you serious? I’m 19! I’m not a foal you can ground anymore! A-And why would you, now? What did I do wrong?” Celestia complained.
“If you can’t even see what you did wrong, then you should think about it. You’ll have plenty of time, after all,” Twilight replied coldly.
Celestia glared at her mentor, but quickly looked away, knowing no glares could make the Princess back down. She turned around and walked to her room. As much as she hated it, Twilight had much more authority and power than her; she didn’t have any other choice but to obey the alicorn. As soon as she came in, she locked the door in anger, and hoping nobody would come in for the rest of the day. Although she was sure the Princess would be able to enter if she wanted to.
“You should think about it…” Celestia muttered as she closed the curtains of her windows, not letting any sunlight come through it. “We both know I am not going to think about it. I know I was right! She’s the most powerful pony in the world; she should understand how I feel!” She yelled. She didn’t even know who she was talking to, but she felt like she needed to get all her thoughts out. She wished someone would be here to listen to them, and be on her side. Twilight kept scolding her every time she fought another pony with her magic. She could admit she was too violent sometimes, but it always was for a good reason. It was to improve herself, to become someone as strong as Twilight Sparkle! However, that same pony kept giving her useless advices and instructions! “As if she had any friends either! She doesn’t talk to anypony else than her pet dragon!” She groaned, thinking about Spike’s protectiveness. Why would Twilight restrict so much of her potential? Why would she fill her head with those useless values if it didn’t do anything to improve her use of magic?
She lied down on her bed, and lit her horn, levitating a book towards her. On its cover was written “Equestrian History, Pt 5”. She was supposed to read it months ago, but quickly understood it was useless to her lessons about magic. Who cared about old and dead ponies, right?
Meanwhile, Twilight went back to her chambers. She needed to think about her student. The more the time passed, the more she looked like a lost cause. She already had a few students with friendship problems, but Celestia was on another level. She didn’t have difficulties making friends, she just hated the idea of even trying! She couldn’t control her behavior, and she hated having to be cold and harsh on her… but it seemed to be the only way to talk to her. To make her listen… She tried the soft way, it didn’t work. And now the hard one didn’t either! She walked around her room in thought… Should she strip her of her title of Princess’ student? It was a hard decision she only rarely had to think about, but it seemed more and more obvious Celestia wouldn’t have what is needed for her to become a princess one day.
Suddenly, she stopped in front of a picture frame, a picture of herself and her pupil. As she looked around, there were several more, dating back to when Celestia was only a filly. All of the pictures also included her… She wanted to make her feel like she had a family, that she wasn’t just an unwanted orphan, but it also ended up giving her the feeling of bringing back a family lost long ago. She looked… really happy. Twilight knew it; that mare didn’t have a bad heart. It must have been due to her own fault that she ended becoming like this: arrogant and cold. That was never the Princess’ wish, but she couldn’t change the fact it happened. And she couldn’t punish her because of her own mistake.
If only her mentor, her Celestia, was there… she would know what to do. Maybe she should try the soft way again. However, she would need some advice first! She lit her horn and closed her eyes, concentrating on her spell. A couple of seconds later, a lavender mirror-like plate of magic appeared in front of her face. She finally opened her eyes when she heard soft groans.
“Um? W-Who is this? I’m taking a nap, so be quick!” He groaned as an image appeared in magic mirror. It was Spike; however, only his beard had grown, and not his body. He didn’t only look sleepy, but grumpy as well.
“It’s Twilight, Spike. I hope I’m not bothering you,” Just as she said that, his face lit up immediately as he smiled and raised his head to look at the magic mirror.
“Twilight! I didn’t know it was you! Of course, you aren’t. I was just sleeping, nothing too serious,” Spike answered as he tried to rise a bit higher, and sit in a comfortable position; however, he quickly dropped down again while groaning in pain. “That backbone again! It’s killing me!” He complained as he dug his claws in the ground.
“I’d say you should rest, but you’ve been doing that since the past 500 years,” Twilight chuckled as Spike groaned in response, not amused.
“So… what are you calling for?”
“It’s about Celestia,”
“The teacher or the student?”
“The student”
“Not again! What’s the issue now?” Spike inquired in annoyance.
“I don’t know what to do anymore… I think I should find somepony else as my pupil,” Twilight answered, making the dragon widen his eyes.
“Okay, this is serious now. What exactly happened?”
“She got into a fight, again. It looks like she doesn’t listen to anything I tell her to do. She can’t talk to other ponies without belittling them. She’s selfish and self-centered, and on top of that; I’ve never even seen her defend or protect anypony! Even when the escapees from Tartarus attacked Equestria one year ago!”
“Calm down… She’s a teenager! You know how they are at this age… Insane,” Spike shivered, bringing back memories.
“You know as well as I do that this isn’t the only reason…” Twilight sighed. “You know she was an orphan, she never knew what it was like to have parents. And I’ve never had foals or orphans as students before… I don’t know how to deal with this… I’m not fit to be a parent, I never was,”
“Twilight, this is ridiculous! You and your mother took care of me when I was only a hatchling! I turned out to be good, great even! I promise you, you are not at fault here. If anything, you’re the closest thing she has as the best mother in Equestria,” Spike tried to reason with the alicorn Princess; however, she still looked uncertain and ashamed. “Did you try talking to your friends? What were their names again? The ones who have foals,”
“Roseberry and Candy Crush,’ Twilight answered as the dragon nodded.
“Right. They have two foals each, if I remember correctly from what you told me. That’s quite an amount if put together, they should know how to deal with this. Did you try asking them? I am sure they would counsel you best,” Spike assured.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to bother them with this… Just tell me what you would do, then I’ll make a decision,” Twilight replied as Spike shook his head, but did as she asked anyway.
“Give her another chance, as many as you can. Just… don’t give up on her or she’ll hate you. Nobody wants to be abandoned after all. Like I said, it’s just a phase and she’ll get over it. Show her you care about her or something. You said she didn’t want to make friends since she thought they were useless. The prove her wrong by becoming her very first friend. That worked with quite a lot of villains, didn’t it? So why wouldn't it with her? Trust me on this. Besides, I also saw it in a comic a few years ago. Works every time,” Spike chuckled as Twilight cracked a smile.
“Alright, I’ll do my best. Thank you, Spike,”
“Anytime,” He replied as the mirror shut down and Twilight’s horn’s light was turned off. She walked out of her room and went towards Celestia’s, hoping she wouldn’t make things worse. When she was finally in front of her door, she knocked and waited for a response.
“Who is it?” Celestia’s voice inquired.
“It’s me; I have to talk with you, can I come in?”
“I thought you already said everything you had to. Shouldn’t I be thinking about my behavior?” Celestia spat, keeping the door closed.
“I promise you, I am not here to scold you again. I just want to talk, please,”
“You could come in any way you like… What’s even the point of asking me?” Celestia asked in annoyance.
“Because I want your authorization first,” Twilight replied.
She waited a couple of seconds in silence when she suddenly heard the door being unlocked. She lit her horn and opened it before coming in. Celestia was lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling while a book, that Twilight couldn’t see the cover of, was resting on her belly.
“Listen… I wanted to apologize earlier. What you did at your test was wonderful, and I should have congratulated you for it,” She explained while Celestia looked at her in surprise. “However, what you did outside was still wrong,” The unicorn stood up and walked to Twilight.
“I told you my reasons,”
“You did, and I think there was a better way to deal with this… I don’t know why you are so stubborn to be like this, but if it’s my fault, then I am sorry. I… I want to do what’s best for you. If you really don’t want friends, then I won’t force you. Just… become a powerful unicorn, like you wanted to. I heard you wanted to fight bad guys… then if you are Equestria’s hero, that's fine with me,” Twilight explained as Celestia looked surprised, and uncertain of what to say. She stuttered, trying to say something; however, the Princess only wrapped her wings around her. “I admit I never say it, but I am proud of the progress you made in magic. You’ve evolved so much…” Twilight whispered while Celestia rested her head in her chest, her anger fading as she was in the Princess’ warm embrace. How was she supposed to react to that? “I’ve decided you’ll be grounded for only two more hours, but promise me you won’t get in a fight with innocent ponies ever again,”
Celestia looked away, unsure of what to answer, then sighed. “I promise,” She replied as Twilight unwrapped her wings.
“I’m pleased we could talk things out, and… I apologize if I was hard on you; I’ll be as honest as possible from now on,” Twilight added as Celestia nodded in response. The princess turned around, ready to leave. She was happy that things didn’t get too out of hand; she would need Celestia after all, and it would have been bad enough if she became uncontrollable.
“Wait!” Twilight stopped in her tracks as she heard Celestia calling her just before she could leave. “I wanted to ask you something… It’s about my apprenticeship. What will happen when it’s over?” Celestia inquired, staring into Twilight’s very soul while the Princess turned her head to glance at her.
“You… You will see. Nothing really special,” She replied before leaving the room, not even leaving Celestia any time to say or ask more.
The young unicorn looked troubled, then stared at the book she was reading a few seconds earlier. Finally, she sighed and climbed back into her bed. Was the princess really telling the truth? Was she lying? And if so, why? She wasn’t sure anymore. That book was old anyway, so it could be outdated, which would explain why the princess answered her like that.
However, what if it wasn’t? What if the princess was lying to her, to keep her from asking for more. To keep her from rebelling. She looked mad earlier, but she was now suddenly apologising? Why would she change her mind? Celestia already knew why the princess took her under her wing.
It was because her own power could destroy her body. The princess taught her magic to protect her! They spent years together, and she was sure the alicorn loved her!
But how could be sure of that? She was always treated as a regular student. Moreover, being taught by the princess also meant she was basically under her control. She might have seen her potential, and wanted her as a powerful warrior fighting for Equestria?
That sounded silly!
… But the princess always looked so… disappointed when looking at her. What had she done wrong? She had better magic control than anyone else!
“What am I thinking? This is ridiculous! I know I can be a bit... rebellious… but the princess wouldn’t manipulate me!” Celestia thought as she chuckled, before rolling over on her other side as doubt suddenly clouded her mind. “However, she did behave very strangely towards you these past years... And she did seem to lie to you a few times already,” She thought to herself.
She guessed it wouldn’t hurt to check and make sure she wasn’t crazy or something. But how could she do that? Asking the princess directly was out of question, of course! If she remembered correctly… the three guys she beat up earlier were talking about a new fortune teller in the city. A seer which seemed to be quite accurate. She never believed in such things, but something told her she should go and see for herself.
She didn’t even know what she was thinking! As soon as she could, she went out of the castle and walked deep into Canterlot. They said the seer had a tent in the peasants’ area. She rarely went there since it was below her, but it wasn’t like she had a choice now. It didn’t take her long, and it was easier than she thought it would be, but she found what she was looking for only a hour later. Then again, a tent in a city like Canterlot was hard to miss.
When Celestia took a look at the outside, she saw nothing out of the extraordinary. Although, the tent’s appearance quite chaotic; it was black, blue, green, pink and even purple! All the colors looked like they were placed randomly. Celestia doubted this seer’s abilities even more… She wouldn’t be surprised if they were a crook and a fraud.
When she came in, she was surprised to see that the seer was unlike what she thought they would look. For a start, it was a stallion, and he didn’t wear any kind of robe to somewhat conceal his identity. He didn’t seem to want to look mysterious. He had a gray coat and a blue horn, which was quite unusual. His horn wasn’t even pointing straight. Celestia looked at him with pity, because of his poor looks, but tried to act normal as she came closer.
“I have been expecting you,” He said as he smirked. That was Celestia’s cue to leave, that cliche line. However, just like when something called here, it now kept her inside. A strange feeling deep inside her stomach. “Come in, Celestia. You have nothing to fear,” He added smoothly as a crystal ball appeared out of thin air on his round table.
Celestia looked around, then decided to come closer. Although, she refused to sit on the chair for her.
“Just to make sure you have any kind of real abilities… Do you know why I am here?” Celestia inquired as she narrowed her eyes.
“To learn about your future,” The seer snickered while the mare simply glared at him. “You’re not the joke type, are you? Anyway, you have many doubts on your relationship with the princess. You think something could be amiss…”
Celestia leaned down, surprised that he guessed it, but still unsure if he was the real deal or not.
“You read quite an interesting book earlier today. About Equestria’s history,”
“H-How did you know?!”
“Oh, I know a lot of things!” The seer laughed while the mare kept a shocked expression. “You are worried because the princess didn’t tell you that she was born a unicorn. And because, she didn’t tell you that the personal student of an alicorn, if all the tests they passed, they should become an alicorn, too,”
“That’s right! Y-You got everything right! Princess Twilight never talked to me about this! I mean… considering my level now; she should be getting me ready to turn me into an alicorn, shouldn’t she? I learn every spell faster than any unicorn; I’m the very best there is! The princess knows it, too! But still… I don’t know what’s going through her head…”
“But do you know what’s going through yours?” The seer inquired, suddenly getting serious.
“W-What? What do you mean?”
“That voice at the back of your head… The one that keeps talking to you. You should listen to it more often,” He answered before snickering.
“How do you know so much...?” Celestia whispered with a fearful gaze, before shaking her head. “Do you… Do you know who my real parents were?”
“I was waiting for that question… Anypony in your situation would want to know, wouldn’t they? I… do know who they are,” He answered as Celestia widened her eyes. “But it doesn’t matter,”
“I don’t care! Tell me!”
“Stop behaving like a spoiled brat and listen for once,” He replied, which made her shut up. Mainly because she wasn’t expecting him to talk to her like that. He shot a bolt of magic at the crystal ball. And a few seconds later, a green smoke danced inside. “Knowing their identity wouldn’t change a thing. I can see it; your future. And it is not bright. You will die, and never become an alicorn. In a mere thousand years, the world would forget you ever existed,”
“That’s impossible,” She stated without a doubt in her voice.
“It’s not. You will never meet the princess’ standards to become an alicorn. However, there is still a way for you to change that future. I can tell you about it, or you can choose to ignore the words of a fool and get out of here. But the future may not change if you do this…”
“... Tell me. And quick,”
“Deep within Twilight’s personal library lies a forbidden section. She is the one that created all the spells there. They are dark and powerful, but there is only one you need to learn. That little voice in this head of yours will tell you which one it is,”
“How can I trust you?” Celestia asked with an eyebrow raised.
“You can’t, but I never tell lies to the pony I like! Let’s just say I’m a fan of yours, so you don’t need to pay,” He answered before laughing. “I’m sure you know which path you should take,”
Celestia didn’t give any answer and simply turned her back on him as she walked out of his tent. He was right; she did know which path to take. She had always known. However, waiting could be quite helpful, too. She still trusted the princess to make the right decision.
30 years later
“How was that, Princess?” Celestia inquired smugly as crops suddenly grew out of a patch of dirt the guards had placed here.
“It was good,” Twilight simply answered as she looked lost in thought. “Listen… I have something to tell you… You will be working with another unicorn; a young filly I chose as my student,”
“Huh? I-I don’t understand. I am your student… Did I complete my apprenticeship?” Celestia asked in disbelief.
“You are a wonderful unicorn, and your talent in magic is very impressive. However, it’s not over yet. You still had much to learn,” Twilight explained.
“Then you can’t have two students! It doesn’t work that way! I don’t get it…”
“You’ve been my student for a long time, and you gave impressive results. I think it’s time I look for a new one. And to be clear, I am not replacing you. She will be learning alongside you, and you will teach her, too. Think of her as a… friend,” Twilight replied.
“Well it feels like it! When is my apprenticeship over?! Hearing you talk about how long I’ve been your student makes me wonder if there is even an end to it!”
“Celestia, please, don’t do this today. Not again. I don’t have time for this. You’re getting a partner and that’s final,”
“You don’t have time? Stop it with that bullcrap! What do you do all day except sitting in a throne?!” Celestia shouted angrily.
“Celestia, the friendship celebration is coming up and we have a murderer on the loose! I can’t listen to your usual complaining, not at such a time!” Twilight snapped back, breaking her impassive demeanor. “The lesson’s over…” She added, trying to calm down. “You have a lot to think about. And I hope you change your tone when I see you again,” She said as she walked out of the throne room.
Celestia narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth in rage.
“You knew it would happen, didn’t you? It’s time to take action,” Celestia thought as her horn glowed. “This is the last time you will ever talk to me like that,” She muttered as she teleported away.
Twilight and Celestia’s lives hadn’t changed much in 30 years. However, their relationship worsened. Twilight had always been patient, but Celestia had a gift to constantly bring her to her limits. The student hadn’t made any progress in the path of friendship, and Twilight doubted she ever would. She still had some hope her new student would befriend her, of course. However, if nothing changed, she’d have no choice but to tell Celestia her apprenticeship is over, and that she failed. The unicorn actually pestered from time to time to know when she would become an alicorn. The princess never gave a straight answer. And she couldn’t tell her she may be worthy by finding friends, being loyal and honest. She had to figure it out for herself.
Twilight hoped she would at least manage to fix their relationship. Unfortunately, Celestia didn’t show up the next day.
It was only two days after their little argument that Twilight started getting really worried. She trusted her student and knew she would be able to defend herself if need be; however, that was too much time without any news of her. She feared she may had been too harsh on her, making her resentful. She was just about to call Spike and ask him if he knew anything when the doors of the throne room burst open without any warning, forcing Twilight to shield her eyes with her right wing. She also quickly lit her horn, ready for a fight. However, the glow died down when she saw who entered the room.
“Celestia?” The princess inquired in disbelief as the unicorn came in with a smug face. Behind her, the bodies of two guards dropped on the floor. “What is the meaning of this?”
“I’ve had enough of your stupid assignments, I’m ready. Make me an alicorn!”
“I already told you. You don’t have what it takes. Now, calm down and let’s…”
“I don’t have what it takes, do I? Then, how about I show you what I can do,” She replied as she lit her horn.
Twilight raised an eyebrow, before having to keep her balance as the floor suddenly started shaking. She heard crumbling, and several cries coming from outside. She didn’t waste any time and looked through a window. She could only widen her eyes as she realised what was Celestia doing. She managed to lift the entire castle!
“I’m only using a fraction of my magic. I don’t want to sound cocky, but I’m pretty sure I’ve become the most powerful unicorn in history!” She smiled smugly.
“I know you are a prodigy, but you shouldn’t be able to this so easily. How did you get so strong?” Twilight asked coldly.
“It doesn’t matter. I have the abilities to be a good princess, so just turn me already!” Celestia replied, getting impatient.
“Answer me!”
Celestia sighed, suddenly calming down.
“I really tried to make this easy. But since I’ve got no other choice but to force you to make me an alicorn; I guess I can tell you how I became so strong,” Celestia started, widening Twilight’s eyes. “I’ve looked through your book of forbidden spells and learned to steal another creature’s magic,”
“No… Please, tell me you didn’t do this… I made a mistake when I created that spell; it’s dangerous for everypony involved, even the caster!” Twilight explained worriedly.
“I didn’t only learn it; I perfected it! The only thing it leaves behind after I’ve absorbed magic is a corpse!”
“The murdered ponies…” Twilight started in shock, afraid of the realisation she came to.
“Yeah, I’m the one who did it. But they won’t be missed. They weren’t innocent. They were scum. Trash that doesn’t belong in my world,” She explained with a grin.
“You can’t harm ponies; not like that. Even if they commited crimes…” Twilight muttered with shaking lips.
“That’s why I’ll be more fit to rule than you, Princess. You and I were born different, you know it. We’ve always been better than the common ponies. We have to crush those beneath us, and enforce our rule! But… you are a loving ruler, and because of that you are too forgiving,” Celestia explained. “When I’ll be in charge, I’ll make Equestria powerful; and there will be peace and order throughout all the lands. I bet you regret not letting me die when you had the chance,” She snickered while the princess looked down.
Twilight didn’t know what to say or do. A billion questions swarmed her mind: Who put these ideas into her student’s head? Where had she gone wrong? And so on… She even had to keep her balance to avoid falling on her knees as her vision spun around. She had to reason with her. Or else she might do something she would truly regret.
“No,” She finally managed to get out of her mouth. “I never regretted taking you with me. And even now, I don’t. The memories I had of raising you were the best I had in centuries. I’m sorry if I failed you in any way. Stop this madness,”
Celestia stepped back and looked down, feeling unsure and conflicted. Then, she looked at Twilight’s face. The princess looked ready to break down from where the unicorn stood.
“No. No, I won’t. I admit you gave me everything; a name, a life, power, a home and even more. When I’ll take your magic, I’ll make sure Equestria remembers you.” She started calmly. “But what I want more than anything is to be an alicorn! You really think I’d accept living a few decades, only to die and be forgotten like all the other rats living in Equestria?!” She snarled in anger.
“You won’t be forgotten,” Twilight tried to reason with her while speaking in a soft tone.
“Yeah, right! What a joke! Who the fuck remembers any of your student?!” She snapped as she stepped on the floor.
“Me,”
“What?”
“I’ve never forgotten any of them. They all live in my heart, just like my friends,” Twilight explained.
Celestia widened her eyes as a look of surprise painted her face; however, she suddenly guffawed, which turned into loud laughter.
“I didn’t know you were so funny, princess,” She said as she wiped a tear off her face. “You really think I’d settle being in you heart, old hag?! Save the friendship speech for another idiot of the common ponies! Now enough talking! It’s time to meet your doom!” Celestia shouted as she lit her horn and shot a huge beam of magic.
Twilight created a dome shield around her, just in time to protect herself. The attack wasn’t very hard to block; however, the princess could clearly feel it held much more power than a regular unicorn. She still thought she could talk to her student, but it look more and more difficult at time passed. When the attack seemed to be finally over, the dome disappeared. The beam seemed to have left a huge hole in the castle’s walls, but apart from that, there were no damages.
“As expected, you blocked that. That was only a glimpse of my abilities! I’ll use every spell you taught me, against you!” She grinned as she lit her horn again. Her body started levitating in the air, and soon after, multiple clones of herself appeared around Twilight.
“Please, Celestia. I don’t want to hurt you!”
“Shut up, and fight me! Coward!” The student replied as she, and her clones, all shot beams of magic.
The explosion and the dust cloud it left made the princess disappear while the walls of the castle trembled, ready to collapse on themselves. Celestia still smiled smugly as the dust slowly vanished. However, to her surprise, the alicorn wasn’t there anymore. She quickly moved her head up, realising where she could have gone, but it was too late.
Twilight had used her wings and flew above Celestia and her clones, avoiding her blasts. Her horn glowed in a bright lavender color and multiple purple blades erupted out of it, impaling every clone in the room; and cutting Celestia’s right cheek, drawing blood. The unicorn let out a small cry of surprise.
“Y-You missed! That was your last mistake!”
“You know I didn’t miss, Celestia. This was a warning shot. Stop this, or else,” Twilight warned as her horn glowed again.
“Arrogant bitch…” Celestia grumbled under her breath. “I’m not done yet. I have a lot of magic left! Beside… I also managed to take the power of someone else. Someone much stronger than the peasants you rule,” She stated as the light of her horn became green.
“No…” Twilight realised as she started to grieve.
“Spike had been useful in the end! His magic will be a good tool to kill you!” Celestia shouted as her body glowed brightly.
Twilight was forcefully brought into reality when she understood what spell her student was about to use.
“Princess! We’re here to help!” A guard screamed as he entered with two more of them.
“No! Don’t come here!” Twilight screamed as she hurriedly teleported to them. Not even a second later, a huge blast surrounded Celestia’s body, destroying everything around her.
Unfortunately, this was the last straw. The castle was blasted away while some rooms simply collapsed on themselves. Luckily, a lavender glow surrounded all the rubbles who went flying towards the city. When the explosion stopped, and the dust cloud settled; Celestia returned to floor, looking smug as ever while Twilight’s shield disappeared. The guards she protected quickly ran away as fast as they could.
“Wow, your shield was able to protect you even from that?! I’m impressed, princess! This fight could be more fun than I thought! Unless, you changed your mind…”
“That’s enough! Do you really think this is… “fun” for anypony?! What made you like this?! Who put these crazy ideas in your head?!”
“I’m sick of your questioning! This is a fight to the death!” Celestia replied, only to be silent as she took a good look at the princess’ face. Of course, it was to be expected since the sight her eyes landed on was quite shocking. This was the first time in her life that she saw the princess crying.
“I really tried, but it looks like I can’t reason with you… I’m sorry for what I am about to do,” She whispered loud enough for her student to hear it.
“Sorry? Bring it on! Your attacks won’t stand a chance against me!” She replied proudly only to hurriedly create a shield, completely taken by surprise by the sudden attack. However, the princess’ beam didn’t disappear when it struck her dome. It continuously pushed on her shield, slowly changing its shape. Celestia clenched her teeth, barely able to keep her shield up. How could it be so hard to push back?! However, her efforts remained fruitless as the dome was suddenly destroyed and the beam struck her in her chest. She stepped back, but, surprisingly, it didn’t hurt. “That was your attack? It didn’t even sting! Ha!” She laughed as she lit her horn, ready to strike back. However, her body refused to move. “W-What is happening?! Why can’t I move?!” She shouted in fear while Twilight walked closer to her.
“It’s over,” She said as Celestia opened her mouth to talk, only to feel something crawling up her legs. When she looked down, she realised with horror her body was slowly turning into stone.
“What is that spell?! You never showed it to me!” She screamed as she tried to move her legs again, only to be stuck to the ground while the stone moved past her knees.
“You will be turned to stone soon; for…”
“No, no, no! I-I don’t want to go out like this! Don’t do it! Please! I won’t do it again, I swear!” Celestia screamed in total panic as she continued to struggle, tears slowly showing themselves around her eyes.
“For all the crimes you’ve committed against Equestria and its ponies; you are guilty and your sentence cannot be changed…” Twilight started, ignoring Celestia’s pleas. “You will be turned to stone, but will remain conscient. Your statue shall be left in the deepest and darkest dungeon of the castle, and you will remain there for a thousand years. Think about your mistakes in the meantime; however, if at the end of your punishment, you still haven’t changed-”
“Like hell I am going to change!” Celestia screamed, freely letting her tears loose while the stone arrived to her neck. “I’ll think of all the ways to murder you!” She added only for Twilight to look away.
“... You will be destroyed,” She finished her sentence as Celestia fully turned to stone.
She stayed in front of the statue for a few seconds, before collapsing on her knees. Soon after, the guards came back at her side. Although, they were hesitant to speak since the alicorn wasn’t bothering to hide her tears.
“Princess…” A guard started.
“Take her away,” She said in a low voice as she slowly stood up. “I will repair the castle…”
The guards nodded and started carefully pushing the statue away, to avoid damaging it.
No matter how many weeks or months passed, the civilians never got an answer as to what happened that day. All they knew was that an unknown enemy attacked the princess, but was quickly dealt with. Some noted the disappearance of the princess’ older student, but as time passed… the questions about her stopped coming up.