Crow's Nest and Daisy Dancer sat in Crow's attic-apartment, the latter pony still dressed in her shining silver armor while the stallion of the two sifted through an overstuffed cardboard box of filed away paperwork. He had no right sifting through what were classified documents straight from the vaults of Canterlot Castle, but Daisy had managed to lose crucial evidence in a case and losing any trace the case had ever existed was easier than admitting to Captain Shining Armor himself her mistake.
"Did you find the case file yet?" Daisy asked frantically, pacing around Crow's home.
"Not yet… it might go faster with two ponies looking." Crow sighed, "How in Celestia's name do you manage to file things this horribly?"
"I have a hard job, I get lazy sometimes!" She defended herself, "They ask me to get up before Twilight even lowers the moon, it's not my fault when I just throw a file into a box or lose seven hundred gallons of illegally brewed potions-"
"Wait- is that what happened?!" Crow asked in disbelief, looking up from the files for a moment.
"Look, I may have left a door unlocked, it's not a big deal." She rolled her eyes, "Now get back to work before my boss finds out I took-"
"Found it!" Crow interrupted, holding up a manilla folder bulging with papers. Daisy let out a squeal of excitement, swiping the folder in an aura of teal magic and placing it neatly in Crow's toaster. Daisy trotted up to the appliance, pushing the lever down and cooking her mistake until it popped up with a nice golden brown on both sides with nothing but char in between.
Daisy looked back at Crow, the stallion now thoroughly occupied playing with a pocket knife while lying back on his couch. She trotted over and sat next to her friend, her relieved eyes travelling over the files still strewn about his coffee table. The words 'CLASSIFIED' stamped in red ink on one old, faded folder caught her attention. The mare opened it, her first glance finding pictures of Princess Twilight as a foal and various faded documents in barely comprehensible hoof-writing.
"Hey Crow, what do ya' make of these?" She asked, showing her friend the documents.
"Medical records, you can tell because it looks like a foal wrote them." He answered simply, closing his knife and placing it back in his hoodie pocket, "I don't know if we should really poke around them… morally speaking."
"Yeah…" Daisy thought for a moment, ultimately keeping the folder open regardless, "But we also just destroyed evidence of an illegal potion-ring, so why not go for broke?" The mare passed Crow a slip of old folded paper, "What's that say?"
"It's a prescription for Piervecone." He explained, "It's a foal's horn-rot med, I had to take it as a colt but it bucked with my anti-psychotics."
"Huh… wait-" Daisy paused, gasping as she found a document with a gilded frill around its border, "Wait, Crow… look at this" She quickly gave the paper to her friend.
Crow looked it over. It was old and yellowed just like everything else in the folder, yet looked untouched by all but its age. It was a birth certificate, Twilight Sparkle's name listed as the foal in question, a blank space her father… and her mother listed as Princess Celestia. The stallion had to do a double take, blinking and expecting the text to change yet finding it exactly as written.
He flipped it over, looking for any indication that the document was forged but finding another surprise, a hoof-written note signed by the solar monarch herself. He read it aloud, his voice shocked and slow.
"Dear Twilight Sparkle,
As I write this you have just been given off to the family that raised you, a kind pair of foal-adopting ponies carefully vetted in secret by the royal staff. They know not the truth.
You are my daughter, the product of a relationship in secret with Captain Zulu of the Royal Guard. Some months ago he and I had a falling out over another mare and the captain has decided to abandon his post. I simply cannot raise you alone, and a castle is no place for a foal. You may not understand but it is better this way, I will try to be in your life as much as I can.
I've instructed the Royal Guard to deliver this message to you on the day you acquire your Cutie Mark. If you ever find it in your heart to forgive me, meet me in the castle gardens at midnight. I will always be there.
Your mother, Celestia."
"...bits." Daisy spoke softly in disbelief, "We have to tell somepony."
"And let them know we were poking around Princess Twilight, ruler of all Equestria's confidential medical paperwork?" Crow scoffed, "You'd lose your job and I'd be rotting in a dungeon."
"Well, I'd throw you under the bus for all of it to keep my rank then make sure they sent you to a nice dungeon… if they don't outright execute you." She explained, "But I see your point."
"Gee, thanks." Crow rolled his eyes, "Maybe you can sneak it in?"
"Sneak it in… how so?"
"Just take the night patrol and slip it under Twilight's bedroom door on patrol, she'll never know which guard did it!"
"No can do, we have to patrol in pairs now after I- somepony was kept leaving empty cider bottles around. And also I really don't wanna work nights." Daisy shot the idea down, "Unless… I am accompanied by another guard! You can just put on some armor and go with me!"
"That seems dangerous… are you sure it'll work?" Crow asked, his voice unsure.
"I'm never sure of anything Crow, you know that, but I have a good feeling!"
"I've bet my life on less!"
The next night Crow and Daisy stood in the royal guard's barracks directly outside the grounds of Canterlot Castle, the stallion missing his usual dark hoodie as Daisy fit him for a silver set of armor.
Finally Daisy finished, the pair of ponies trotting through the courtyard and up to a violet pegasus mare in brass plated armor.
"Guard Officer Daisy Dancer reporting for duty!" Daisy greeted the mare with a salute.
"Good evening Officer." The mare reciprocated a nod, her voice like gravel being pushed through skin. She looked over to Crow, her eyes curious as they looked over the pony she's not met before. "Who's the new blood?"
"Cadet Raven Rock, m'am!" Crow lied, creating a fake name on the spot. "I was just transferred from New Jennet."
"Oh, Jennet!" The mare's ears perked up, "What part?"
"The bad part?"
"It's NJ, you'll have to be more specific." She snorted, "Jog on, afternoon shift is just about to clock out."
Daisy waited until they were out of earshot to let out a small giggle, punching her friend lightly on the shoulder.
"What?" Crow asked.
"That sucked!" Daisy cackled, "You're a sucky liar."
"She totally bought it though!" He defended, "It sounded fine."
"Dude, you just needed to come up with a name. It almost fell apart after you blabbed about being from New Jennet!" She explained, "Ever notice how whenever I buck with you I never go into detail?"
"You're why I have trust issues..." The stallion rolled his eyes, "So which one of these rooms is Twilight's anyways?"
"It's the big double doors at the end of the hall, but if she fell asleep in the library again-" Daisy paused suddenly, her gaze peering out a window. Crow moved to look at whatever she was seeing but was quickly grabbed by his friend, pulled against the wall and away from the window.
"Hey, wanna tell me what the buck's going on?" Crow asked, confused.
"Celestia is in the garden." Daisy whispered.
"What?!" Crow whispered back, "Why the buck-?"
"I don't know! I told you, I don't do night shifts!" Daisy let go of her friend, pacing around as she thought, "You should go tell her about the note!"
"What, why me?!" Crow asked.
"Well if I do it I'll get fired!"
"And I'll get arrested!" Crow whisper-shouted, "Let's just stick to the original plan."
"But what if Twilight doesn't forgive her and Celestia keeps coming to the garden every night hoping to find her? That would be sad!"
"I mean, yeah, but it would also be not our problem." Crow pointed out, "Besides, what if she's all sad and crying and stuff? I'm not good with ponies!"
"And you think I am? I didn't exactly become a guard because of my customer service skills!"
"I freeze up trying to order a hayburger, I can't do this!"
"I tried to stab my birth-mom when I first met her, I can't do family stuff!" Daisy argued.
"Ha, but you still talk to her, I haven't talked to either of my parents in months!" Crow shot back, crossing his arms smugly.
"Fine, you win, you're the more bucked up one… why can't one of us be half functional." Daisy groaned, "I'll talk to Celestia, you go put the note under Twilight's door."
With that the pair split, Daisy trotting slowly down towards the castle gardens. Celestia laid still on a stone bench, her purple eyes pointed blankly at the night sky. Daisy approached hesitantly making out more of the princess as she got closer. Her eyes, those royal, motherly eyes were empty in such a way that had it not been for her occasionally drooping eyelids and the low sound of her breath the guard could only compare them to those of a dead pony. A stick cracked under her hoof, a sound that immediately brought a sudden gaze from the solar monarch.
"Twilight?!" Celestia asked suddenly, her voice as surprised as it was hopeful, "Oh… You're just a guard. Return to your post." Celestia's voice was flat, losing its hope as she went back to stargazing.
"I uh- I actually wished to speak with you, your majesty-" Daisy stammered.
"I'm in no mood to chat, guard. Return to your post."
"It's about Princess Twilight."
Celestia suddenly sat up, facing Daisy with interest, her eyes once again holding a spark of life. She motioned to a stone bench adjacent hers.
"Sit." Celestia instructed, her mannerisms subtle yet commanding.
Daisy followed her order of course, the mare's silver armor hitting the stone seat with a small clatter. She stalled for a moment, her eyes focused on the ground in front of Celestia rather than the monarch. She was her superior and somepony the mare had looked up to her entire life, she'd only spoken with her a few times in passing, she dreamed of properly meeting her but… it never went like this in her mind.
"Speak." Celestia again commanded, finally drawing Daisy's gaze back to her face.
"I was organizing some files in the barracks, and I happened across a note-" The guard tried to explain.
"What kind of note?" Celestia asked eagerly, her voice not denoting joy or rage.
"One you wrote years ago… one that was supposed to be delivered to Twilight."
Celestia fell silent for a moment, that empty look rushing to her face again for just a moment before tears welled in the corners of her eyes, the princess's gaze now transfixed on the ground. Daisy didn't know how to react, she couldn't imagine what the princess felt and, of course, she couldn't prepare for it. She'd been more comfortable confronting lunatics and killers than she was in that moment.
"I've sat in this garden every night for over two decades and that letter… it was never even delivered." The princess' voice was soft, quiet in contemplation… or rage, it was impossible to tell, "I- I thought she'd just ignored it and hated me for all these years…" A tear fell from her eye, the monarch quickly bringing her front hooves to her eyes in a sob.
"Well, uh- it's getting delivered as we speak!" Daisy tried to cheer her up.
"As we speak, who else in the guard did you inform of this?" Celestia asked, her sobs paused by concern.
"Nopony, he's not even in the guard!" Daisy assured.
As if by clockwork a clattering of hooves and the shouts of guards could be heard beyond the garden, Crow suddenly bursting through a hedge. A large wound cut across his chest, bits of the stallion's armor missing as his lungs worked in a pained pant. He ran behind Daisy, hiding behind his friend.
"All you had to do was deliver a letter- what the buck happened?!" Daisy questioned in horror.
"I don't even know- like ten guards found me in Twilight's room and I'm pretty sure they thought I was an assassin- good news is she totally got the note!"
A retinue of guards with their swords drawn followed after Crow, stopped in their tracks by the sight of Princess Celestia. Those wondered gazes only exasperated by the sight of Princess Twilight Sparkle flying over the scene, landing before Celestia still in pajama pants and an old band t-shirt. The two stared at each other for a moment, neither princess saying a word as years of pent up emotion tensed through Celestia only to grow within Twilight. Twilight took a step towards Celestia, that pained silence only growing stronger before, in an act sudden yet almost slowing the hands of time, she embraced the solar monarch. Celestia quickly returned the sentiment, both princesses sobbing happily while finally embracing as mother and daughter.
Crow and Daisy silently slipped away from the gardens, trotting through the empty castle until they were back on the street and bound for Crow's place once more.
"Well, that ended well!" Daisy smiled.
"I got stabbed." Crow pointed out.
"C'mon, we did something nice!"
"Yeah, we did." He grinned, "It does make me feel warm inside… actually I think that might just be my body going into shock-"