“May I help?” Nova offered as granny went to get the desserts.
“I’ll let you get the tea,” Granny offered. “I know how fussy you are over tea.”
“Indeed I am,” Nova replied, and got up from her place. “It was following Cygnus’s death that I set about establishing the Eques community in the Caribbean,” Nova offered as she headed for the kitchen.
“Sunset, Priestess of Akkadia? Do you know anything about that?” Princess Twilight whispered.
“Not really, no. Not unless it has something to do with her claim of Steward of Akkadia. What I can remember is that there is an abandoned citadel somewhere in the Everfree that’s near impossible to access. Ponies trying either come back in pieces or not at all.”
“You know where it’s at?”
“Not really. Just the general region. It’s an area known as the exclusion zone.”
“One edge is just beyond the Palace of the Two sisters,” Nova offered as she returned with a teapot. Of course, she’d heard every word. Granny was right behind her with a cart loaded down with every imaginable apple-baked sweet one could imagine and then some. “I wouldn't recommend tempting fate though. Getting to the citadel requires high-altitude flying at speeds near to or greater than the speed of sound. And even at that speed, it can take an hour from Ponyville. It’s the only way to get past the creatures living in that part of the forest. Everything out there is under some kind of chaos curse that drives them to attack anything venturing in.”
“Ah, yes, and now certain obscure passages in the old text make more sense, ”Princess Twilight offered even as Granny served up the delights she’d brought out.
“The citadel, along with several other locations that made up the Kingdom of Everfree, had to be abandoned long ago,” Nova admitted.
“Did you remarry, if that’s alright for me to ask?” Fluttershy inquired meekly and then thanked Granny.
“Well, no. And that’s alright. I’m sure you aren’t the only one wondering where the Swan name came from. The Black family split during the wizard war,” Nova informed them. “I and my supporters within the Black family were cast out. Cygnus had as an animal form that of a black swan, so it was decided that those of us who had been members of the Black family would use Swan from that point on.”
“That’s really nice that you honored your husband that way,” Lofty offered.
“There was some discussion on everyone taking the Silverwood name, but in the end, we went with Swan.”
“So what’s the significance of the Silverwood name?” Holiday asked. “Who are they?”
“They are the descendants of some of the ponies who were Princess Luna’s retainers prior to Night Fall.”
“Night Fall?” Holiday looked puzzled. “You say that like it was a singularly significant event.”
“It was,” Princess Twilight offered.
“Princess Luna?” Apple Bloom asked. “Like in Vice Principal Luna?”
“One of the peculiarities of Equestria is the doubles. That’s why we have two Twilights,” Nova offered. “I ran across a double of myself not too long ago. And to be honest, I’ve had the pleasure of being acquainted with several versions of Luna, what with jumping across dimensions. Anyway, Night Fall was an incident where Princess Luna allegedly rose in revolt against her sister. The two were supposed to be co-regents but in reality, Princess Luna was slowly being sidelined, marginalized, and made redundant. Equestrian history says that Princess Luna was jealous of her sister and wanted power for herself. Many of the English pegasi who still tell the story of Night Fall remember it as an unprovoked attack by the Canterlot guard along with Princess Celestia on the Palace of the Two Sisters where Princess Luna and her retainers had been recuperating after a rather heart-wrenching war against the Chrystal Empire. Unprepared for the attack, and Princess Luna defeated by Princess Celestia, they fled through a portal to this world.”
“But, that can’t be?” Princess Twilight said softly.
“Twilight, I’ve heard something similar from Princess Celestia back when Nova passed through. Princess Luna had been possessed only after she’d been confronted. Princess Luna had been pushed into losing control. Afraid Princess Celestia had been played,” Sunset informed her. “She’d been manipulated and it resulted in a civil war that drove a large percentage of the populace to either go into hiding or flee the kingdom altogether. Ethnic cleansing is what we’d call it over here. When Princess Celestia learned the truth it was too late. Those responsible, I’m to understand, were assassinated but it was too late to repair what had been done.”
“But, none of that is in any of the history books?” Twilight said softly.
“Suppressed by the instigator's descendants no doubt,” Dusty offered. “No one likes remembering the history that makes us look bad.”
“I have so many things I want to talk to Princess Celestia about,” Twilight said just as a pair of Phoenix flew into the dining room. Philomina landed on Sunset’s left shoulder and the other landed on Nova’s left shoulder. She carried a small envelope.
“Well, hello there, Phenik. You have something for me?” Nova asked as she reached for the envelope.
“Wow…” Apple Bloom said in a hushed tone of wonderment.
“Told you so,” Scootaloo said to Apple Bloom.
Nova opened the letter, her face giving no emotion away.
“Well, at least you won’t have to worry about Gilda anymore,” Nova said a moment later.
“You want to explain that statement maybe?” Granny asked. Several people were giving her a look that said the individual was presently assuming the worst.
“Oh, she’s fine. Someone put a compulsion spell on her.”
“Compulsion spell?” Lofty asked.
“It’s a bit like hypnosis,” Dusty offered. “Any idea why, though?” His question was directed at Nova.
“I suppose it could have been the Dazzlings looking for payback,” Nova offered. “At any rate, I gather from this letter that the local Magical Law Enforcement removed the spell and she’s behaving considerably less anti-social.”
“Well, that’s good, I guess?” Sunset responded.
“She’s still in a lot of trouble.”
“Is there someone at the door?” Lofty asked. There’d definitely been a sound like a tentative knock.
“I’ll go have a look,” Applejack offered as she got up.
“Applejack,” Sunset said as AJ got up. “If it’s Pinkie and the others, you might just as well let them in.”
“We did tell them not to come,” AJ offered and then headed for the front door.
She returned a short time later with a rather contrite Pinkie in tow. Pinkie had with her a large cake box.
“Well, as long as she’s here,” Granny said. “I’m assuming that’s a cake, let's see if we can’t make room on the table.”
The cake that came out of the box was impossibly large. Larger than the box it came out of, elaborately decorated with the words Sunset I’m sorry.
“Thank you,” Sunset said even as someone else knocked on the door.
“I came alone! I swear!” Pinkie pleaded even as AJ went back to the door.
“Hi, can we come in?” asked Scootaloo from the front porch. An older version of Scootaloo to be exact and she had Rainbow Dash with her. “I’m Louise. Dash was just helping me find the place.”
“Scootaloo?!” Princess Twilight admonished. “Wait, how’d you even get here?”
“Through the mirror,” Louise offered as she made her way past a confused Applejack.
“Remind me to have words with my guards,” Princess Twilight admonished.
“Hi, Louise,” Zap offered from the dining room.
“Hi, Zap. I’m actually here to see my sister.”
“You two know each other?!” Princess Twilight and Sunset say at the same time.
“Ahhh, whoops,” Louise said rather sheepishly.
“Was that supposed to be secret?” Zap asked.
“The fact that I’ve been crossing dimensions to go to school, yes. Granted I’m attending school in Canterlot right now.”
“You’ve been what?!” Sunset and Princess Twilight chime.
“Should I go, or can I come in?” Dash asked from the doorway.
“As long as you are here, come on in,” Granny admonished. “And shut the door. Honestly, a person would think you’d spent your formative years in a barn.”
“Come on in,” Sunset added, got up, went to Louise, and gave her Equestrian sister a welcoming hug. “That and I think my sister owes me an explanation.”
“Like I even knew you were my actual sister. I knew there was some kind of connection, but I’d never had it confirmed. No pony had ever said anything about Pippin like it was some kind of dark secret,” Louise offered as they made their way into the dining room. Seats were provided even as Applejack closed the door moments after a hesitant Rainbow Dash came in. Granted that to fit the three newcomers required a bit of shuffling of place settings around the table, but they did manage to fit them in.
“Scootaloo, or Louise, was it?” Princess Twilight pressed.
“I use Louise on this side of the portal.”
“What are you doing going through the portal and how is it I didn’t know?” Princess Twilight demanded. “Not to mention that I told the three of you to stay well clear of that mirror.”
“And this is the first time I’ve been through the mirror. You see, the house I live in, Princess Celestia knows, is a portal.”
“What?” Princess Twilight asked. “But?”
“You may not be aware of it, but I don’t live with my parents. They lost custody during your first year in Ponyville. They’ve got a place in Canterlot now, and I’ll stay with them whenever I need to be in Canterlot. The truth is, Sweetie and I are taking classes at CSGU. I was taking classes here in the human world, but at the moment I’ve shifted my studies back to Equestria.”
“But, why would you be taking classes at Princess Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns? You’re a pegasus,” Sunset asked.
“Out with it,” Princess Twilight asked.”
“Oh, oh, let me guess,” Pinkie interjected. “Were you born with a button horn, got taken in by a pair of secret Alicorns from different dimensions, come over to this world to attend a school of magic in England, and are slowly becoming an alicorn yourself?”
“In a nutshell, yes.”
“Hang on, I didn’t see any horn on your head when Philomena fetched you?” Sunset protested.
“Enchanted horn ring that hides the horn. Let’s face it, the moment ponies find out, my life will never be the same, and I’m just not ready for that. Granted it can make things interesting in Canterlot. When I’m at school I’ve got an enchanted body net that hides my wings. Every pony knows me as Louise there too. My classmates started calling me Lulu.”
“Seriously? You’re Lulu?” Princess Twilight asked. She was dumbfounded.
“Twilight, excuse me, Princess Twilight, I’m to understand that Cadance started out the same way. It was her run-in with Prismia that caused her to ascend, and I haven't actually ascended yet.”
“Ascending is basically a power-up for magical ponies,” Nova offered to those around the table who didn’t know. “It’s a similar function as the gaining of a cutie mark where an individual gains near-savant skills in their chosen field. It increases the individual’s manna level and in so doing increases the life expectancy exponentially. Make no mistake, it’s not immortality.”
“It’s not?” Sunset asked.
“It might seem that way, but keep in mind that if it was indeed true immortality there’d be no need for a guard force to protect Princess Celestia.”
“I, I never realized,” Sunset said softly.
“Ya, OK, whatever. All that stuff is way over my head anyway,” Dash stated. “Not sure I’d want to live that long anyway. Going out in a blaze of glory is like twenty percent cooler anyway. Sunset, I’m sorry about the way I acted, and everything. I mean, you really wanted to be our friend. And, well, I’ve missed having you around. Even when you were being bossy. Heck, it kind of makes it easy for me to see what would be bad about living an extra, extra-long life. I mean, who wants to outlive their friends to the point they become distant memories? And, well, I don’t want you to be nothing more than a memory.”
“Alright, apology accepted. Now, we’ve dessert.”
“Oh, no, I’ve got to watch my weight,” Louise offered as she helped herself to the desserts. “Not like I don’t hear ponies calling me chubby Lulu behind my back.”
“Chubby?” Dash asked astonished. The girl was chiseled marble. “If our Scootaloo had a body like yours I’d have her on the sports team the first chance I got.”
“The mesh that hides my wings makes me look chubby,” Louise explained with a wink and a smile. “Heck, I can eat as much as I want to.”
“Alicorn metabolisms have killer appetites,” Princess Twilight offered as she helped herself to more.
“I’m kind of feeling guilty at this point,” Applejack offered, as she decided to help herself to more as well.
“How’s that?” Sunset asked.
“The only one being left out at this point is Rarity.”
“She’s out in her car,” Dash offered. “Well, I don’t have a car. Did you think we walked through the snow to get here?”
Applejack put down her fork, got up, went to the front door, opened it, and looked outside. “Where?”
“Around the corner,” Louise informed her. “She didn’t want to be seen.”
Rarity was retrieved a short time later, and Sunset found herself having to comfort the crying girl. Nova quietly pulled Louise aside and asked her if she’d just happened to find Dash.
“To tell the truth, Aerie was the one who suggested I pop on over,” Louise informed her. “She just seems to be really good at predicting when something needs to happen. I found Dash kicking a soccer ball in the snow at Canterlot High. Told her I was an Apple cousin out here to visit. Which is technically true. And I explained that I didn’t know how to find the farm. Which is also true.”
“And did she ask why you didn’t know how to find the farm?”
“I admitted that I’m Sunset’s sister from Equestria. I just wanted to check up on her. She called Rarity, and we were soon on our way.”
“I guess it’s alright then. The thing is, I can’t do things like that. I have to be really careful about interfering in things I already know about.”
“Aerie explained. You are actually from the future and have to be careful about interfering with anything that could impact your timeline. Aerie on the other hoof, hand, or paw as she might say, is from the past. Different dimensions even. It’s her magic that gives her glimpses of possible future outcomes. And since she is from the past, she can do all the meddling she wants. She doesn’t have to worry about upsetting her own timeline. She generally doesn’t meddle, but this is one time I’m glad she did. I get to see my sister, and she’s made up with her friends.”
“And everything ends happily ever after, is that it?”
“Hardly. There are no happily ever afters in life. I know that. Just… life. Sunset has moved to that Crystal Prep school, hasn’t she? That’s bound to test their friendships.”
“The Friendship Games.”
“Aerie did mention that. Hey, how bad can it be? Surely it can’t be anywhere near as bad as the Triwizard Cup.”
“I will have to admit that I will be looking forward to it.”
“Um, excuse me,” Rarity prompted moments after getting her emotions under control. “Why are there two Twilights, and two Scootaloos?”
“That, my friend,” Sunset offered. “May take a while to explain. Now sit, have a bite, and we’ll see if we can’t manage the Cliffs notes version.” A task that would take the better part of what was left of the afternoon.