//------------------------------// // Episode 1: Old Wounds // Story: Rising Dawn // by ItsVelvet //------------------------------// The wooden door was painted in bright pink. Its hinges were a bright gold and the knob was a light purple marked with a white heart. It had a few etches and scratches, what with the wood being worn and aged for generations. There was a brown, fuzz-coated doormat that said “welcome” in a very pretty font. This must be new, Twilight theorized. On that note, the door also had a upside down-drop-shaped window with golden lines carving a two-by-two grid with curves and lines. Not to mention, the door knob was- “Twilight! What’s keeping you so long?” asked Spike. Twilight Sparkle, faithful student of Princess Celestia herself on the studies of friendship, was visibly stalling as she tapped the tips of her hooves on the burning yet perfectly warm pavement. She knew the house from top to bottom, from front to back, from- “Twilight!” Twilight jumped. “Sorry, Spike, I just don’t know why the letter was so vague! It went on about her year and the refurbishments and all, it just didn’t have any actual content outside of light catching up and pleasantries! What if it’s something I did wrong, Spike? Is dad okay? Am I okay?” As Twilight went on a tangent while pacing about how she shouldn’t have left Canterlot so suddenly on her parents, she failed to notice Spike step forward to reach for the knocker. There was a sharp “Eep!” from Twilight as Spike made two heavy, hard knocks with a beat in between. Despite Twilight’s insistent lecture on not scaring her the way he did, Spike only stood with a flat expression turned big and polite smile as their mom greeted them. “Oh, hello Twilight!” the older mare beamed. “Hi mom!” Twilight and Spike said in unison. Velvet wore a golden necklace topped with a bright, pea-sized gem. Her mane was tied in a neat bun that appeared neatly trimmed rather than prickled. As bright as her smile was, her eyes appeared worn out with a hint of red. “Please, come in! We have” she paused hesitantly, “much to discuss!” Twilight and her number-one assistant were welcomed in the newly painted home that was adorned with polished statues of owls and the Princesses—books were aligned neatly and well-alphabetized and sorted by genre. Things were tighter than she remembered them. While not significantly so, the house being dust free and completely sorted felt almost like a museum exhibit. A few titles stuck out, but the one Twilight Sparkle was intrigued by was an older fiction about an earth pony who was mistakenly given to the wrong parents at birth. She hadn’t seen that book since they lost it at a festival when she was a filly, so this must of been a new copy. “You wouldn’t believe what those earth ponies did for the place,” began Velvet, “Violet Tone- you remember Violet Tone, right?” Twilight Sparkle nodded, so her mother continued, “Yes, well, she came over to borrow some sugar one day. You see, she accidentally left the lid open all night, and you know how Violet is about her mood with coffee and all those sweeteners," she lead Twilight to the kitchen, “So, anyway, she came over and was very grateful for the sugar when she noticed that leak on the sink I told you about. So she told me that there was a leak here and I told her that I was going to take care of it—I believe I told you that, too—when she suggested that I should look into it right away. Turns out, she knew a construction pony she dated-” “They were friends!” added Night Light. “Dad!” said Twilight and Spike, both at once again. “Hey foals, how was Ponyville?” said Night. “It was great!” Twilight began, “We met a lot of ponies but it was all worth it for-” Pony. Twilight stopped to stare. There was a unicorn at the dining table. She had an incredibly dark blue coat with a curly light purple and faded-pink mane and tail. She had wide, bright-green glasses, her complementary faded-blue bow and a pair of matching pants were an interesting choice. Fascination would have been the first reaction for Twilight if she saw her in the Canterlot streets. In fact, fashion was rather big in the city. However, what Twilight was confused by was who she was. “Oh,” A blink. “So sorry!” Twilight began, yet again, “I didn’t know you had guests! Is she a new neighbor?” “Well, actually,” Velvet hesitated a moment. “Twilight. I. You see” she sighed shakily, “Twilight Sparkle, this is your sister. Crystal Dawn,” |  ~☆ | |  /*/  | There was a moment of silence. Crystal tilted her head. Twilight was still, almost like a statue. Crystal felt concerned for her apparent sister. She wished she hadn’t sat at the table and stayed out of sight long enough for Velvet, her mother, to tell Twilight slowly instead of being forced to drop it on her. I was lost in thought! Crystal beat herself, I need to stop being so oblivious and– The dragon fell to the ground on his back in a fit of laughter and kicked his little baby feet in the air. “Holy Celestia, that was hilarious! Mom, I never knew you could prank!” He got up with somewhat wobbly legs and wiped a tear from his eyes. “I’m so sorry mom got you into this, Crystal, I just-” he chuckled, then wiped his teary eyes. “That was funny. I’m Spike, by the way. Twilight’s Number One Assistant- and, and” Spike struggled to breathe, then laughed, “Your brother!” and on the floor he went, again. Crystal couldn’t help but hold a hoof to muzzle and stifle a smile. It was adorable to see the little dragon laugh. To Crystal, it truly helped the tension. “Spike,” said Twilight, “I. I don’t think this is a prank. It’s-” she held a hoof to her mane, then brushed it back with a sigh. “It’s not a prank, right? Right, mom?” “Twilight,” Velvet attempted, only for Crystal to get up. “Velvet, I got this. Or, um,” she paused, “Mom,” Spike stopped laughing. Crystal pushed her glasses with a sigh. “Twilight, a-and Spike. I’m your twin-sister. Or, well, your twin sister. I don’t think I came out of an egg, right?” she gave a nervous, forced chuckle. Not even Spike seemed to appreciate the attempt at humor, so she tried to get to the point. “Nice to meet you both. At last, I think,” “But how?” asked Twilight, “I thought it was just Shining Armor and I,” “And Spike!” added the dragon. Twilight responded by petting his little dragon frills. “Yes, and Spike. But that was it, Mom,” Twilight kept her attention on Velvet. It was apparent to Crystal that Twilight was only interested in hearing what Velvet had to say. Crystal did not like that. “It was just the five of us. Why didn’t we know about this? Are you sure?” “I did,” said Crystal, “And I made sure Mom had the results so she could get it verified, too. I spent months on this, Twilight, and I know it’s true,” Twilight was visibly angered. Crystal figured she did not want to accept this. At least, not right away. “Then how?” asked Twilight. With a shaky breath, Crystal began, “I was kidnapped as a foal when I was born. When we were both born. The hospital was too busy to notice right away but, when they did, they told Velvet- Mom and-” “I’m so sorry, Twilight!” Velvet broke out in a heavy sob of tears. “I didn’t mean to, it was just too painful, and-” “Wait,” Twilight stopped her mother’s tearful explosion of confessions, “You- Mom, I can’t believe- you lied to me! What, did you not tell Shining Armor too?” Night Light eased himself into the room to rub a hoof on Velvet’s back. Another uncomfortable silence etched into the scene. “Mom,” Twilight pressed, “Shining Armor wasn’t told about this. Was he? I mean, it’s not like he lied to me too, right? Right?” “Twilight?” Spike spoke up, “I think he saw it happen,” Crystal covered her ears and stifled a distressed moan. Chaos erupted. It started with a ‘what?!’ only for the rest to be indecipherable. It was loud—very loud. From what she could gather, Twilight outright attacked her mother for lying to her own foals. Velvet attempted to defend herself with how she spent months trying to find Crystal. Night tried to mediate between the two sparring mares with the occasional interjection to shift the conversation before Velvet lost herself, again. Spike backed away from Twilight to the point of inching towards the dining table. Spike jumped onto the seat, placed his claws politely on the table and stared at them. He’s such a good colt, thought Crystal. “Hey,” Crystal pressed. Spike perked up. “Hey, you doing all right?” There were still tears in his eyes as he nodded. Crystal placed a hoof across the table. “Hey, it’s ok. You’re ok. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Spike mumbled something intangible, but Crystal could not make it out over the arguing. “What was that?” Spike, with his head still facing down, spoke up. “What is even happening?” Crystal frowned, then narrowed her eyes, then glared fiercely. She slammed her hoof onto the table. “Everypony?” The arguing continued. “Everypony? Everypony. Ahem, everypony!” Ignored, she slid away from her chair and sparked her horn. “Everypony, be quiet!” Crystal’s light blue magic exploded into a field of transparent sapphire that covered the entire kitchen. Suddenly, Twilight and Velvet could not speak. Velvet immediately checked her throat. Twilight, however, looked directly at Crystal. Crystal only appeared resolved instead of regretful. The silence lasted what felt like a tense hour, only for it to be no more than a minute before her horn’s magic dissolved and the field fizzled out. “Crystal,” said Twilight. “Twilight,” said Crystal. “I understand that you are my sister,” Twilight stated, “And that none of this is your fault. You did the right thing finding us,” Crystal nodded, glad that Twilight took her first step to acceptance. “However, I still have a lot of questions. How about we meet at Doughnut Joe’s? It’s on me,” Crystal agreed with a firm nod, Spike barely perked up with blurry eyes, and Velvet hid in Night’s hooves to calm down. /*/ The walk was rather toasty on the way. She was far too used to a colder climate to keep from sweating while Twilight seemed unbothered by the intense sun. The walk was, also, silent. However, later down the line, Spike warmed up to talk to her nonstop. The little guy was interested in Crystal and who she was, so when he started asking questions she felt guilty into answering them. It was strange seeing such a pony-like dragon, however. The ones she read about were big and ferocious, greedy and in possession of so much treasure. She knew that he must have not had any gold to his name, especially when he said he was born before Twilight was ten. Dragons aged differently, after all. Eventually, as bitter sweet, mellow, and yet delightful as this walk was, they finally made it to this “Doughnut Joe’s”. Crystal had seen her share of cafes, bakeries—the like. But it was surprisingly rare in Manehatten to have doughnut shops that functioned like a cafe. Its checkerboard floors were white and blue, the walls were mostly diamond-shaped windows with bronze lines with the lower walls portraying dark and bright green diamonds. There were delicious-looking assorted doughnuts displayed on a glass case as well as shelves with pies on sale. The stallion behind the counter was cute. He had an adorably ruffled brown mane and a tan coat with a muscular build. He seemed gentle and I should stop Crystal dismissed. She looked down to cover her blush. Twilight, luckily, did not seem to notice. However, Spike smirked. “Ay Twilight, where have you been? I haven’t seen you in months!” said Doughnut Joe. Twilight smiled, “Oh, just saving Equestria from eternal night, running a library, making friends,” “Got anything good, today, Joe?” asked Spike “Well,” Doughnut Joe began as he listed off several recent deliveries and some interesting flavors that were added to the batch. Twilight ordered some of the new ones while Spike ordered his usual—extra sprinkles for missing his doughnuts. Crystal only ordered a single plain doughnut and coffee with a pump of cream: just the way she liked it at home. Home. What am I even doing? Crystal asked herself. The rush of leaving home and becoming part of a new family had gotten to her. She felt dizzy: one day she had an argument with her parent, and then the next day, she was at a donut shop in Canterlot. She suddenly swirled in jetlag. In just the blink of an eye, her life had changed so radically. Spike took a big swig from his hot chocolate and slammed it on the wooden table, “Wow, doom and gloom over here,” “Spike!” Twilight scolded. As Spike asked what he did, Twilight turned her head to her sister. “Hey, it’s ok. I know it’s been,” she hesitated, “a lot finding out that your life is a lie,” she forced a chuckle. Crystal shook her head, “No, no!” insisted Crystal, “It’s fine, really. It’s just been a fast few days for me and everything I thought was true I now have to double check. But that’s ok, really! All I have to do is just question everything and don’t trust anypony,” her voice weakened. She forced a smile to fight the tears from her eyes, “And no matter who I love I always know that there is always something behind that and,” she stopped to swallow a breath, “And I,” she could not fight her tears at this point. “Hey,” Twilight assured, “Everything is going to be ok-” “No it’s not, Twilight!” Crystal slammed the table. A few odd ponies looked their way and Doughnut Joe stopped chatting with a mother and colt to find the ruckus. Crystal blushed severely while Spike choked on his drink from startlement. “I’m sorry, I just need everything to stop moving so fast, you know?” Twilight nodded. She was, to Crystal’s surprise, apparently listening. And so was the dragon, who looked at her closely while he also ate a gem-coated doughnut in one bite. Crystal continued, “I just don’t know what my life is going to be, anymore. I broke ties with my ‘family’ so I don’t know where to go other than to your—our parents’ home but I’ll need a job, fast! I don’t know what to do with myself,” Twilight hesitated on an idea, as Crystal could tell. She shared a glance with Spike who choked on his additional stuffed chocolate and sprinkled doughnut, then turned her attention back to Crystal. “We got a place in Ponyville. You can work at our library until you find yourself a job. Take your time, make sure it’s steady and pays well. Rent can be discussed, then. Spike can show you the ropes,” “Wait,” Crystal interjected, “Ponyville? Isn’t that a village by the Everfree Forest?” Twilight nodded. Crystal did not like the idea of a backwater village, let alone one that resided near the dangerous Everfree Forest. While threatening, she would have rather stopped living off her parents than live in “civilization”. Small towns, however, seemed harder to find a job for. But there was something wrong for Crystal. “Wait, aren’t I a stranger to you? You just met me today!” Spike swallowed another doughnut, “Twilight’s the best. I don’t think you would take advantage of us,” Spike leaned back on his chair to lay his feet on the table, “You could say that you’re growing on us,” Crystal smiled at this. “What we meant to say,” Twilight amended, “Is that you’re our sister. It doesn’t matter if we knew before or now. I mean, it was a stretch, but I can see the resemblance,” with a chuckle, she shifted to a more serious expression, “But that doesn’t matter as you are a pony in need, and as Celestia’s Protege and the Element of Magic, I have to do the right thing by you,” Crystal blinked. Celestia? Princess Celestia? Before she had a chance to question it, Spike slammed his hot cocoa from another swig. “Yeah, Twi’s gonna take care of you no problem. And wait until you meet Pinkie Pie!” he mentioned with a laugh, “And not to mention” Spike leaned his head against his palm, “Rarity,” Twilight cleared her throat, “Right, well, Ponyville has its quirks. Canterlot at least makes sense. They, for one,” Twilight then mumbled, “mind their own business!”  Her voice raised to indoors volume, “But after my time in Ponyville, I can’t help but notice how picky and overly sophisticated it is. Besides that, mom has been,” she hesitated on what to say, “Exhausted,” she guiltily bit her lower lip. She pointed both of her hooves at Crystal, “But it’s not your fault! You did the right thing to come,” Twilight sighed, “And you deserve a quiet, friendly environment. Please, just come with me,” Crystal was stunned. She had so many questions: Celestia’s “Protege”, Element of Magic, a baby dragon she assumed was from Celestia—or at least the Element of Magic, which seemed cultish to her—she never really realized the amazing roles Twilight seemed to have. Which meant, to her dismay, that being a burden on her was even more responsibility than she apparently all ready had. Not to mention the legendary Everfree Forest. Crystal placed her front hooves on the table, “I will think about this,” Twilight and Spike exchanged a look. “Alright, we’ll write to you,” with a smirk, Twilight added, “But believe me, Ponyville would grow on you,”