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// 12 - Wanna Talk? 
// Story: If Twilight Was a Pegasus 
// by Cxcd 
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Moondancer wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when she followed Twilight home. After all, from her own personal experience of living in the castle, there really wasn’t many ‘friends’ to be made that weren’t Canterlot Nobles’s foals. And honestly, they didn’t seem very nice to hang out with.
The duo had deviated from their path, taking a quick moment to tell Moondancer’s mom where they were headed. Her mom seemed overjoyed and happy, much to Moondancer’s embarassment.
“Moondancer, you made a friend? Already?”
Despite Moondancer’s saddlebags full of supplies hanging heavily off of her withers, and despite her black sweater starting to make her turn hot under the sun, she trotted along happily next to Twilight. The duo were talking about anything and everything it seemed like, as they hit it off like naturals.
“No, statistics are so much better.” Twilight said.
“That’s stupid! Statistics can’t exist without mathematics!” Moondancer said, pushing her glasses closer to the bridge of her muzzle. Twilight rolled her eyes, but kept a tight smile on her face. “Therefore, mathematics are better!”
Twilight was flying above the ground by a few feet, and she was predominately spending the time dodging in and out of lamp posts like she was trying to park a carriage.
“Statistics and mathematics are the exact same thing.” Twilight said, looking up at the city street signs to get a read on where they were, and where they were going. Unless she was with her parents, she mostly flew over the city instead of partaking in trotting through it’s busy streets. Despite that, she still had a good sense of direction, whether that was because of her observations of the streets, or her Pegasus instinct. She didn’t know nor care.
Moondancer would’ve been completely lost without her. She had said that she had moved down here from living in the Canterlot Castle, which would’ve been a dream for any young filly. But in the way that Moondancer described it, with stuck-up nobles and stuffy halls, it almost seemed undesirable. But still, Twilight wondered what it would take for her to live in the castle someday.
“Statistics and mathematics- they- they are not the same thing!” Moondancer said, sounding genuinely offended, although her smile betrayed her. “Statistics is like displaying things on, an, uh, graph! It would be like saying science is the same as mathematics because they both use numbers. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
“Sure. I guess.” Twilight rolled over in the air, flying upside-down as she looked up at the clouds. A trick like this would’ve been hard for any other Pegasus, but for Twilight, it was quite easy, as she had managed to boil the entire thing down into the technique. “But I’m right. Statistics makes everything so much better. Like how much debt Equestria owes other nations! When I see the number in the newspapers, I just want to yawn and fall asleep. But it’s so much more fun when I can split it up into exactly what Equestria owes, who Equestria owes it to, and what that debt was-”
THUNK.
“Ow!” Twilight fell to the ground in a heap, sitting on the concrete floor and rubbing the sore spot developing on her head. She had completely forgotten she was dodging lampposts, and had managed to run head-first into one without looking.
“Ohmygosh, are you okay?” Moondancer asked, quickly coming to her side. The materials in her saddlebags clanked and made noise as she leaned forwards, touching Twilight’s head. “Are you hurt?”
Twilight felt a twinge in her heart, and heat radiate off of her face.
“Me? Pfft, I’m fine!” Twilight pushed Moondancer’s hoof away from the sore spot. “Us Pegasi are real tough!” She said, although the top of her head was still radiating pain in waves. “Our bones are squishy and hollow. A little bump isn’t enough to hurt me.”
And then Twilight did something that, ten years from now, she would lay in bed late at night and cringe at, wondering what in Equestria compelled her to do something as terrible as what she was about to do.
Twilight flexed her bicep at Moondancer.
She had no muscle to flex.
“See? I’m tough!”
Moondancer blinked behind her large glasses.
The silence that permeated through the city block was the loudest silence that had ever permeated in the history of forever. Twilight felt her ears slowly start to burn as Moondancer stared at Twilight’s bicep. Slowly, Twilight put her hoof back down.
“Um.” Moondancer cleared her throat, backing away from Twilight. “So… which one is your house?”
“That one.” Twilight quickly said, thankful that Moondancer looked away. She let out a deep breath she wasn’t aware that she was holding. Her ears felt like they were in directly sunlight as the burning embarrassment slowly caught up to her brain. Note to self: Never flex. Ever. I don’t even know what compelled me to do that.
“That’s your house?” Moondancer asked, craning her neck upwards. “You’re house is really big! Like, really, really big!” She said. Twilight jumped back onto her hooves, flapping her wings and soaring above her, landing on the front stony steps. Moondancer was still marveling at it, but Twilight, despite her embarrassment, seemed confused at Moondancer’s reaction. Sure, it might’ve been painted a very nice shade of blue, but it wasn’t anything particularly special. “You have an observatory? In your house?!” She almost shouted, pointing up at the glass dome.
“Oh, uh, yeah.” Twilight trotted up the remaining steps to her front door. “That’s mine and- uh, my room.”
“Your room? Your room is in an observatory?” Her eyes took one last look at the observatory, before bounding after Twilight, the supplies in her saddlebags clanging loudly. “Well, come on! I can’t wait to see your room!”
“Yeah, my room is pretty awesome!” Twilight coughed nervously. “I mean, uh, it’s nothing special, really…” She chuckled, clearing her throat. “But yeah. Come on in, I’m sure my parents are wondering where I’ve been.” She pushed open the door, and Moondancer followed closely behind. “Mom! Dad!” Twilight shouted into the home, waiting as Moondancer followed her in to close the door. Twilight trotted ahead of her as Moondancer followed slower, taking in the home.
“I’ve never been in a house this decorated before.” Moondancer murmured, taking a moment to stop by what appeared to be a shrine, entirely dedicated to photos of the family. “Or lived in.” She adjusted her glasses, leaning forwards and looking at a photo.
True to her word, Twilight’s parents were both Unicorns, as was her apparent brother. But what made Moondancer narrow her eyes was another Pink Pegasus in the photo, who looked wholly unrelated to any of the family, yet was also a Pegasus, just like Twilight was. Moondancer wasn’t one to speculate on the ongoing of another family, of course, but she couldn’t help but wonder what in Equestria was happening here.
“Mom? Dad?” Twilight asked. She trotted past the living room, also empty. “Where are-”
She turned the corner into the dining room to a peculiar sight. Despite being the middle of the day, after lunch and before dinner, her family was sitting at the table. Velvet sat on the right, as Night sat on the left and Shining took up the head, facing her. In Shining’s hooves was a manila folder, full of a lot of thick and long documents poking up from the visible sides. Printed on the front of the manila folder was a strange looking logo of a sword and shield.
“Hey there, Twilight.” Night greeted her, somewhat more downtrodden than usual. “I, uh, think Shining wants to tell you something.” Night cleared his throat, setting both of his hooves on the table. “I think I speak for Shining when I say we’ve thought about this for a long, long time, alright? He still loves you, and he wants the best for everypony. With that being said-”
And then Moondancer caught up to Twilight, standing next to her and also looking out at the family. She offered a nervous smile as the other three ponies in the room blanched in silence.
“Did…” Shining blinked a few times, rubbing his eye with a hoof, and then refocusing on the two ponies. “Did Twilight clone herself, or am I just seeing things?”
“I met somepony new today, and I invited her over!” Twilight said quickly, wrapping her wing around Moondancer’s withers and pulling her close. “Everypony, meet Moondancer!” The silence finally ended as the tension in the room eased up between the three adults. Even then, however, Velvet still shot a glance to Shining that screamed of ‘We will talk about this later.’ None the less, she hopped off of her seat.
“Oh, how nice!” Velvet said with a genuine smile, approaching the two fillies. “I’ve always told Twilight she has to go make more friends, but I wasn’t expecting this! My name is Twilight Velvet.” She presented her hoof for a bump. Moondancer, upon hearing Twilight’s mother’s name, felt her brain do a small somersault, but bumped anyway. “There is my husband, Night Light.” She turned around, pointing to the nearest stallion, giving a smile. “And that’s Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor.” She pointed at the other stallion. Shining gave a short wave, setting the manila folder on the table.
“Oh, uhm, hi!” Moondancer said awkwardly. “Um… If you don’t mind me asking, but, I thought her name was Twilight?” Moondancer pointed at Twilight.
“Oh, no, honey.” Velvet gave a short chuckle. “It’s a Unicorn family tradition where we come from to name the daughter after the mother. My mom’s name is Twilight, as was her mom’s, and so on until about as far as history goes back.” Velvet gave a quick smile. “Are you staying until dinner? I’m sure we can set out one more plate.”
“I mean…” Moondancer looked to Twilight, who was smiling herself. “If it’s not too big of an issue…”
“Great!” Twilight interrupted. “Come on, Moony. You wanted to see my room, right?” She asked, giving one big flap with her wings to propel her into the air. Moondancer laughed, immediately taking chase to Twilight, watching the Pegasus navigate the halls of the home and following her closely underneath. It was obvious that this type of architecture was not designed to have somepony fly through it, as the halls were way too tight. Velvet watched them scurry up the stairs with a smile.
“You’re going to have to tell her.” Night Light sighed out, resting his elbows on the table. “Not while Moondancer is here, but… It should be tonight. It’s not worth putting it off.” Shining responded with a grumble, adjusting the manila folder on the table slightly.
“I don’t want to do it to her.” Shining whispered as Velvet reapproached the table, putting a comforting hoof on his shoulder.
“I just hope you know what you’re doing.” Velvet sighed out.
Upstairs, Twilight pushed open the door to her room, and moved out of the way so Moondancer could properly awe at the slight, slowly inching forwards. Once she stepped in, Twilight closed the door behind her, flying over to her bed in the corner of the dome.
“This is amazing!” Moondancer sang suddenly, galloping towards the middle of the room. Despite the sun beating through the windows, it wasn’t particularly warm inside of it. It was quite echoey, however, which let Moondancer’s voice ring out in an echo. “There’s so much floor space! It’s like the size of our loft in the castle! Why is your room so big?”
“It used to be an observatory.” Twilight said, adjusting herself on her bed so her hind legs were tucked in and her front hooves were hanging off the edge. “Before I was born, my dad used to study the stars in here. Apparently they read a book that said Pegasus foals get claustraphobic, so they put me up here.”
“Well, they’re not wrong.” Moondancer shouted, listening as her voice echoed off the glass panes. She did another spin before galloping over to Twilight’s bed and leaping onto it. Twilight felt herself rise up as the addition of Moondancer changed the shape of the mattress. “I’ve also read that. It’s about how Pegasi evolved in the clouds, and aren’t used to closed ceilings.” She said, adjusting herself on the bed until she was sitting upright. “But why is it so empty in here?” She asked, motioning out to the room. “The entire room looks… barren.”
Twilight felt her heart tug as she turned to look at the rest of her room. The room that was now solely hers. Once upon a time, she vividly remembered a pink Pegasus trotting in, excited that she had bought brand new fairy lights to hang up around her side of the room. Twilight could still almost see her doing it, as she looked over the edge of her book. Twilight coughed, coming back to the real world.
“I’ve just never felt the need to expand, I guess.” Twilight mumbled.
“But, I mean…” Moondancer bit her cheek as she pushed herself off of the bed. “You could do a lot in here. Put a desk there.” She pointed to an empty space. Truly, the only objects in this room was Twilight’s bed, a small dresser, and a single lowly nightstand by the door that once held a lamp. “You could put a telescope here.” She pointed at the window. The same window that Cadence had fled from. “Maybe you could even make a staircase here, to like, a small reading room!” She gasped. “Ohh, I’ve always wanted a reading room! That would be so cool.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Twilight shrugged, clearing her throat. “Hey- can we get started on the project?”
“Oh, come on.” Moondancer turned around to face her. “This place is so cool! Why did you never expand? I’d line the walls with bookcases!” She did a short spin. In another life, perhaps she might’ve been a ballerina. “I don’t understand…” Her eye, in the middle of yet another spin, caught something. “…why you didn’t…” She hummed, trotting towards the only solid wall in the room leading back into the rest of the house.
By the door was what appeared like a bulletin board. Lining the entire thing was a bunch of instant-print photographs, pinned to the cork. All of the photographs had Twilight in them, and they seemed to loosely document Twilight’s early life.
The first few photographs had obviously been taken very early in Twilight’s life. The very first one was of Twilight in her crib, looking up at the camera as the flash lit up the entire area, giving Twilight a sort of pale look.
Halfway down was a photograph of the same pink Pegasus Moondancer had seen in the hallway. She had turned the camera to face her and Shining, with a very young Twilight in the middle. They were all dressed up, with Shining dressed as a guard, Twilight as some kind of Alicorn, and the pink Pegasus as a witch. The background, however, was the same dome Moondancer found herself in. Except it was decorated beautifully. Fairy string lights lit up the entire area, giving it a vintage orange glow in the photo. Bookshelves, carpets, and dressers lined the area. It looked very lived in, a stark contrast to what the place looked like now.
“Twilight, who is this?” Moondancer asked, pointing at the pink Pegasus. “Do you have a sister?”
“Uh…” Twilight swallowed harshly, playing with both of her hooves. “I, uh, used to.”
“Used to?” Moondancer asked, adjusting her glasses. “What do you mean used to?”
“She…” Twilight made a motion with her hooves. “...Isn’t here anymore, basically.”
Finally, it looked like Moondancer got it. She let out a short gasp, facing Twilight immediately. Twilight offered a weak smile.
“Oh! Oh, um, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know, uh-” Moondancer quickly said, covering her mouth with a hoof. “Is that why this place is so empty?”
“Well… yeah, I guess so.” Twilight blew a bang out of her eye. “I just… didn’t want any of her stuff here anymore. And I didn’t want it. It felt… tainted, somehow. Like she was still using it, I guess.” Twilight cleared her throat. “I mean, it’s fine. It’s all cool. You didn’t know, and were curious.” Twilight cleared her throat again, this time louder. “Can we get started on the project now?”
“Oh, right!” Moondancer used her magic to unclasp her saddlebags, dumping them on the ground in front of her. “Of course we can get started.” She pulled out the map and laid it on the floor. Twilight inched closer to the edge of her bed, looking down at the map. Despite being needed to be ‘finished,’ the thing looked very close to being done already, if not already done. Despite this, however, the two fillies both agreed it needed a little extra pazazz that something two bookworms could only provide.
“Okay, um…” Moondancer bit her lip as she pointed to Canterlot. “We can draw the flags here, starting with Canterlot, for extra points.” She sat down, reaching into her saddlebags and pulling out markers.
“Her name was Cadence.” Twilight said, at apparent random. Moondancer paused with her markers, looking up.
“Oh. Um…” Moondancer looked back down. “If you could get started on some of the smaller cities, like Hoofberg and Ponyville, I could work on Manehattan.”
“Right.” Twilight stepped off of her bed and laid down onto the floor, using the tips of her wings to pluck a marker from Moondancer’s small collection.
For a small period of time, the two worked in silence, only broken by the sounds of marker scratching onto the floor. Every once in a while, Moondancer would catch Twilight’s eye, but the two kept working.
Soon, however, the silence was broken.
“What was Cadence like?” Moondancer asked.
Twilight took a moment to bite the inside of her cheek.
“She was the best sister anypony could ask for.”
…
“Do you want to talk about it?” Moondancer asked. Twilight stopped drawing for a moment, and looked up at her.
“I think… I really want to talk about it.”
It didn’t take long for the hours to start to melt away.