//------------------------------// // Flashback the Fifth: Learning // Story: The Twilight Child // by Detectivefish //------------------------------// Twilight Twinkle, aged fifteen (physically nineteen) Twilight Twinkle's mind raced. Standing in front of her was the Changeling Queen. The Changeling Queen. And she had just said Wisp was her son. A part of her pointed out this wasn't really a surprise. Thought it was more the fact that the Changeling Queen was in Ponyville, like it was a perfectly normal thing for an emotion-eating, mind-sapping bug monster to do. "Leave us," the Changeling Queen said, looking at Twinkle like she was something to be scraped off of her hooves, "I would have words with my child." "No." Wisp said, with an authority and sternness Twinkle hadn't ever heard before. The Changeling Queen looked at him. "No?" "I am not your son. You are not my mother." In an instant her expression shifted from shock to anger to what looked like hurt to revulsion. "Do not speak back to me" she hissed. Twinkle stepped in front of her friend, and tried to ignore the shaking in her legs. "You heard him. He said no. Now get lost." She knew of the... incident at her aunt and uncle's wedding, and so had her mind-shielding charm ready to go. The Changeling Queen stared at her for a moment, and then she suddenly found herself on her side, several feet away from Wisp. Twinkle saw the shapeshifter wipe her hoof against her chest as she got to her hooves. "Okay" she muttered. She got to her hooves and, gritting her teeth, let loose a small beam of energy, which hit the Changeling Queen dead-centre, sending the creature flying. She landed in a heap, and pulled herself up. She fixed Twinkle with a glare. "Who are you?" She hissed, her fangs plainly visible. Twilight Twinkle didn't respond. "You're clearly quite a powerful little pony, but... obviously foolish. I am as strong as one of your princesses, and there are none here" she said, a cruel smile on her face as she advanced towards Twinkle. "You only overpowered Celestia by chance, and with Cadance you were too cowardly to try attacking her directly" Twinkle said, trying to sound confident and stand her ground. The monster raised an eyebrow. "You sound and look awfully familiar" she mused, as she bared her teeth. "Well, no matter" she shrugged, "You'll be a useful snack all the same." There was another noise, and a bright pink beam slammed into the Changeling Queen, sending her flying back further, with much more force. "Don't you touch her." somepony yelled. Twinkle recognised it as her mother, who quickly rushed in front of her, before turning toward the startled colt. "Whisper, get behind me" she beckoned. The stallion quickly moved behind her as the Changeling Queen got up once more, muttering something under her breath. As she stood up she looked from Twilight Sparkle to Twilight Twinkle, and a nasty smile returned to her face. "Of course, you're her daughter. I thought I recognised something in you, though she seems a bit better at recognising Changelings that you, dear Twilight." Her grin grew as she immitated Cadance for the last two words. Twinkle saw her mother bristle, then fire another blast of magic at the Changeling Queen, who simply deflected it. "Oh, please. Magic blasts? How unoriginal. You may be keeping remarkably well, young Twilight Sparkle, but you're still the little pathetic unicorn who fell for my disguise." She laughed. Twinkle saw a look of irritation pass briefly across her mother's face, before there was an audible 'thwump' of wings flaring. The Changeling Queen took a step back, a fleeting look of surprise on her face. She hissed. Twinkle felt disappointed in the lack of sudden orchestral backing. "All I wish to do is to talk with my son. Would you deny a mother the right to see her child?" "You are not my mother" Wisp repeated, "You gave up that right when you abandoned me." "I think the boy's made his choice." Twilight Sparkle said, "Now leave." The Changeling Queen looked from her son to Twinkle to Twilight Sparkle. Her eyes seemed to linger on Twinkle, and the corner of her mouth seemed to curl slightly. "Very well. I shall leave. But sooner or later, my son will be returned to me." She turned and then flew off into the distance. Twilight Sparkle turned to look at Wisp and Twinkle. She set about examining the two of them. "You're alright." She sighed once she'd finished examining Twinkle, who decided not to mention that she felt like her legs were about to give in. Then Twilight Sparkle frowned, "Now go home, Twinkle. Whisper Wind and I have things to talk about." Twinkle looked to the stallion, his bright blue eyes somewhat lacking their usual shine. She opened her mouth to say something. "No. Go home, young lady." her mother said sternly. Twinkle glowered at her, but said nothing before reluctantly turning and heading back to the small library. As she did she heard her mother speaking to Wisp. "Wisp, tell me everything you know." "Yes, your highness." "I think we can skip formality this time..." Twinkle rushed home, and sat down by one of the bookshelves. She quickly let herself collapse. She felt unusually afraid for Wisp. She knew he could take care of himself, she knew he was clever and responsible and... she couldn't stop thinking about him. She carefully raised a hoof to her cheek. It felt extremely warm. She sat there for a moment, trying to process that new shock. "I have a crush on Wisp?" She sat there for a moment, before eliciting a small 'huh'. ***** Her mother returned some time later, looking slightly concerned and noticably tired. She looked at Twinkle, and smiled gently, though the unicorn didn't return it. A slightly hurt look briefly went across Twilight Sparkle's face, but she moved on. "Twinkle?" She asked, sitting next to her daughter, her wings fluttering slightly, "Would you like to go visit Rarity, in Canterlot?" Twilight Twinkle looked up at the earnest and eager face of her mother, "What? Stay with her and Impy and hem pants every day? Or be roped into modelling the latest skirts? Tempting, but no." She returned to her book. "I just thought you might want to learn something new. New skills for example, for when you move out into the world." Twinkle just made a noise of disinterest. "I already know stuff." "Well, I just worry about you. Cooped up all day, never going out and socialising." "I 'socialise' with Wisp often enough." Twilight Sparkle frowned. "And what's wrong with having more friends?" Twinkle fought the urge to remark that she was satisfied with the number of friends she had already, even if deep down she really wasn't. She just knew that if she made a remark of the tune of 'not needing friends' she'd quickly be proved wrong by fate, or reality. As a result, she simply turned the page of the book she was reading. "I don't mind you reading" Twilight Sparkle said, shuffling slightly, "It's just that the books you read, and the lack of friends, and then you started making up these stories." There was a slam as Midday closed the book and stared at her mother. "What. Stories." Thought she was fairly certain she knew the answer already. "Well, these stories about... that is... I mean..." Twinkle made a noise of disgust and walked upstairs, leaving her mother looking embarrassed. ***** Of course she still got sent to stay with Rarity anyway, regardless of whether she wanted to stay in Ponyville, though she tried to justify it by saying the Changeling Queen could have returned at any time, which her mother calmly brushed off by assuring her that Wisp was quite safe. She was welcomed on the platform by Rarity and Impy, who somehow seemed to blend into the crowd despite her abnormal size and length. It wasn't that she was an unhealthy eater, but when you're half-dragon, you do tend to become a bit larger than the average pony, though she was slightly smaller than Luna. "Hello." Twinkle said as her somewhat larger 'niece' embraced her. "And hello to you too, auntie" Impy said once she stopped crushing the poor mare's bones. "Tell me, are you actually here to greet me, or just to make sure I don't get 'lost' on the way to your house?" Rarity looked mildy upset at that statement. "A bit" Impy smirked, living up to her nickname. "Grandma was... concerned you might do something 'foolish'." Rarity just sighed. "Well, you are here now, and not about to run off, are you?" "No. No, I don't think so" Twinkle sighed. She was still a Twilight, and she had promised to give university a try. The three walked through the streets to Canterlot, Impy questioning Twinkle on the developments in her life. "So" Rarity said, "Are you excited to be going to university?" "Not really." Twinkle replied, "My mom just did it because she thought I'd enjoy it." Rarity just smiled nervously. "Well, I'm sure you will enjoy it, or at the very least have the opportunity to learn things and make new friends." "Oh, mom, mom, mom!" Impy sighed, "You've jinxed it now." Rarity blinked. "Have I?" "Yes. Remember? Telling somepony they'll enjoy something is a surefire way to cause disaster. How many times did Twilight Sparkle tempt fate, exactly?" The mare bit her lip as she remembered. "You have a point there, young lady" she eventually said. "Goodness. You mean I'm actually right for once?" Impy said, doing a fantastic imitation of wide-eyed shock, before breaking out a massive grin. As it turned out, she only had to stay with Rarity and Impy for a short time, though they were a strange few weeks. But eventually, they came to an end when she had to leave for university. The campus was hardly anything shocking. Young ponies wandering about looking studious and vaguely knowledgable, and older ponies looking concerned and bothered, and somewhat rotound. The campus itself was divided into multiple buildings, some of which looked remarkably like converted houses formerly belonging to rich academics. She ignored them and tried to find the place she was supposed to be staying. It was a small bedroom, cramped but not distinctly unpleasant, with a window, two beds and two desks, and two wardrobes. The walls were an alarming blue colour, probably to induce comfort, though Twinkle couldn't really see how that would work. Then she gathered something. Two beds. That meant she'd have a roommate. The idea hadn't actually occured to her before, so focused as she was on just generally being at university against her will, and strange distracting thoughts of Wisp. She looked at the beds, and sat down on one. She hadn't really brought anything with her, so she just sat there, thinking, waiting, dreading. After some time the door opened, and a pony walked in. She was a pegasus, with a purple coat, purple wings and a slightly pink mane. Her Cutie Mark was that of a purple star overlaid on another star, with lots of little sparkles scattered around it. Twilight Twinkle would later wonder if whatever force generated Cutie Marks had started running out ideas with this one. "Oh, hello." she said, upon seeing Twinkle just staring, smiling slightly. "I'm going to go ahead and guess you're probably my roommate." She said sweetly. Twinkle made no response. This didn't seem to deter her. "Nice to meet you. What's your name?" "Twilight Twinkle" she said before she could stop herself. The mare simply nodded. "Hello, Twilight Twinkle. My name's Star Song." Twilight Twinkle blinked in confusion. She stared straight at the probably somewhat mad pegasus who was now humming and placing clothing in one of the small wardrobes. "Star Song?" she scoffed. "Sounds like a name from a fairy tale." She muttered. Star Song looked at her, still smiling. "You say that like there's something wrong with it." "Yeah. They're rubbish, and fill kids heads with nonsense. Making friends in an instant, everything working out in the end, happy endings." The royal blue unicorn frowned. Star Song's smile seemed to flicker for a moment. "Some ponies get happy endings" she said quietly. For a moment she looked forlorn. Then the smile returned. "So tell me about yourself, Twilight Twinkle, since we're going to be roommates, and getting to know each other." Twinkle simply stared at the pony like she was mad. "Or I could start?" She continued onwards without even asking, "Well, my name is Star Song, and I'm here on a music scholarship, and don't tell anypony, but my dream is to be a famous musician. Not having a lot of luck there, but, still, I'm young. Plenty of time." Twilight Twinkle said nothing. "Do you like music?" Star Song asked. She stared at the pegasus. It wasn't really something she'd expected to be asked. "I guess?" Twinkle found herself saying. "What kind?" Twinkle blinked. "I don't know... depends on the music, I guess." Star Song opened her mouth to speak again and Twinkle raised her hoof. "Look, I... don't mean to be rude here, Star Song, but I didn't come here to make friends, or go on adventures or discover the joys of adult-life. I'm only here because my mom made me go here. That's all." Star Song frowned, which seemed shocking for the unusually cheerful mare. "Okay." She finally said. "Shame, really." "Why?" "Because I'd already signed you up for every party I could find." She smirked, and went over to her side of the room. Twinkle stared in confusion. "You're kidding, right?" Star Song just chuckled. ***** Twilight Twinkle made an honest attempt at being interested in her lectures, she truly did, but very quickly lost interest, and after a while began to think of other ways to spend her time. And one day it occured to her, something she could do. She could find her father. She could save him. And then she realised he was probably in some variety of afterlife, and while she did have a variety of skills, being able to survive whatever probably lay in wait in the underworld was not something she could do. So she started skipping out of lectures and making her way to the libraries. She found nothing of much help there, so she started investigating the royal library. And strangely enough the guards there didn't seem at all astonished to see the daughter of Twilight Sparkle investigating forbidden knowledge. Though of course even investigating secrets ponies weren't meant to know of couldn't hold against holidays. Shining Sapphire seemed oddly demure when they met, at the train station just outside the Crystal Empire. "Sapphy!" "Twinkie!" "How are you?" The princess's wings ruffled slightly, and she paused. "I'm... fine. How are you, cousin?" "Good, good." "Are you enjoying university?" "It's... alright. But my roommate's quite, quite mad." She decided to leave out the mentioning of the mare suddenly waking up in the middle of the night to write song lyrics, or managing to sing in her sleep. Shining Sapphire raised an eyebrow at that. "What? What's with the eyebrow?" "Nothing." "Sapphy..." The pink and blue alicorn smiled sweetly, "It's just that you did go on a bit of a rampage after what happened with Discord." "Yeah." The older mares' smile flickered. "And... you haven't really been the same since then. You've been all moody, and sullen." "I guess." She could practically feel it coming. Shining Sapphire was about to say what everypony else had said. And then she didn't. "How's Wisp? Whisper Wind, I mean. How is he?" Twinkle stared at her cousin. She was the only pony she knew of who used the shortened version of his name, and that was because he was slightly annoyed by it. And was her older cousin blushing? "Yeah, I guess he's fine. He had an incident with his birth mother a few months back, and now Fluttershy won't let him out of her sight, but otherwise he's fine." Shining Sapphire just nodded slightly, looking concerned as the two walked through the invisible barrier into the Crystal Empire. "That's good." Shining Sapphire said, calmly. She smiled, as if to reassure Twinkle. "Just good. The 'fine' part, not the other part, that is." Twinkle wondered whether to tell Sapphy about her plan regarding the underworld, and decided better of it. Knowing the mare she'd probably tell her father, who would tell her mother, who would tell Twilight Sparkle who would try and stop her. And then, knowing Twilight Sparkle, she'd be lectured to within an inch of her life. And possibly even further. She just smiled as they walked down the grassy slope. "You've got that face on, cousin." Shining Sapphire said, calmly. "What face?" "The 'I'm-trying-to-hide-something-and-doing-a-really-bad-job-of-it' face." "Just thinking. About the future. And stuff." "Just be careful in your thinking that you don't walk into something without noticing it." Twinkle thought she was making a pretentious statement, then she almost walked into a large chunk of crystal, one she could've sworn hadn't been there a second ago. She quickly made her way around it. "Thanks, Sapphy." She muttered, feeling slightly irritated at her cousin's smirk. "Any time, cousin." ***** Some weeks later, in a small house on the very edge of Canterlot, there was a knocking. "Just a moment" a voice called out, one that sounded irritated at the fact that somepony had dared knock on their door. The front door of the house opened, revealing a light blue mare with silvery-blue hair and an irritated expression. "Yes?" The mare asked to the royal blue coloured mare staring at her intently. "You are Trixie, the Great and Powerful?" The mare asked. "What of it?" Trixie sniffed. "I was wondering if you would be willing to teach me some things..."