//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Passing On // Story: The Outer Limits // by Salnalus //------------------------------// Princess Celestia's meeting, which held mayors, officials, and other highly regarded members of societies from the various cities of Equestria, came to an end as all of the ponies exited the room. Celestia was waiting for this moment. As much as the importance of Equestria and its cities were a great deal to her, she found the meetings rather dull and boring. They weren't redundant, as they were much needed. However, it was one of the many royal duties one would have to go through being a ruler of a great land which she did not like much. She exited the room, two of her more personal guards escorting her. It was an obligation of hers that she always have guards with her, even in the confines of her own home within the castle. Not only did she think it necessary, but she was used to it. There were times where she would wander the halls without them, but she felt a bit more secure in their company. Even during the meeting, Celestia thought back to her student, Twilight. She now had her proposal to her, which was then settled, but she still held doubts. She was good at hiding her emotions, so if the guards were to look at her face, they wouldn't see a hint of emotion in it. Bad emotions, anyway. It looked more calm than anything. Celestia used this trick to remind herself to keep calm when she was unsure of things, and it helped almost all the time. She went a little ways away from the Meeting Room before she came to a stop. "Take a break. I need some time alone to discuss things with Princess Luna." The guards nodded their heads in unison, and walked away from the white alicorn. Celestia breathed a heavy sigh. As she turned towards another direction, she walked into another hallway towards her sister's side of the castle, where her tower stood tall. Along the way, she looked ahead as she passed the various stained-glass windows to her left and right. The tower wasn't that far away from where the Meeting Room was located, so it would not take that long to walk there. The castle was large, and in fact the largest building in all of Equestria, but Celestia knew all of it like the back of her hoof. Princess Luna was in her chambers, gazing out at the vast view of Equestria on her balcony. She enjoyed looking out at it, because it gave her a sense of calmness, serenity, and a deeper meaning of the outer limits of the world beyond her. Next to her on the floor of the balcony was a rather large book with a peculiar dark gray cover. Surprisingly, the book had a cover made of some sort of leather instead of the plain plastic most books had, and greatly resembled the appearance of an ancient tome, such as an old spell book of some sort. Luna knew this spell book well, as it was something she had used long ago. Occasionally, she liked to practice her spells to make sure they were still as useful as they had been before her millennium-long imprisonment. She smiled to nopony in particular but herself as the moment of peace filled her senses with comfort. She did not often get to enjoy moments like this, so she was savoring every second of it. That is, until a knock on her door interrupted her calm peace, and her smile faded. She turned her head towards the source of the noise, and walked towards it. Without haste, she opened the door with the glow of her magic, and on the other side, standing tall was her elder sister Celestia. “I am here now, Luna. I believe it is time we discussed this matter further.” Luna raised her eyebrow, and turned to walk back towards the balcony. “Still holding doubts, I see. I assure you, you need not worry about this. With my assistance, you can be certain Twilight Sparkle will get what she desires. You do wish for her happiness, right?” Celestia took a deep breath, and sighed. She hesitantly spoke up afterward. “Of course I do. But, she has been my student for many years. It was ever since she was a filly, and her parents were putting her through the entrance exam in my School for Gifted Unicorns. It wasn't until her magic erupted that I had noticed how much of a potential she had for it. While I have had many students during the years of your absence...” The last few words filled Luna with a brief period of slight dread, but she chose to ignore it as she let Celestia continue. “Twilight had to have had the most powerful magic of any filly I had witnessed. I realized she was more than just special. I also thought she would've been the perfect candidate to control and figure out the power of the Elements of Harmony when she grew up. It was after she received her cutie mark that I knew she was the one. And that leads up to today.” Luna took in all of these words. It filled her mind like how words filled books. She stood in deep thought for a moment, which seemed to have lasted for only about twenty seconds. At the time, her eyes were closed as if to focus on nothing on her thoughts. When she opened her eyes, she turned to face Celestia once more. “I understand, sister. I realize now how much Twilight Sparkle means to you. I suppose you cared for her as if she were your own?” Celestia stared at her younger sibling, pondering the question. “In a way, yes, I have. But she means more to me than just that.” “I understand. You need not explain further. I am certain to learn your meaning, and shall take these reasonings into consideration. I can ask her to give you her opinion on the matter when she feels the need to, so you will feel more calm about it.” Celestia felt a bit insulted by the comment. She felt she was already being calm about the matter at hoof, but given her thoughts on the subject earlier, she figured, maybe Luna was right. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Luna was being more mature about the situation than she was. "Maybe you are right. I could be thinking too much about this. I'm sorry." "There is no need to apologize. You do have a reason to hold concern, and I place no blame on you for that. I figured you would feel this way, which is why I am assuring you that no matter what, I have my best interests in her, and you." Before Celestia could get another word in, one of the royal guards walked into the room. "Excuse my interruption, your highnesses. Twilight Sparkle has arrived, and is awaiting orders." Both Princesses looked at each other. Luna smiled, but Celestia kept the same emotion on her face. They both then turned back to the guard. "Bring her to the royal library. Our meeting will take place there." The guard nodded, and took his leave from the room. Celestia turned back to her younger sister with just a tiny hint of doubt, one that Luna immediately noticed. "Everything will be fine. Now let us meet Twilight Sparkle." Luna started to walk away from Celestia and out the door. Celestia stood there for a few seconds, trying to anticipate how the meeting would go. It was just a short meeting, nothing too big. That's what she was trying to tell herself. She had trust in her sister. "Celestia, are you coming?" This snapped the alabaster alicorn out of her thoughts. She was a bit distracted. Just feel calm. There is nothing to worry about. Everything will be fine. She took a deep breath before exiting the room. Twilight, who was currently waiting inside of the castle entrance, was starting to get annoyed. She already knew what she came here for, and had a pretty good idea where she needed to go, so did she have to wait for a guard to escort her, just to get confirmation from the Princess beforehand? It was pretty obvious why she was in Canterlot in the first place. She wouldn't have a reason to be there unless it was on royal business, or if Equestria was in danger by some sort of severe threat. But this time, it wasn't either case. She came to resume her magic studies, but taking a different approach to it than before. She was constantly tapping her front right hoof on the floor when she saw the guard approaching her, and gave a sigh of relief that she didn't have to wait any longer. "Finally! What did she say?" "I am to escort you to the royal library." "That's alright. I already know where that is." "I am to escort you regardless. Follow me." The guard turned around, and proceeded to lead Twilight to her destination. Twilight just sighed heavily, knowing there was no point in arguing. Either way, she was going where she needed to go, and that was all that mattered. It was obvious to her this was a new guard, so it was not surprising that he did not know who Twilight was. All the while, Twilight was thinking about what was awaiting her in the library. It could be anything. Was it a new spell book she hasn't found in her library? That's just about the only thing she could think of. Then again, Celestia did also mention her getting help from somepony else, but who? Her brother Shining Armor? Her past foalsitter Princess Cadence? Somepony she hasn't met yet? The anticipation was killing her. She had to know now, and if it wasn't for the guard escorting her, she would've made a mad dash towards the royal library. It took some time, but they finally made it to the royal library. The guard watched as Twilight made her way inside, and went back to his post elsewhere within the castle. When she entered, she immediately saw Princess Celestia standing near one of the tables to the right. She happily trotted her way towards her with a smile. “Hello, Princess!” “It is good to see you again, Twilight. I am sure you know why I called you here. I am so sorry I had to pull you away from your personal life, but with what you were going through, I had to make sure I could help you in any way.” “Oh, it's no problem at all. I'm actually glad you found out a way as fast as you did. I just didn't expect it to be that fast. Then again, this is Princess Celestia I'm talking about! You can do anything!” Celestia just laughed at the thought. “Oh Twilight, I can't exactly do anything... but you can say I'm able to do a lot of things. But enough about that. Let's just get to why I invited you here in the first place.” “Oh yes, of course Princess.” Twilight was already excited, despite not knowing how her teacher was going to help her yet. “So, what do you have for me? Is it another spell book, perhaps one by Star Swirl the Bearded? Or maybe-” Celestia cut her off by placing a hoof in front of her. “This will be something different. In fact, it's something I thought I'd never do, but if you're willing to go on with your studies in magic, then I am sure she will be of great help to you.” “Oh, I can't wait to...” Twilight suddenly paused when she noticed something Celestia said. Was it a mistaken word she heard? She had to ask. “Princess, did I hear you correctly? You said 'she'. Who is she?” Twilight was very much confused now. Of course, she may have been too busy anticipating all of this that she had already forgotten that Celestia had gotten help from somepony else. Now she was just wondering who. It may have been somepony she already met, or even somepony she had never seen before. She was about to find out, as when she looked at the ground, she noticed a rather large shadow of a mare approaching from behind. She could already tell who it was by a noticeable feature that wasn't normal about just anypony: the mane was just as free-flowing as Celestia's. When she turned around, she was surprised to find Celestia's younger sister before her, standing tall and staring down at Twilight. Even though the identity of the mare was no surprise, why she was here at the library with them was. “Princess Luna? Are you...” “Indeed, Twilight Sparkle. I understand what you are lacking in, as my sister has informed me of it. I am inclined to assist her in any way I can, and most importantly, assist you.” As she said the last word, she poked a hoof at Twilight's chest. She looked down at the Night Princess' hoof as she did this before she retracted it. Now Twilight was really confused. She turned her head back towards the older of both rulers. “But Princess, what does this all mean? Princess Luna just said she'll help me, but I thought...” Celestia just lowered her head as she closed her eyes. Twilight stared at her for about three seconds, but to her, it felt longer than that. Celestia then reopened her eyes, which were now looking back at the confused unicorn. “My sister, Princess Luna, will be your new teacher.” If Twilight was confused before, this sudden news was something she would not comprehend at all. All of her life, or at least most of it, she had studied under Celestia's tutelage. She always looked up to the ruler of Equestria for as long as she could, and that lasted many, many years. She considered her as sort of a second mother, and if it wasn't for her, Twilight would never be where she was now in her life, and she could not be more grateful. But now that she heard this from the same pony, she could not help but wonder why. She thought that if anypony could help her in any magical field, it was her, Princess Celestia. But now, she's passing on her role as a teacher to her younger sister, Princess Luna. Twilight wasn't sure how to feel about this, almost just as much as Celestia had felt. All of a sudden, the lavender unicorn wasn't feeling very well, and this concerned Celestia. "Twilight, are you alright?" Without warning, and without having time to give a response, Twilight fainted, surprising the pony standing over her. "Twilight?!" "Hold on, sister. Do not assume the worst. This may be too much for her to take at once. I believe it would be best if you let her rest for a few hours. It shall take a while for her to take this all in. Once she has awakened again, you may go further with the truth." With that said, Luna made her way out of the library, leaving Celestia and the unconscious Twilight alone inside. In a way, Celestia knew this would happen. It wasn't just an impulse; it felt like something deeper, but she couldn't put her hoof on it. It just felt like something within her. She wanted to figure out what it was she was feeling, but that would have to wait. With the glow of her horn, a similar yellow glow emanated around Twilight, and she floated directly onto Celestia's back. She breathed a deep sigh as she exited the royal library. Some of the guards directed their attention towards her as she passed through the various hallways, but kept their attention on the lavender unicorn laying across her back, some of them with a raised brow. When she passed, they disregarded the sight, assuming it was just nothing.