//------------------------------//
// Wake Up Sleepy Head 
// Story: Purity 
// by LightStriker 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight was warm and comfortable. She wished to stay like this a while longer, but there is a moment when dreams fly away and no way to bring them back. Not that she didn't try. She attempted to move and at first her body refused to comply. The tightness she had felt in her body was a sign that she slept a lot longer than a single night, but she felt utterly rested. Beyond that her mind was still an empty void.

Then it all came back in a flash: looking for her parents, the cavern under Canterlot, the fight against Blueblood, Azure and Rarity trapped and running out of air under the rubble. But nothing after that; she must have passed out. Her heart ached at the thought. She opened her eyes and sat up way too quickly. "Rarity!" she tried to shout, but her dried throat only managed to let go of a rather unpleasant croak. Her back screamed in pain at the sudden movement, her eyes closed back because of the light and her head started to spin dangerously.

"Good morning Twilight," said a voice she would always recognize. She tried to answer, but once again her voice refused to come out correctly. "Take it slowly," the voiced continued as a gentle force pushed her back until her head rested on a very soft pillow. "You almost slept a full week."

After a few tries, she managed to open her eyes without being hurt by the brightness. Light flooded the room as the sun slowly rose from the horizon. Princess Celestia stood beside the bed, giving her a large smile. Twilight tried to speak again, slowly this time, but her throat felt like it was made of sand.

"There," the Princess said while levitating a small crystal bowl filled with a strange brown liquid. "Drink this, it should help." Twilight forced herself to drink the nasty beverage. If it was from her mentor, no doubt it was for her own good, even if her nose didn't agree.

As soon as she finished the bowl, not without a lot of efforts, her muscles relaxed and her throat opened up. She didn't know what was in that concoction, but it was working miracles. A few deep breaths later her voice also came back. "Rarity? Azure?" she managed to ask, concerned. "My parents?" Her voice sounded dry, but she would make do.

Celestia smiled. "They are alright," she said calmly. She pointed a hoof at Twilight. "It's you who troubled us the most."

"Blueblood! He is -" Twilight tried to sit up again, but Celestia's magic gently pushed her back into the cushions once more, silencing her.

"I know," Celestia replied. "Rarity and Azure explained everything. It may take years for Prince Blueblood to regain the use of his horn, if he ever manages to."

"What?" Twilight asked puzzled. "His horn?"

The Princess raised an eyebrow, surprised at the reaction. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"Well, I was battling him. He was really good... too good... and frankly I don't know how I... or we managed to win. I... I was losing. Rarity and Azure were trapped under... and..." He eyes widened in shock. "I felt her die... and... and..."

"Calm down," Celestia said softly. "You only felt the mental link spell expire. They are fine and you rescued them."

Twilight looked away, confused. "I... I did?" The Princess nodded. "I... I'm not sure I remember that. It's... foggy. I'm not sure what happened or what I did."

"It might come back in time, or not," Celestia explained. "What is important is that you are all alright." She smiled. "You should rest for now. I will ask the chef to prepare you a hot meal. When you have recovered some strength back, I know a filly that looks forward to spending some time with you."

After she had made sure Twilight was comfortable, she turned around and walked to the door. She was about to push it open when she stopped and her head dropped. Her hoof rested on the door for a moment before falling to the floor. Twilight had lived with the Princess long enough to know that something was wrong, her mane and her tail were not floating in the celestial wind as they usually did. Her sides shook and her wings trembled uncontrollably like under a tremendous effort. "I... I let it happen again, didn't I?" the Princess asked softly.

"Princess?"

"I... You..." Celestia took a deep, but jumpy breath. "You always end up facing my mistakes, my errors. The demons from my past, things I never managed to fix or mend..." She shook her head. "They always end up in your hooves." She turned around to face the unicorn. Twilight was stunned to see Celestia was crying. She had never seen the Princess in tears before and she had no idea how to react to this. "This time... this time you almost died. You... I..." she pleaded while walking back to the bed, her eyes fixed on Twilight.

"Princess, you're crying?" asked Twilight, concerned for her mentor.

Celestia brought a hoof to her eyes, surprised to find it wet. "Am I?" Her whole body was shaking as the tears kept flowing down her face. She fought against them but the battle was obviously one-sided. "Ridiculous, the Princess is stoic, a beacon of stability! She does not cry, she... I..."  After a moment she fell down on her knees, her head resting on the bed. "I could have lost you!" she shouted in distress. "Again and again! I keep making the same mistakes over the ages!" she screamed. "I'm a stubborn old pony who thinks she knows better, who thinks she's so clever," she finished in a whisper. "I tried! I tried to stay distant, detached, to be an image, a figure of leadership... but... but... I can't help making friends... and... and... I always end up hurting them!" 

Not knowing what to say, Twilight simply hugged the Princess. She felt it was the right thing to do. Her teacher kept crying for what felt like a very long time, soaking the bed sheets. The tears finally stopped and she found Celestia had fallen asleep, but even in her dreams her face did not relax and showed signs of pain. She wondered if the Princess had stayed awake the whole time she was in a coma, a whole week watching over her. She thought that maybe she had taken her teacher for granted too much, the Princess that had been, was and would be for many more centuries. An icon, a facade that was protecting a pony with emotions and feelings far more complex than she first imagined.

Twilight knew she had to talk with Celestia later, when both would be rested. It wouldn't be easy; friendship rarely was.





Twilight didn't remember falling asleep, but when she woke up again Celestia stood on the balcony looking outside. Judging from the sky, it was late in the afternoon. Sensing her student was awake, the Princess looked over her shoulders.

"Your brother is wiser than he looks," she said. "He asked me if making friends... if having friends and letting them grow and make mistakes on their own becomes easier or harder as you get more experienced." She sighed while staring at the horizon. "It is harder with time, much harder," she said. After a moment, she walked back in the room. "It's harder because I've seen it happened before. It's harder because I only feel more powerless to change anything."

The Princess' mane was a mess, her eyes were red from the tears and showed black rings from the lack of sleep. "Princess?" Twilight asked.

Celestia gave her a weak smile. "Don't worry; it is nothing a good night of rest won't fix."

She walked to the bed and sat down. There, she recounted the events Rarity and Azure had told Luna and her. Twilight was stunned that Blueblood had been only a puppet of a pony who died centuries ago. The implication of this kind of spell-craft was disturbing to say the least. However, she was curious and amazed by the genius behind all this. Twilight had the feeling the story had missing fragments. She wondered if that old archmage hadn't told everything or Azure omitted details she felt not important. She would have to talk to the young filly; she was most likely shocked by the experience. A pony of her age shouldn't be facing events like that.

"Had I known who was behind all this, I would have followed you and prevented you from facing him," Celestia said plainly.

Twilight frowned. "Princess?"

"To be blunt, had he been alive, with all his power, I'm afraid you would have lost. You were not trained for this kind of combat. Back then, it was part of the basic training, every unicorn followed a course of magic battle," she explained. "Between him and my sister, I simply can't say who would win. They were both so good at this kind of thing." She shrugged. "Luna always said I was too direct, lacking the subtlety for a proper magic duel. I might have the raw power, but he had the talent."

Twilight fought hard against asking why the Princess took a trip in the past. She knew her teacher was secretive and wouldn't talk unless she felt it was needed. Her respect for Celestia won over her curiosity.

The Princess looked down, as if she was ashamed of something, her mouth twitching as an internal battle took place. Twilight stayed silent, knowing better then to push her teacher for answers. The fight didn't last long and Celestia brought her sight back to her student. She had come to a decision and her resolve was palpable.

"I lied to you Twilight," she let out rather bluntly.

"What? I... Princess?"

"I told you the magic you released at your entrance exam was a flare... triggered by your growth and your cutie mark," she explained. "I lied."

Twilight didn't know what to say. She never really questioned Celestia's words and never really felt the need to.

"It was the first time you accessed your magical reserve in full. But it was uncontrolled and dangerous." Considering what happened, Twilight could only agree with that statement. Having potted plants as parents was not really a desirable outcome. "I stopped you by sealing most of your magic potential." Celestia sighed. "The seal should have held a lot longer and should have weakened over time, making the transition easier. In hindsight, I'm glad it broke the moment it did." The Princess looked straight in Twilight's eyes. "I should have told you a long time ago. When you fought Blueblood, you burned more magic in matter of seconds than a unicorn normally uses in months. It was terribly dangerous and could have killed you." Tears were coming back to the Princess' eyes, but she managed to keep them at bay. "It's nothing short of a miracle that you survived."

She looked down and laughed weakly. "My past experience with Constellation made me overcautious of too talented ponies, because he tried to kill me. However, it was me... keeping to myself that made it happen in the first place; not trusting, not talking." She took a deep breath. "If only I had known," she said in a whisper while closing her eyes. The shock of Constellation's story as Azure had told it was still present. It was obvious it moved the Princess far more than Twilight first thought, most likely reopening an old wound.

"He was a good pony... a good friend. But I wasn't; I couldn't see the pain that was burning our bridges. I ignored him in the moment he needed me the most," she said, reliving her memories. "Had I been... Had I said..."

Twilight took the Princess by surprise when she jumped out of bed and hugged her. "It's going to be alright," Twilight whispered.

Celestia let go of a breath that she felt she had been holding for centuries and lowered her head to rest on her student's. A weight had been lifted from her shoulders, one she put there by herself. She had no doubt now, there was no way she could have removed it on her own. She had been that stoic figurehead of leadership... of fake perfection for so long that she forgot how to face her own errors and admit them to others... and to herself.

What have I done to deserve such a good friend?