For a few moments, there was utter quiet in the library, as Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy all stared at the spot where 'Midday Eclipse' had been standing not seconds ago. Spike meanwhile, was just staring at Twilight Sparkle, and despite the fact that he had been expecting to feel triumphant, what Twilight Sparkle had just said had made him break out in a cold sweat.
What she had said was Midday's full name.
"What?" Rarity said quietly, "The hay? Just happened?"
Twilight Sparkled looked down at her hooves, and to the untrained eye, she might have looked mildly irritated, to anypony who knew otherwise about the mare, a dozen emotions were running rampant through her,
"She's my daughter" Twilight said.
For a second, nopony said anything, all staring either at Twilight or one another. Rainbow Dash what the first to break the silence.
"You mean... aw, man..." she moaned, slamming her front hooves into her face, "I'm an idiot. I'm a bucking idiot."
Nopony said anything for several moments, though if anypony had been looking at Applejack, they would have noticed slowing mounting revulsion and panic on her face.
"She was telling the truth!" Rainbow Dash said. Suddenly there was a sharp drop in the room's temperature as she realised what she'd said. Twilight Sparkle slowly raised her head to look at her.
"What," she said, and in the sudden quiet it sounded like a whip-crack, especially with the total lack of emotion in it.
Rainbow Dash suddenly immitated a look usually only found on certain types of small mammals whose lot in life usually means ending their lives in a damp, terrified crunch. She tried smiling nervously, but that quickly collapsed under the assault of Twilight's stare.
"Well, you know how... a few weeks ago, when the kids and I went to Canterlot, we got to talking, and I asked her who she was."
"Yes?" Twilight said.
"Well, she said she was your daughter... from the future. And I thought that was completely ridiculous. Even though she does... kinda look a lot like you, and acts like you sometimes..." Rainbow Dash suddenly found herself unable to continue.
Applejack, meanwhile, had vanished.
"She told you. She was from the future" Twilight said.
"I though she was being sarcastic or something" Rainbow Dash said quietly.
Twilight just nodded, and though nopony said anything, it seemed to be a common agreement that this was more terrifying than her being angry.
"Wait," Rarity said, "Sweetie Belle and her friends were with you when she said this, correct?"
Rainbow Dash nodded, and then a second later realised what she'd just said.
"So, do they know?" Fluttershy asked, "And who else knows?"
For a moment, nopony said anything, which meant they could hear the noise of Applejack retching quite distinctly. Then, quite suddenly a though occured to everypony, and they all turned to look at Spike, who merely grinned nervously and waved at them.
"Spike," Rarity said in a voice that made the air freeze, "Did you know about this?"
He mumbled something.
"What was that?" Rarity asked.
"Might've done" he said defensively. He looked at the four ponies staring at him. "Hey, she told me, and then she made me promise not to to tell anypony, alright? I'm not on trial here."
He folded his arms and turned away. After a few seconds he checked to see if anypony was looking at him. Rarity was staring at him, and despite herself and the utter lack of humour in the current situation there was the tiniest hint of a smirk on her face.
There was a small groan as Applejack came back into the room, looking like she'd been dragged through a hedge, beaten up, and then forced given a complimentary shaking-down for her troubles.
"Applejack?" Fluttershy asked, "What is it?"
The mare stared at Fluttershy, her eyes almost lifeless, and her gaze moved to Twilight, who was still standing there, not saying anything.
"Ah don' wanna talk about it right now..."
"Are you alright, Twilight?" Rarity asked, no longer able to tolerate Twilight's quitetude. The mare looked at her.
"No, Rarity. I'm not," she walked over to a window and looked out of it.
"I feel like the world's been pulled out from under me. Now I now what's going to happen, I have no choice in the matter. It's going to happen no matter what I do, so... do I even exist, as an individual? Do I actually have free will at all any more, or am I following some pre-set plan?" she frowned and shook her head, "All I have are more questions. Questions upon questions upon questions. And the only thing I can think about right now is wings."
At this, Rainbow Dash looked almost sheepish, something Pinkie Pie noticed.
"Hey, Dashie, you've gone all pink."
Twilight looked at the pegasus. "What is it, Rainbow Dash?"
"Nothing. Nothing. Just... Midday, or Twilight junior, or whatever we're calling her now, she also told Scootaloo and her friends how she got her Cutie Mark, and..." she coughed.
"She said I had wings, didn't she?" Twilight said. Rainbow Dash looked at her.
"... yeah. How did you know?"
There were identical shocked gasps from Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie.
Twilight frowned again. "But why? Why do I have wings?"
There was a small cough from Spike, who looked like he wanted to burst into flames. "You could always ask Princess Luna. She is just downstairs, after all."
"No," a suspiciously Luna-sounding voice said, "She isn't."
Twilight looked up at her. "Princess Luna. Or would you prefer just Luna? Since we're apparently going to be equals."
Luna stared at Twilight Sparkle, and for a few seconds Pinkie tried to join in, but her staring was evidently nowhere near as good as Luna's staring.
"What happened?" Luna asked. Twilight looked straight ahead, her eyes unblinking.
"Apparently at some point I'm going to gain wings. Which is impossible, isn't it?" she turned back to Luna, "Unless there is a way to do this I was not aware of."
For a moment, Luna looked afraid and unsure. "I can neither confirm nor deny that" she said flatly.
"I see" Twilight said, looking down at her hooves. When she spoke again it was calm, but with the faintest hint of something worrying.
"Princess Celestia knows about all this, about Midday, or should I say, Twilight Twinkle? Doesn't she?"
Luna said nothing. Twilight just nodded again, looking uncertain.
"So..." Pinkie said, "What about Midday? Or Twinkle, or whatever she's called? Are we going to do something about that?"
Rainbow Dash frowned. "Why would you call her Twinkle, anyway? What's up with tha-"
"It was my grandmothers' name, on my mother's side. She passed away a few months after I got my Cutie Mark" Twilight said quietly, "Though 'Twyla', I don't know where that came from, but the alliterative name is something I-... something Future-Twilight would do."
"Wouldn't that be Future-Princess Twilight?" Pinkie asked, "I mean, if she's got wings then I bet she is a Princess, because you're already super-duper smart and powerful, so making you a Princess is really the next logical step!"
"Yeah," Twilight said, her voice distant. Fluttershy was now standing next to Applejack.
"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked quietly. Applejack shook her head.
"Ah'll explain later. Just... not right now." she said quietly, occasionaly shooting a glance at Twilight, at which point Fluttershy saw a look of unimaginable guilt on the mare's face.
"So, what do we do now?" Pinkie Pie asked. Twilight just shrugged.
"If it's all the same to everypony, I'd just like to be alone for a while," Twilight said, "I'd like to be alone right now."
Everypony exchanged glances, and quietly filed out of the room.
*****
Everypony stood awkwardly downstairs, nopony was sure what to say, save Luna, who quickly muttered something about being needed back in Canterlot. Pinkie Pie had quickly filled Trixie in on what they'd learnt.
"That's... unusual news" Trixie had remarked.
"So, what are you going to do about this?" she asked.
"Maybe we should just find her and get her to talk to Twilight?" Fluttershy said. Everypony stared at her.
"Or not, nevermind, I'll just be quiet then" she whispered.
Rarity sighed, "No, it's actually a good idea, Fluttershy, but where would we look?"
"We'll just have to look everywhere," Rarity said, "At this point I'd say that mare owes us some answers, and answers to the questions those answers raise."
"And questions to the answers to the questions the answers' questions answer!" Pinkie smiled, before frowning, "Or am I getting it mixed up somewhere?"
*****
Upstairs, Twilight stared at a piece of parchment she'd picked out. She had been meaning to write a letter to Princess Celestia, but each time she did, she couldn't focus. Her thoughts were running wild, as a thousand different feelings fought one another for supremacy. And foremost in her mind was what she'd seen in the young mare's mind. What that future version of her had said.
"Hello, Twilight. ... I made this message because right now, at this time, you're only five, and... I'm sorry, I'm not really sure what to say right now, so... maybe I should just recount what happened.
You moved the sun and the moon. You managed to do something even I couldn't do, or at the very least that I'm not certain I could do. And... (I thought this would be easier.)
I decided that it would be for the best to seal away part of your magic, until you were old enough. Until you were ready, so if you're listening to me rambling, that means you're old enough.
I can't predict the future, so I can't say what sort of mare you'll become. I don't know if you'll be angry, or accepting, or afraid. So maybe I should be clear: I didn't do this out of spite, or jealousy. I did it because I just wanted you to grow up not feeling burdened with all that power, or responsibility. I just want you to live as normal a life as possible. I just want the best for you. And more than that, I just want you to be happy, no matter what you do.
And if... if I've failed, in my duties as your mother, if I did something wrong and unforgivable, I am sorry. If you feel betrayed by what I've done, then at least know that I can understand that. But this wasn't because I don't trust you, Twinkle. I just wanted you to be able to take on your full power when you were old enough to use informed judgement, not let it ruin what are supposed to be the best days of your life.
But... whatever you do, however you respond to this message, that's your choice. Just know that I did this out of love, Twilight. And...
Twilight Twyla Twinkle, in case I don't say this enough, I love you, sweetie. You're my greatest achievement.
And I don't mind what you do with your life, provided you don't turn evil of course, just so long as you keep being brilliant.
Because I know I don't tell you that enough."
Twilight was growing aware of somepony talking to her, trying to get her attention.
"-ilight? Twilight?!"
She jolted, looking at Rarity, who had a look of concern on her face. She was also aware of the familiar scent of tea, which meant apparently Rarity was feeling stressed, though to her credit the mare was barely showing even the slightest hints of that.
"What is it?"
"Tea," Rarity said, floating what didn't look like any of Twilight's tea-cups towards her, "I thought you might like something to drink."
Twilight took it and began to drink, and had to admit it did feel relaxing. Then she noticed Rarity looking at her.
"Is something wrong, Rarity?"
"I'm worried about you, Twilight. We all are. That's all."
"What? Do you think I'm going to hurt... her if I see her again, or something like that?"
"No!" Rarity said, "It's just... well, we weren't sure what you were going to do."
Twilight nodded. "Well, I've been thinking it over. I've been thinking about a lot of things. For example, I was just thinking Princess Celestia probably will have a part in my gaining wings, and... I'm conflicted. Yes, it's exciting but... at the same time I'm terrified whether it will hurt or not, and wondering if everything, right from my gaining my Cutie Mark was just part of some plan. If that's all I am to her, just a curiosity."
Rarity stared at Twilight. "And what do you think?"
Twilight frowned. "I think I'm not sure, right now. Princess Celestia has always looked out for me, though. Maybe becoming a Princess is just my destiny."
She smiled faintly, "And I suppose there are worse things to find out about your future."
Then her smile vanished, "But I am concerned. She said she's in the past by accident, but she said her father was erased by Discord. So why was there a pony who said he was her father? Was he an actor, who just happened to look like her? Or is there something else going on there? Right now I'd just like some peace and quiet to gather my thoughts, and all I can do is think up these questions."
Rarity placed a hoof on Twilight's. "Well, we are looking for her. And we'll find her, and then we'll see about having a nice chat."
Twilight nodded, then looked at Rarity. "I don't suppose you noticed the look of guilt and self-loathing on Applejack's face while I was... freaking out, did you?"
Rarity gritted her teeth. "Yes. I did. And I have a strong suspicion it has something to do with why our little time-traveller didn't seem to like her for so long."
Then, there was the sound of hoofsteps, and Rainbow Dash burst into the room.
"Hey, Rarity! We checked everywhere and we can't find her."
"You checked everywhere?" the fashion desinger asked.
"Yeah. Pinkie and Fluttershy even double-checked, just to be sure. We haven't found her. In fact, all we've found out is that Lyra is really excited about some wedding she's going to, and that Amethyst whatsername's all depressed for some reason."
Rarity and Twilight exchanged glances.
"Where could she have gone?" Twilight asked.
*****
Meanwhile, in a suspiciously familiar place, royal blue hooves pounded against a deep blue carpet, their owner calmly making her way along a deep corridor. The ponies who saw her knew well enough to stay out of her way, for she was one of the most dangerous and enigmatic mares in all of Canterlot, and it was the worst time of day to encounter her.
She was Midnight Eclipse, and she'd just finished work, which meant anypony foolish enough to dare approach her, regardless of who they were, even Shining Armor himself, would probably be dragged to a dungeon, then exiled to some windswept island, whereupon they'd been thrown into a different dungeon.
She arrived at her destination, a small room in the massive castle, and opened the door, before entering. In Canterlot Castle, a small room was not the same as a small room in Ponyville. A small room in Ponyville was small. A small room in Canterlot was far, far larger, and would have seemed the size of a medium-sized apartment to somepony from Ponyville.
The mare sighed, and allowed her dark sapphire-blue hair to unwind from its usual bun. Then she frowned, and looked around the room.
"Whoever is there, show yourself" she said, calmly. Nopony had ever seen the mare get angry, but if they had, their fear of her would have actually lessened. Mares screaming and raging defiance as part of them was alight was perfectly normal. Mares who just nodded, and smiled, and signed banishment orders were far worse.
"Have you changed your hairstyle?" an all-too familiar voice asked. Midnight's eyes narrowed, as she remembered the Incident, as she called it, of several months ago, where'd she met a pony who looked exactly like her in every detail (save one), but differed in almost every other aspect.
"You."
An outline of a mare appeared, and to Midnight's shock, turned into an almost identical royal blue mare, with her mane tinted with two streaks of orange. The shock came from the fact that she'd been expecting the mare to be lilac, while the 'almost' came from the fact that Midnight was slightly older-looking, and the fact that her duplicate gave off a subtle aura of wrong-ness. Which, in all fairness was because she was in the wrong universe. And the wrong time.
"Me," the other unicorn grinned, before her eyes darted to Midnight's hair, "And you have changed your hairstle. Or is this how you normally look?"
Midnight frowned, "It's new" she said defensively. Her counterpart nodded.
"This wouldn't be because of a visit to anywhere would it?"
Midnight stared at her opposite number. "What do you want?"
The mare shrugged. "Nothing, nothing. Just thought I'd come visit my 'sister'."
Midnight raised an eyebrow.
"Actually, I've had a string of bad days lately and I came here so nopony would find me while I thought things out. And I wanted to visit you."
Midnight stared at the mare, numerous questions rushing through her mind. "How did you even get in here? This castle's warded against all manner of intruders."
"Told the guys at the front door I was you," the mare shrugged, "They let me through without question."
Midnight made a mental note to find out which guards had done that, and assign them a menial repetitive task to perform.
"Define 'a string of bad days'" she said, icily.
Her counterpart pretended to give this some contemplation, "Well, for my birthday, I got attacked by a plant that made me live out my dream life. Apparently all I wanted was to get on with my mom, meet a nice Changeling, get some wings and then settle down into a life of martial bliss in a mildly creepy castle. At which point I managed to make my way out of the illusion, finding out that when I thought I'd been raising my daughter, I was just doing a terrific coma immitation."
"I see," Midnight said, though her opposite glowered.
"Not done yet. Immediately thereafter, my body gets taken over by a Nightmare, who as it turns out had not been destroyed by my cousin's big heroic sacrifice play. Said Nightmare proceeded to throw me out of my body, and kill a filly."
Midnight managed to keep her jaw from dropping, though this left her unable to save her stomach.
"Meaning I had to sort-of share a body with Trixie, before yanking the thing out of my body and stuffing it in a book. Then I decided to un-do all that, and as a result of which managed to burn out most of my magic. And then I find out my father, who is in fact completely fine by the way, and has no idea what he's doing in the past, has come to Ponyville, so awkward situations with past-Twilight Sparkle all 'round, especially since the version of him from that time has followed him to Ponyville. So, after getting rid of the younger version, I had to contract the help of a mad-pony with a box to get my father home."
She paused, and Midnight wondered if she could ask a question, but the mare continued before she could speak.
"And then, by this point I'm severely sleep-deprived, emotionally broken, my body has gone back to being eighteen now there's not a Nightmare in it, and the rest of it is trying to figure out whether I had a baby or not, so everything's all insane in here, and did I mention I was magically drained? That's just one day. And I might have cut out a few sub-plots from that story."
Midnight said nothing.
"And at that point I go to bed and manage to put myself in a sort of coma, because I couldn't bring myself to accept I never had a daughter. And so my mother and her friends go through my brain, trying to wake me up, and they actually did a good job on that. The problem is, Twilight Sparkle went and found out she's my mother, somehow, and I have no idea what she did. So just about the minute I wake up from a coma, having to accept I have to accept reality, I get Twilight Sparkle saying my full name. So... I panicked. I teleported away and from there tried to figure out what I'd do next."
She sighed, and collapsed into a convinient nearby chair.
"So now I'm magically drained, in this universe, just a bit hungry, my body's confused about what it's supposed to be doing and I'm monologuing."
Midnight frowned, and nodded. She hadn't been expecting that, and then the mare spoke again.
"And did I mention I found out the whole reason I went mad and attacked my cousin turned out to be wrong?"
Midnight just stared. She'd not been expecting to hear any of that.
"But apart from that, everything's fine," she sighed, slouching backward, "How about you?"
"Me?" Midnight asked, despite the fact that they were the only two ponies in the room.
"Well, nothing much. Everything's more or less stable right now, I suppose. No major disasters, but there is talk of Shining Armor getting married."
"That's nice."
Midnight almost smiled. "It would be if he didn't think I was somehow upset by this news."
Her opposite stared at her. "Why would he think that?"
Midnight shrugged. "We work together a lot. He probably thinks underneath my cold, sullen exterior I secretly have some deeply-buried desire for him, and that I'm positively crushed by his being engaged to another mare. Except I'm really not. I swear, sometimes he's like an idiotic big brother."
"Well, to be fair you do look a lot like his little s-" the mare from the other universe went silent when she saw Midnight's glower, "Bad topic?"
"Yes."
The two sat there in silence for several moments.
"Midday," she said. The mare glowered back at her.
"Twilight? Or Twinkle? Which do you prefer, or do you have a middle name you'd rather I didn't use?"
Twilight Twinkle raised an eyebrow, which managed to convey in one gesture the words 'you too, huh?'
"I don't mind being called Twinkle," she said.
"You didn't come here because the other Twilight found out your name, did you?"
Twilight Twinkle shifted slightly. "No."
"Then why did you?"
"Honestly? I don't know. I just..." she stared out of the window, noticing the sun shining outside passing across the sky.
"I managed to fight an entity made out my hate and spite after being thrown into non-existance. I managed to seal it inside a book after wiping its mind clean, and then I managed to re-write time. And I have no idea how I did it. And I'm afraid. I think I remember now how I got my Cutie Mark and I'm utterly afraid I might not have any limits. And I'm afraid of where this path I'm on leads. Mainly because I think I can guess exactly how it ends."
Midnight just stared at her. "Twilight Sparkle knows your name now, right?"
"Yes, but I don't se-"
"And right after you learnt this, you ran away?" there was a dark expression on the mare's face.
"Yes," Twinkle said. Midnight glowered at her for a moment, and then her expression changed.
"Part of the reason I came back to this time was that I thought... well, I thought I could change time. Change what my mother did to her life, try and help her be so much better, and I... I screwed that up badly. I really did. So now I'm stuck twenty-two years into the past, with no reason to go back to my own time, and the things I do don't exactly allow me to make friends. And the closest thing I have to a friend is my uncle, and he keeps avoiding me because he thinks I've got a crush on him. So, even after the mess you've made of your life, Twyla, I do envy you. You managed to change the past, you've made friends, even if they were ponies you already knew, and you have reasons to go back to your time. In your world, things work out, more often than not. In this world, a pony who wants to make everyone smile is told to go away and grow up. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is..."
Two pairs of burnt orange eyes met, as Midnight stared at Twinkle, "If you went back and explained yourself to that mare, she'd understand, wouldn't she? She'd probably even forgive you, right? I envy that, and the opportunities it gives you. Your life may be awful, but unlike you, I can't just click my shoes together and try and fix it. I don't have that luxury, that choice."
"Midnight..." Twinkle said. The mare shook her head.
"Look at me, Twilight. Look at me, and promise you are going to go explain yourself to Twilight Sparkle. Or am I going to have to drag you to her doorstep? Because I will if I have to!"
Twilight Twinkle said nothing for a moment, just staring out the window at Canterlot. "Your universe. It's not entirely bleak, is it? I think I saw something the first time I came here. Two ponies, two fillies, in Ponyville."
"What about them?" Midnight asked. Twinkle smiled slightly.
"In my universe, they hate each other. In this universe, it looked a lot different. That universe isn't all sunshine and candy, and this universe, it's not all darkness and spite. There's still love, still hope. Just a bit buried."
Twinkle turned to face Midnight, "There is always a chance, Twilight. And if you can't see an opportunity, then you just make one."
Midnight considered this. "You really believe that?"
"Wouldn't have been able to give time a wedgie if I didn't," the mare grinned, "Now, if you'll excuse me, sister, I have promises to keep."
*****
"Well, that was a total bust," Rainbow Dash snapped. In the last half an hour, they'd tried all manner of means to find Twilight Twinkle, including a version of the spell that she'd taught them to find Applejack with, and they had found nothing. Even the Cutie Mark Crusaders had tried helping, in their own inimitable fashion, until Rarity had gently shooed them away.
"There must be something we can do," Applejack said. Twilight Sparkle shook her head.
"No. Not any more. We've used every means of detecting a pony I know of, and a couple I didn't," she said, glancing at Pinkie Pie, whose mane had deflated slightly.
"Maybe she just doesn't want to be found?" Fluttershy said. Twilight frowned.
"I guess so."
"Well, if she is your daughter," Trixie said, "She probably would know how to hide herself."
Twilight just nodded. "I suppose so."
She sighed, and looked out of the window.
"If you could talk to her," Rarity asked, "What would you say? What can you say? What do you say in this sort of situation?"
"I know what I'd say," Rainbow Dash muttered, earning her a filthy glance from Rarity, "And it's not what you'd think."
"Isn't it?"
"Rarity, I'm not gonna ask somepony from the future whether I become a Wonderbolt. I'd ask them something way more important."
The room suddenly went quiet as everypony (and Spike) turned to stare at Rainbow Dash, who actually looked bashful.
"I'd just ask whether I'm a good parent or not" she muttered.
"Would you really want to know?" asked Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash shrugged.
"If I become a crap parent, I think I'd like some fair warning. I wouldn't want to be a crap parent."
Then, Pinkie started twitching, and everypony stared at her.
"Pinkie? What is it?" Spike asked.
"I dunno. This one's new!" she squeaked as she continued shaking, "But I think it's gonna be a small doozy. Or maybe a big doozy!"
"Where?" Applejack asked as she looked about.
"Don't know. But it's gonna happen soon!"
Twilight stood up, "I think it would be best if everypony went upstairs right now."
Nopony said anything for a second, and then they all scrambled upstairs. Twilight noticed Spike had paused, and was looking at her.
"How do I look?" she asked. He smiled.
"Like Twilight Sparkle."
She smiled at this, and then Spike continued up the stairs. She turned to face the doorway. There was a gentle knocking noise. Twilight steeled herself, and opened the door.
In walked a mare with royal blue fur, blue hair with two orange streaks going through it, and a Cutie Mark of an eclipse. On seeing Twilight, the look of confidence on the mare's face vanished. In fact, as it went, it seemed to take Twilight Sparkle's confidence with it.
"Hi" Twilight said.
Twinkle looked down at her hooves. "Hey."
For a moment, both of them stood there, neither saying anything.
"So..." Twilight smiled.
"Yeah," Twinkle blurted.
"This is going to be difficult, isn't it?" Twilight sighed. Twinkle nodded.
"Funny, how you can go through a conversation in your head, and it just derails in seconds once you get to it."
"Yeah," both mares gave a small smile. Then they went back to looking at anywhere but each other.
"Twilight, I'm sor-"
"Don't," Twilight Sparkle said, "I understand why you felt the need to keep this from me. And I'm not angry about that."
"I'm still going to say sorry," Twinkle said, defiantly.
"So, why did you teleport away?"
"Shock. Mostly. I mean, I had been planning to tell you, and... I really probably should've done it a long time ago," the mare said quietly, "But... well, would you have believed me?"
"Honestly? Knowing me I probably wouldn't have, at least not without some serious evidence."
Both mares smiled awkwardly. "I had been meaning to tell you the other day, but... things happened, and then more things, and a few other things after that, and then the whole 'coma' thing."
"So..." Twilight said. Twinkle nodded.
"Yeah. I kinda bucked up, didn't I?"
"Language," Twilight smiled.
Twinkle sighed. "I'm guessing you have about a thousand questions, and a thousand and one follow-up and ancillary questions. And I suppose everypony else will want to know some things as well."
She frowned, "Has Applejack been all weird and quiet and looking like she's a second away from hurling herself off of a barn?"
"Yes, but wh-" Twinkle raised a hoof.
"It's... not a pleasant story. Also: complicated."
Twilight Sparkle frowned. "I do have questions, but I am also aware that anything I ask, you aren't required to answer, or might damage my knowledge of the future. Like, for example, meeting your father. Which you told me all about."
"I did?" the young mare exclaimed.
"Yes."
"Well," Twinkle said, "Bearing in mind, even if I do tell you about the future, how you react is up to you. Just because you know what the future holds doesn't mean your life will pan out the way it did. For example: Trixie."
"Trixie?"
"I think by this point I have diverged the timeline completely from the one I'm from, so... in my timeline, Trixie would have remained absent from Ponyville until a few months from now, when she returned and did... something."
"Something?"
Twinkle shrugged.
"Nopony ever said what it was that she did. Just that it was 'bad', and that she 'wasn't herself' and that she made up for it afterward."
"And you... prevented that?"
"I can't say. I might have just postponed it. But Trixie as she is now is much more different than the Trixie yo- my mother described to me when I was little, so...- why are you grinning?"
"Just imagining you as a filly, is all. Did I tell you all sorts of bed-time stories about my crazy time in Ponyville?"
Twinkle tilted her head back and forth. "Maybe."
For a moment Twilight looked at her hooves, and then her expression dropped.
"You don't mind being called Twinkle, do you? Or do you prefer Twilight, or Twyla?"
Twinkle bit her lip. "Yeah, not even my mother ever calls me 'Twyla'. I think she just put that there to distinguish me from great-granma. And, you know, alliteration."
Both mares grinned for a moment. "So..." Twilight said.
"There's a lot I want to ask you. A lot of questions I know I shouldn't ask, but at the same time, I honestly can't help myself."
A tiny smile appeared on Twilight's face. "I was going to ask what future-Twilight's like, but I guess I already know what the answer is."
Twinkle smiled back, "Yeah. Well, there are some differences. She tries to do the right thing, but... she's only one pony. And I was a very moody teenager. And I still am, but with hindsight, I realise I could've listened. I should've listened."
She sighed, and looked up at Twilight.
"Too late for apologies now, I suppose. Not after the things I've done."
Twilight walked over to her, and looked her in the eyes. Twinkle sniffed.
"I can't even cry. I've ran out of tears after the last few days," a small smile crossed her face, "Sorry, sorry. That was terribly melodramatic, but after everything that damn plant did to me, and everything that happened after I'm still feeling a bit emotionally raw. So I should warn you, I might just dissolve into a gooey puddle in a few minutes."
"Twinkle, how much alike am I and future-Twilight?"
"Pretty much alike."
"So, if I did something, she'd probably do the exact same in my position?"
"Yeah..."
"And would you say she's willing to give ponies another chance?"
Twinkle thought about this for a moment. "Yes."
She suddenly found herself being embraced by Twilight. "It doesn't matter what you did, Twilight Twinkle. You hear me? It doesn't matter. As long as you try to make up for it, or atone for it, it doesn't matter. Not to me."
"But-"
"It doesn't matter, Twinkie. You are forgiven, understand? Always and completely forgiven."
Twilight Twinkle paused for a moment. But only for a moment, before returning the hug.
"Thanks," she mumbled. Then she was suddenly aware of a very rapid amount of hoofsteps, followed by a sensation of being partially crushed.
"Do you girls, and Spike, mind? We're kind of having a moment."
"What, and let you hog the hugs?" Pinkie Pie said, "Never on your nelly!"
"We don't care what brought you here," Trixie said, "What we've seen speaks for itself. Okay, so you do have some issues, especially with some ponies and hats, and the occasional thrown piano, but on the whole? You're a good pony. Even if you don't want to believe that."
"You'd change your tune if you knew what I did," Twinkle frowned. Pinkie jabbed her.
"No frowning in the hug!"
"Yes, Aunt Pinkie," Twinkle smirked. There was a slight pause.
"You... see us as your aunts?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"To borrow your usual statement: duh! What did you expect?"
Emotions warred across Rainbow Dash's face, until finally they settled on acceptance. "Cool. I'm an aunt, and I'm gonna get a new flying buddy. This day just gets better and better."
"And betterer and betterererer!" Pinkie smiled, "Because you're finally awake, and we can have your birthday party!"
"But it's not actua-..." Twinkle paused and felt the empty rumbling in her stomach, "You know what? I could really do with some cake right now."
"And maybe afterwards, you could tell us a bit more about this Twilight Twinkle," Rarity said, "It feels like we've only just met."
"Actually," Rainbow Dash said slowly, "You guys know what I said earlier?"
"Oh, Rainbow Dash" Applejack sighed, "Seriously?"
"I wanna know! I can't help myself! It's eating away at me!"
"Cake first!" Pinkie Pie declared, to which nopony argued (which may have been helped by the fact that, as it transpired, some months ago Pinkie Pie had somehow found an archaic law saying anypony she invited was required by law to attend)
*****
A few moments later, as eight ponies (and one dragon) rushed to Sugarcube Corner, two ponies stared at the sight, one light blue, the other a mild orange. One had a Cutie Mark of a full moon, the other of a rising sun.
"So, Twilight Twinkle has finally revealed the truth," Luna said. Celestia nodded.
"And Twilight Sparkle has learnt the end result of your tutelage, and doesn't seem to be concerned by it."
Celestia said nothing.
"You should go speak to her, sister" Luna said calmly.
"I know."
"If she were angry at you, she would show it. And you know this, sister."
"I just don't know how to phrase it, Luna."
The younger sister leaned in toward Celestia. "Surely I don't need to tell you how to solve that problem. Just take it one step at a time, and speak from the heart, sister. And don't forget that I'm right with you, should you need me."
"Thanks, sister."
"That's what I'm here for. Now, march."