Twilight Twinkle was certain she'd been wanting a low-key party, but a medium-sized party was perfectly fine, especially since there was a lot of cake, and she was incredibly hungry. And as she began to feed on cake, she realised something. Aside from a few aches and twinges and odd sensations from her body still trying to figure out what it was doing, aside from feeling a bit drained (even after all the magic boosts from the hospital), and a small sensation of hunger, she was in high spirits. She'd told Twilight Sparkle who she was, and the mare had taken it with considerable aplomb, and so had everypony else apparently, she'd managed to get rid of that Nightmare for good, her body had been restored to how it was supposed to be, and for the last few minutes she'd noticed that she didn't feel as much doubt behind her actions as she used to, no tiny little voice knawing away at the back of her mind.
She felt like herself. And she felt good.
"Are you alright?" she heard a voice asked. She looked to see Spike staring at her. She smiled.
"Just thinking about something," she said. Spike smiled slightly.
"I should've done this a long time ago."
Spike nodded. "You should've."
She stared down at the dragon, who just stared back, an earnest smile on his face. Then she looked around the room to see everypony partying, save Applejack, who was standing in a corner looking like she wanted to be anywhere else. Twinkle frowned and walked over to her.
"Hello," she said. Applejack looked up at her.
"Hey," the farmpony said quietly. Twinkle frowned.
"Is this about what I think it's about?"
Applejack's expression changed, giving the young mare all the confirmation she needed.
"Applejack..." Twinkle said, but the mare stared at her.
"Don't."
"Seriously, Applejack. Are you going to agonise about this? What's that going to solve?"
The farmpony shook her head. "Ah ain't agonisin' about anything. I'm just tryin' to figure out how I could be that mare."
Twinkle just nodded. "Well, you aren't. You already know it's going to happen, so time will unfold differently. It just falls on everypony here to determine how differently."
Applejack paused for a moment, and the two mares looked over at Twilight, who was perusing a sample of smaller cakes Pinkie Pie had prepared.
"Shouldn't you tell her about what's gonna happen?" Applejack asked. Twinkle frowned.
"I probably should, you're right, but... if I did, if too many ponies know about what's going to happen, time might unfold in a dangerous fashion. It..." she trailed off.
"I am caught up in a tangle of what-ifs. Anything might happen. Anything could happen. I know how the wedding went in my timeline, but now, I don't know. I mean, based on what's happened so far, time is probably going to stick to its' script, but with everything that's happened..."
She looked again at Applejack. "Twilight didn't hold you at blame for what happened, Applejack, and I don't either. You were decieved, that's all."
Applejack said nothing for a moment. "Can ah have some time to figure out how to tell Twilight?" she asked.
Twinkle stared at her. "You have two weeks from tomorrow."
"That's kinda unfair," Applejack said, "You went several months without tellin' us who you are."
"Yeah, but this is more important, Applejack. And in case you're wondering, you don't actually have much time to tell her."
Applejack frowned. "Yeah, but..." realisation dawned.
"Hold up, it's only two weeks from now?"
"No. A little bit over three weeks from now. But Twilight needs fair warning, if only to stop her doing something unbelivably foolish."
"Like rushin' into a wedding rehearsal and callin' the bride evil?" Applejack asked.
"Yes. And no. I'm afraid she might force somepony's hoof if she knows too early about what's going to happen."
Applejack's expression shifted. "What do you think would happen?"
Twinkle's good mood, already vanishing, had now perform the mood equivalent of rushing to its car.
"I don't know. That's the problem. For all I know, my prescence might have altered history so completely that the... pony who caused all of this decided to avoid Equestria entirely, meaning Twilight might end up attacking her actual sister in-law."
Applejack said nothing. "Why?" she eventually asked.
"Well, imagine if somepony told you somepony else was controlling your brother, and causing him pain in the process, especially when they don't need to. Would you stay and listen to the whole explanation?"
Applejack bit her lip for a moment, and did not answer.
"Two weeks," she said after a moment, "And is Twilight the only pony you should be worried about?"
"What do you mean?" Twinkle asked. Applejack stared at her.
"Ah. Yes. I see your point," Twinkle said, suddenly finding her hooves very interesting indeed.
Applejack sighed. "Anyhow, ah got chores ah need to go an' finish."
She turned to leave, "See ya in two weeks."
Twinkle watched as Applejack left, and then saw Twilight walking over to her.
"Hey," the mare said. Twinkle smiled.
"Hi."
For a moment, neither mare said anything.
"So... are you enjoying your birthday party?"
"It's good," Twinkle said, "But I'm not actually going to turn nineteen for several more months. But no reason to tell Pinkie Pie that, or she might explode. Metaphorically, I hope."
There were mutual awkward grins from both mares.
"So..." Twilight said again.
"So..." then a thought occured to Twinkle.
"How did you find out that I was... you know?"
"Oh, did I not say?" Twilight asked, "Kinda remiss of me. Well, after you went into a coma, we got concerned, so I asked Princess Celestia if she knew anypony who could help wake you, and then Princess Luna showed up, and then she used some magical technique I've never seen to allow us to explore your mind. And Rainbow Dash and I found this massive castle, which I am guessing was the Crystal Empire you spoke of."
"Giant spire made of crystal?"
Twilight nodded.
"That's be the Crystal Palace. So, what happened next?"
"Well, we went inside and found this massive throne, and just in front of it was this massive flight of stairs going down into the ground-"
"And at the bottom was a door?"
Twilight nodded. "Yeah."
Twinkle frowned. "That's curious."
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.
"Well, I've never seen the Endless Stairs, as certain ponies called them. So, what happened next?"
"Well, I opened the door. And behind that was a massive wall made of magic."
An odd expression crossed Twinkle's face as Twilight continued. "And there was this really familiar feel to it, which I suppose was because it was my magic, and I tried getting past it. After a while, I did, and I found myself in Canterlot. Then this message from your... mother started playing."
"And that image of Twilight Sparkle was slightly taller and had wings?"
"Yes."
Twinkle nodded, her forehead furrowed. "What did she say?"
A blush went across Twilight's face, and she shuffled slightly.
"Ah. She said parent stuff, didn't she? I'm guessing at some point or another she said she was proud of me, or something."
"Yes..." Twilight said, until she noticed the way in which Twinkle had said it.
"You don't sound surprised."
Twinkle shook her head. "Why should I be? She's my mother. And it's exactly the sort of thing she'd do"
For a few moments, they stood there, neither saying anything. Then Twilight frowned.
"So, apart from the seven of us, who else knows about you?" she asked.
"Well... there's Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, for one. Granny Smith seems to have figured it out, although I don't dare presume as to how she managed that, though I'd guess it's similar to how Grandma Velvet figured it out."
Twilight blinked. "My mom knows?" she asked incredulously.
"Can't forget Grandad Night Light," Twinkle added.
Twilight looked annoyed as she thought this through, "Does my brother know?"
"No. But I think his... girlfriend would probably be able to figure me out pretty quickly."
"Anypony else?" Twilight said, her awkward nervousness plainly evident.
Something by the door of Sugarcube Corner caught Twinkle's eye. "Well, apart from that, no. Except Princess Celestia and Luna. By the way," she said, "Wasn't Luna in the library when I woke up?"
"Yes. But then I mentioned that Future-Twilight had wings, and she disappeared soon after. I think she thought I was angry."
"I see," Twinkle said, as she noticed Pinkie Pie bouncing toward the bright orange and light blue mares with a tray of cakes. Twilight's gaze turned toward the mare, a curious expression on her face.
The bright orange mare examined the tray of cakes, before shaking her head, and looking toward Twilight and Twinkle. Then Twinkle walked over to her.
"Hello," she said calmly. Celestia looked at her, and she was almost certain there was a look of gratitude in her eyes for some reason. Pinkie, meanwhile, on noticing Princess Celestia had no need of cakes, went elsewhere.
"Hello," Celestia said back, and Twinkle noticed something else in her eyes, though she wasn't sure she wanted to identify it.
Neither mare said anything for a moment, simply staring at each other. There was a strange sort of silence, one that seemed to absorb any noise that came near it.
Eventually, Twinkle shuffled out of the way. Celestia stared at her for a moment, and then smiled faintly. She moved toward Luna.
Celestia made her way toward Twilight.
"Twilight?" she said, gently. The unicorn practically leapt out of her skin, looking around wildly. Then she stared at the bright orange mare with a Cutie Mark of a rising sun. For a fraction of a second, she realised the mare looked incredibly similar to none other than Scootaloo. Then she realised who she was looking at, and those thoughts vanished in an instant.
"Can we talk?" Princess Celestia said.
*****
"Hello, Luna," Twinkle smiled. The mare nodded back.
"Twilight Twinkle. It's good to see you up and about."
Twinkle smirked. "Thanks. Sorry I didn't say hello when I woke up. But I got a bit startled."
Luna just nodded, "It's okay, anypony who did what you did would be worn out."
For a moment Twinkle paused. "What does that mean?"
"I think we both know what that means," Luna said, looking at Twinkle.
"You did re-write time, did you not?"
Realisation dawned on Twilight Twinkle, as did questions.
"How did y-"
"I am Luna," the mare said calmly, before pausing to consider that statement, apparently taken with how it sounded.
"That... doesn't really answer my question."
"Yes, it does," Luna said calmly.
Twinkle sighed, and shook her head.
"We are Alicorns. When one thousand years are a time-out, an hour and a half are practically nothing. Merely... an hour and a half."
Twinkle considered this. "Alright then."
The two stood there for a moment, and Twinkle looked at Luna. "So, looking forward to anything?"
"Are you referring to the wedding of Shining Armor and my niece?"
Twinkle stared at her.
"I..." Luna paused, "I would like to attend it, but..."
There was an uncertain look in her eyes.
"You don't know if you should."
"Yes."
"Even though it would mean the world to Cadance if you did."
Luna hung her head, "... yes."
"But you'd show up for the reception, claim you slept through the wedding and ask what you missed?"
Luna's mouth hung open, then it closed.
"Hate time-travel," she muttered.
Twinkle just nodded, to which Luna raised an eyebrow.
"So, you will show up at the wedding?"
Luna frowned. "I shall... see what I can do."
Twinkle smiled, "Good. Maybe Cadance might ask you to give her away?"
Luna's eyes went wide. "That's an idea."
At that moment, a small snack-laden plate hovered inbetween them.
"Anypony like anything to eat?" a tiny voice chimed. Twinkle and Luna's eyes moved toward the lavendar tail jutting out from underneath it.
"Sweetie Belle?"
"Oh. Hi, miss Eclipse!" the filly said, "Pinkie Pie said we could help her hand out snacks to ponies. How are things?"
"Pretty good, all things considered. You?"
The tiny filly tried to shrug, not the best idea when carrying a plate on one's back.
"We're running low on ideas for out Cutie Marks. We need a Crusading Retreat, which is this thing where we spend all weekend thinking up new ideas. And Dinky vanished again, so we're down a member, which is a problem because Dinky was really, really smart," the filly's face drooped.
"Hope she's okay. We checked to see if she was alright, but her big sis just said she'd gone 'away'."
She scuffed her hoof against the floor, and then looked about the room, before leaning in toward Twinkle, "The other day, Silver Spoon spent all of reccess on her own. We did try to talk to her, but... she really doesn't wanna talk to us."
Twinkle felt a tiny pang of concern for Silver Spoon, "Doesn't she usually hang out with Disgustingly Rich?"
"Yeah," a familiarly-accented voice said, "but they keep arguin' all the time now. It's kinda scary. Scootaloo thought they were gonna start fightin' or something."
"That would've been awesome," said the last of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Twinkle turned to see the other two fillys also bearing trays on their backs, and for whatever reason the bow usually wore was now white instead of red. Scootaloo was eyeing the disguised Luna with suspicion, perhaps because Luna's disguise was just her, reduced in size, her fur a few shades brighter and without her horn, and her hair immobile, and looking not too far off from how Luna had apparently looked shortly after being de-Nightmared, which Scootaloo had probably seen.
Apple Bloom gave the pegasus a small kick, "What? Come on, Apple Bloom, DT's a jerk."
"That ain't the point," Apple Bloom said, leaning into Scootaloo's face.
"Then what is?" Scootaloo asked. Apple Bloom paused.
"Stalemate!" Scootaloo declared. Then her eyes darted toward Twinkle and Luna.
"So, how come you vanished the other day?" she asked, "We were gonna help, but Applejack got all weird."
"Oh, Twilight found out who I am," Twinkle said.
The three fillies cheered, causing Luna to wince.
"That was... loud," she observed. Then Scootaloo's eyes went wide.
"Hey, are you actually Princess Luna in disguise?"
Luna shuffled slightly, which given her appearance looked strangely adorable.
"Mayhap," she said slowly.
Scootaloo squeaked slightly, "Wow. You're so cool. You're like, the second-coolest pony in the world, after Rainbow Dash, obviously."
"I... am?" she blinked.
"Yeah, you took on nine undead sorcerors at once! That's kinda freaking awesome!"
"When did she do that?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"Remember, what miss Eclipse was telling us?" Apple Bloom said.
"Shouldn't that be miss Twilight?" Sweetie Belle said, "Since we know her name, and Princess Luna probably does as well, right?"
"Yes. Yes, she told us our name," Luna said, mildly alarmed that they knew of her fight with Sombra's goons, and beginning to wonder whether they knew what she'd said while fighting them, fervently hoping they didn't.
"Which do you pr-" Scootaloo stopped as she turned to see Twilight Twinkle had utterly vanished, despite standing almost directly in front of them.
"How did that happen?" Sweetie Belle asked.
*****
Twilight and the disguised Princess Celestia sat on the balcony of the Ponyville library. They had decided to go there after several minutes of awkward silence. And had then stood in a silence so awkward it probably caused its' parents to die of embarrasment. Twilight had just sat and stared at the sky for a long while.
"Twilight," Celestia said, only to stop when she saw the look in the mare's eyes.
"One of us has to talk eventually" she said. She wanted to walk over to Twilight and ask her what was wrong, then tell her everything would be alright, but she had the feeling Twilight would likely brush her off.
"You know I'm going to get wings," she said, the words sounding like a thunderbolt, even though Twilight's tone was unemotional.
Celestia said nothing.
"You were going to give me wings," she added a few seconds later.
"Not exactly, Twilight Sparkle. I cannot 'give' you anything that you do not have the makings of yourself."
"So, I was just a test? Was it all just a test?"
Celestia looked at the mare, and despite the fact that she was currently the same size as Twilight Sparkle, couldn't help but feel the mare looked so much younger.
"Yes. And no."
"That's unhelpful," Twilight said quietly.
"Twilight, I cannot just rewrite biology. I cannot raise the dead, or change a pony's destiny. I will admit, when I first saw you that I did sense... a seed, the beginning of something in you, something great, and wonderful. But I had to make sure."
"So, that's why you made me your student?"
"Not entirely. It was a factor in my decision, but it was not the deciding one. I wanted to be sure you learnt how to be the best you could possibly be."
Twilight frowned, "Then why is there so little you actually taught me? You never told me to make friends until it was neccesary."
Celestia walked over toward Twilight and sat next to her. Twilight didn't move, but she still stared ahead unflichingly.
"Twilight, how many mistakes do you think I have made in my life?" she asked quietly.
"I... I don't know."
"And which mistake do you think I would claim is the worst I have ever made?"
"I... can't answer that one either," Twilight said.
"None. Each mistake is equal, Twilight. Every mistake I have ever made replays in my mind before I go to sleep each night. And there are a great many of those, none of which I will ever forget. So I will admit, there were elements," she gave a tiny laugh, containing no actual mirth in it, "of my teachings that were unmistakably flawed. But I did not teach or tell you to make friends since I honestly didn't realise you didn't want any."
"It wasn't that," Twilight said quietly, "I just thought I didn't need to."
Celestia gave a weak smile, and began to shed her illusion, "Twilight, do you want to know a secret?"
Twilight's eyes glinted, though Celestia wasn't sure if she was excited or about to cry.
"I was like that once. Back when Luna and I were young, I thought it was best if I remained detached from my subjects, distant, like the sun. And as you can imagine, that went sour very quickly."
She allowed herself a derisive grin. "Just not quick enough."
Twilight went back to staring at the sky.
"And why would you make me a Princess anyway? I'm hardly the best candidate."
"Twilight," Celestia smiled, one that was designed to be as warm and comforting as her sun, "Are you really about to tell a pony who has known you since you gained your Cutie Mark you aren't good enough to be considered a Princess?"
"I... I guess not," Twilight said, though there was a hint of a grin on her face.
"Twilight Sparkle... if I were to help you become a Princess, it was not because of some shadowy master-plan. It was because I honestly believe you are capable of so much. I have seen you grow, and I am honestly proud of what I have already seen, even with the mistakes you have made."
Celestia smiled, and a smaller smile appeared on Twilight's face.
"And I cannot wait to see where you will go from here. You will be an inspiration to so many, you will help give them an ideal to strive towards. And yes," she looked up at the sky alongside Twilight, "You will stumble, you will fall. But in time, you will rise higher still. You will accomplish so much. You will help them perform wonders."
She noticed Twilight had edged over toward her, and was leaning on her, still smiling.
"Princess Celestia?"
"Yes, my most faithful student?"
"Would you believe me if I said I thought you were going to erase my foreknowledge?"
For a moment, Celestia felt a great stabbing pain in her heart, and she stared at the concerned look on Twilight Sparkle's face.
"Do you think I am that kind of pony, Twilight Sparkle?"
"Could you, though?"
For a moment, Celestia stared at Twilight Sparkle.
"Yes" she finally said.
"Would you?"
"Never, Twilight. I would never do that to anypony."
Twilight leaned out to look at her, "While I may not agree with the fact that you do know, or how you learnt it, the fact is that you do now, and must handle that information in the way that suits you best. I cannot make the choice for you."
Twilight paused in consideration of this. "Thanks, Princess Celestia."
"That's quite alright, Twilight Sparkle."
For a few moments, both ponies stared at the clouds, just drifting past, both of them feeling much younger.
"You were never just a curiosity or a passing fantasy, Twilight Sparkle. I always cared about you."
"I know."
"You... are like a daughter to me."
There was a pause. Twilight Sparkle smiled.
"Yeah, I know. But I've kinda already got a mom."
The two giggled for a moment, before staring back into the bright blue sky again.
"So... what's Twilight Twinkle like?" Celestia asked.
Twilight contemplated this, "She's... unusual."
"Unusual?"
"Sometimes she seems so cheerful, then looks so sad. But I suppose that might be because of the time-travel. And... she tries to hide it, but she's more damaged than she lets on. And she's not as broken as she thinks she is."
Celestia said nothing.
"I must admit, she's honestly not what I expected any child of mine would be like."
She frowned, and then shifted slightly, "But then, I'm not really sure what any child of mine would be like. And I suppose... even if she is not what I would've expected, I'd be proud to... well..."
"What is it?" Celestia asked. For a moment, she did nothing, and then, Twilight gave a small smirk, which rapidly began to grow.
"I have a daughter," she grinned.
*****
A short distance away, Twilight Twinkle listened. She honestly had no idea why she'd followed Twilight and Princess Celestia, but at the time it had seemed the right thing to do. Slowly, she made her way back to Sugarcube Corner, where she found a still-disguised Luna telling modified (read: Family-friendly) versions of her exploits to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who listened in awe (more or less).
She was quickly informed by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy that everything was alright. And the un-birthday party (and combined out-of-coma party) continued without incident, save Cloud Kicker and Pinkie Pie arguing over cake, resulting in the pegasus confusing Pinkie Pie, then running away with a slice of cake.
Later in the evening, after the Princesses returned to Canterlot, Rainbow Dash held a small seminar inside the library on the fact that Ponyville was providing Cloudsdale with the year's supply of water for all of Equestria, though for whatever reason the speedster didn't seem to recognise why Fluttershy was less than enthusiastic about this.
Sleep came easily to Twilight Twinkle that night. Until she had a strange nightmare of being chased through endless corridors by something she could not see, unable to use magic and barely able to tell where she was going.