//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2:  Discrete 
// Story: The Y of Twilight 
// by AdamThePony 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 2: Discrete


The Twilight that Celestia beheld stared back at her with open eyes, timid and uncertain. Celestia tentatively opened her wing to her, curling it over her hooves.

"Would you like to come with me?" she asked in a soft, but choked voice. "You must be very cold, Twilight."

"Twi....li...?" The creature in front of her tilted its head. 

"Yes, Twilight," the white mare replied, nodding her head. "That's your name."

"Twilit?" She tried the word out, pursing her lips slowly and clumsily. The look on her face had changed from one of fear to one of curiosity, her eyes looking nervously at the white creature in front of her. 

"Yes," Celestia replied, pointing to the purple mare near her. "Your name is Tuh-why-l-eye-tuh Spar-kuhl."

The pony in front of her raised a hoof to her chest. "Tuh...why...lie...tuh?" There was a gleam to her eyes now, one that seemed all too familiar in ways Celestia did not wish to notice.  

Celestia smiled as she looked into those eyes again. Inside them was a lust for knowledge, a burning desire to see the world surrounding her pupil. It had been years since those eyes had been quite as bright in their shine as they were now. What was once a mare of great intellect was now a blank slate, ready to be filled again with the insight of the world.

"Yes, Twilight," she replied, still pointing at the newly-made alicorn, before pointing to herself. "And I am Princess Suh-les-tee-ah."

"Cuh...lest...ti...ah..." Twilight replied, looking at her uncertainly. "Twilight...Celestia...Twilight...Cel-lest-ti-ah...Tw...Y...light...Ce...les...T...ah." She pointed her hoof between the pair of them, swinging it this way and that. She then pointed a hoof at herself and a wing at Celestia. "Twilestia." She giggled. 

Celestia internally gasped. Already, her student was beginning to make some connection that the two of them were close. What was more, she was putting particular emphasis on two letters. Y and T. On their own, simple letters, with little else to their existence or meaning. Yet, at the same time, they represented what Twilight had become: A variable. Something of infinite possibility.

"That's right," Celestia said, wiping a hoof across her eye. "Twilestia..."

Twilight made a happy noise, not unlike the squeak of a rubber duck, before a frown crossed her face. She stuck out her tongue and panted, eyes instinctually searching. She got up to her shaky hooves, flapping her wings for balance as she teetered along. Celestia smiled as she brought her front leg towards her in a beckoning motion. 

"That's it, Twilight," she whispered softly, "Come to me."

Twilight took a few more steps, stumbling as she did, until one hoof caught on its partner. The poorly balanced mare crashed in a heap of limbs like a house of cards, scraping her throat against the floor. Twilight's scream echoed through the hall, her muscles tensing as she curled her wings protectively over her injured throat. Tears filled her eyes at the sudden, overwhelming sensation, and she shivered as her nerves began to fire for the first time in her life. 

Celestia frowned, her eyes filled with concern as she approached the young mare, helping her up.

"Don't worry, Twilight," She said as she put her horn to the wound, casting a warming magic across her neck. "I'll keep you safe."

Twilight looked up at her, naked wonder in her eyes. She gave a happy coo in response to the warm feeling spreading across her neck. Celestia picked her up in that same magic, and lifted her onto her back.

"Just hold onto me," she offered, her wings fanning out. "I'll get us someplace safe."

Twilight clung to the mare more passionately than her old counterpart had in her nineteen years of life with her. Not 
since the changeling invasion had Twilight held Celestia so desperately, a greedy, infantile desire to remain eternally safe in her embrace overcoming her. 

With a flap of her wings, Celestia took to the air, leaving behind the decrepit castle as she made her way back to the comforts of Canterlot. She flew slowly, letting the wind carry them as she beheld the moon's rise against the horizon.

As Celestia took off into the night sky, five mares and a dragon charged into the room, concern writ large across their faces. Calling Twilight's name, searching behind every corner and cranny, all they could find was some blood on the floor where their friend had fallen and a single purple feather lying on the floor. 

Twilight let her weary head rest against the pony she was lying on top of, her eyes fluttering closed despite the strange itching sensation in the back of her mouth. It was only a few minutes before, exhausted, she lost consciousness and slept. 




Soon, the two were back in the relative safety of the royal bedrooms of Canterlot Castle. Celestia heaved a sigh of relief as she laid Twilight down onto the bed before approaching her writing desk.

Though it pains me to do this, she thought to herself, I must inform the others of what has come to pass, if only to give them closure.

With another breath, she began to scribble against a fresh scroll of parchment  in black ink.

To the friends of Twilight Lumena Sparkle,

I apologize if recent events have caused you concern. As you can probably infer from the purple plumage, Twilight has managed to surpass her unicorn body and has subsequently ascended to the status of an alicorn princess. While I would normally express joy at seeing my most faithful student progress in such a major fashion, I regret to inform you that something has gone awry. I am not sure what exactly the cause of it is, but as she is now, the mare we know as Twilight has lost most every memory inside her. Though her eyes still sparkle with almost childlike curiosity and wonder, she has even forgotten her own name. As her friends, I felt an obligation to inform you first and foremost, as this event would be of the greatest importance to you specifically.

Starting from the moment you read this message, Twilight will be receiving personal rehabilitation from me. You will receive a summons at some point in the future when she has progressed sufficiently to the point where she is comfortable meeting others. I apologize for any undo suffering this may cause in adavance. I assure you that everything will be fine in due time.

Elements be with you, My Little Ponies. I believe she will need their guidance.

Your Royal Majesty,
Princess Celestia de Corona of the Diarchy of Equestria.

Heaving another sigh, Celestia curled the scroll shut.

Twilight gave a loud, rumbling snore from her position on Celestia's bed, rolling over in her sleep and splaying her limbs wide apart. A twingle of drool ran down the corner of her mouth, her legs twitching as she dreamed. She gave coos and snorts at unseen stimuli, her snoring interrupted only briefly by them.

With a bittersweet chuckle, Celestia cast a green flame against the scroll, sending it whirling off to the direction of a certain purple dragon. This done, she slowly removed her golden necklace and shoes, casting them against the floor tenderly as she made her way to the bed. Pulling away part of the covers, she slid her body inside, her front legs curled against her reborn student's chest as her mane and tail ceaselessly billowed behind her.

Twilight fell into the embrace, greedily hogging Celestia and the blankets' warmth and giving a happy sigh. She rubbed her face up against Celestia's, drool rubbing off on her old mentor's face. She froze in this position, drifting back into the Netherworld of slumber once again.

Hopefully, Celestia thought, everything would be just fine.





Twilight's eyes shot open. A quick look through the opening in Celestia's room showed that it was still dark. Twilight's throat was itchier now than ever before. She panted, the back of her throat feeling scratchy. She didn't know how to remedy this problem, only feeling it crash down on her like rays of the sun. She needed something, but she could not think what. 

Celestia soon followed suit, her eyes Fluttering open as she looked to Twilight.

"Is something wrong, Twilight?" she asked, raising up in her bed.

"Ahh. Ahh!" Twilight opened her mouth, tongue hanging out. No moisture dropped to the floor, despite her mouth opening fully. "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" 

"Oh, poor dear," she murmured to herself as she climbed out, looking closer to her student. "You're still a little hurt. And by the looks, you haven't had much to drink, either."

Twilight looked at her savior in confusion. "Celestia?" She asked, head titled slightly. Despite the pain in her throat, Twilight still looked at Celestia with much the same bafflement at the existence of the giant creature not unlike herself and yet so very different that continued to rescue her. 

"Come with me, Twilight," she said softly. "We'll have you right as rain soon."

Twilight looked at her blankly. "Aaaaah?" 

Celestia simply made a beckoning gesture for Twilight to follow her, offering her wing. 

Twilight cooed and followed, slipping under her wings with a breezy smile. 

With a calm smile, she proceeded into the hallway, uncaring that she was essentially naked as she made her way to the royal nursemaid. Such things could wait until her student was in proper condition again. She reached a door with a familiar icon of a caduceus, and began to rap against it gently.

There was a sound of rummaging at the back of the door, before it finally opened to reveal a very groggy, baggy-eyed nurse. She raised a hoof to one eye and rubbed it. "Yes?" 

"Good morning," Celestia greeted with a similar tired voice. "I have somepony in need of some attention for a neck injury and a bit of a thirst concern."

Twilight, meanwhile, looked shocked and concerned at the earth pony in front of her. She gestured at the place on the nurse's shoulders where her wings would rest frantically. "Bah?" 

"Please excuse Twilight," Celestia said with a smile. "She's had a bit of an accident. Poor dear can't remember a thing."

"What?" The nurse's tone changed abruptly from weary to razor-sharp, the dull edge shaved off in a hearbeat. "How?" 
Twilight looked from the Princess to the nurse in concern. "Celestia?" 

"Never you mind, Twilight," Celestia whispered softly. "Two grown-ups are talking."

Her eyes returned to the nurse with concern.

"Formally requesting permission to bring her inside immediately. If we're going to help her, I need you to tell me what you remember about the state you found her in." 

"Yes, Miss Purple Heart," she said, bringing Twilight along inside with a wing. 

Twilight flinched at the sudden pressure on her back, still looking at the pony without wings as if she had seen a ghost. Her eyes grew only wider at the lack of horn. "Celestia! Celestia!" She tugged on the mare's mane.

"It's okay, Twilight," Celestia assured her student. "She's a pony just as we are. She's here to help you." 

Twilight pursed her lips in thought at Celestia's tone. "Celestia?" She pointed a hoof at the other pony. 

"No, Twilight," she corrected, trying her best to sound motherly as she pointed to the nurse, "This is Purple Heart. Purr-pull Harrt."

"Pur...ple...Hert...." Twilight formed the words as slowly as before, stumbling along them and turning her snout pointedly down and away from the new, possibly dangerous creature in front of her. 

The nursemaid smiled. "That's right, Twilight. Now you be a good girl and wait here while the Princess and I talk, okay?" 

Twilight looked at them blankly. 

Celestia smiled and patted the young princess' head reassuringly. As she returned  her attention to Nurse Purple Heart, she shut the door behind them. "It started when I began to see a large purple star over Ponyville a few  hours ago. Prior to this, I had given her the personal writings of  Starswirl the Bearded to look over. The intent was for her to complete his last unfinished work, thus creating new magic and thus become eligible to ascend to the status of an alicorn princess. While it appears that much has been accomplished, the star itself landed in the Everfree Forest, where the old castle lay. When I found her, she was like as you see her now: Devoid of memory of even her own name, and with the fear and curiosity of a newborn foal."

"So it's magical in nature? I...must admit, the palace staff is hardly trained in such things. I can help with bodily afflictions of all sorts, but...well...this sounds like magic you'd want to take up with your archmage instead." 

"I intend to check with Master Silver Hoof soon. However, as I was extricating her, she tripped and scraped her neck. Given her expressions, she hasn't had much in the way of beverages since her return, either."

"Of course, Your Majesty. I'll be sure to run a physical on her. But this isn't exactly standard, you know. She's got a lot of untapped power in that horn of hers. I'll need you to restrain her if we want to do an examination." 

"Of course," Celestia said, trotting towards Twilight as she crouched down to hold her steady. 

Twilight, for her part, looked at Celestia with wide, trembling eyes. "Celestia?"

"Don't worry, Twilight," Celestia said as she nuzzled her student. "She's not going to hurt you. In fact, she's going to make you feel a lot better!"

Twilight gave a smile at that, rubbing her cheek against the other pony's. 

The nurse approached Twilight gingerly. "Now I'm going to need you to open up and say "aww", okay." 

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh--aggggggggggggggh." Twilight's eyes widened as her mouth was held open by the nurse in a gentle yet firm grip. "Gaaaaagh!" 

The nurse closed her mouth again, then leaned down and squinted at her throat. 

She opened Twilight's mouth once more, Twilight looking at Celestia with quivering eyes and brows creased and upturned. 

"Alright, so the good news is that she isn't injured at all right now. I don't know if that's a healing spell or her new body is just naturally able to regrow, but she's not hurt in any physical way right now. The bad news is that she's badly dehydrated. We need to get her some fluid, and quickly." 

"As I had thought," the princess noted, pursing her lips. "Will you watch her while I get some hard water?"

"I think she'd be more comfortable if she was with you." The nurse advised, caution seeping into her voice. The palace medical staff had a long and chaotic history of trying to wrangle with the border between where their station of authority ended and that of the nobility they tended to began. 

"Fair enough," Celestia sighed with a smile, guiding Twilight along with her wing again. "Come along, Twilight. Let's get you something to drink."

Twilight stumbled along on uncertain hooves, testing herself with somewhat steady wobbles. Celestia held her aloft as they walked towards the royal kitchen, making way to the refrigerator nearby. The princess swung the door open and smiled.

"Pick anything you want, Twilight," she offered, opening the door wider. "I've got plenty to drink."

Twilight looked around at the new room in awe. She put her hooves up on the counter, searching around the surface for some sort of moisture. She settled on the faucet to the main sink, seeing that it dripped some water. Celestia was soon treated to the sight of the mare suckling the dripping fluid from the tap, happily gurgling as she did so.

"That isn't exactly what I meant," Celestia chuckled as she produced a juicebox from the fridge, poking a straw inside it and handing it to Twilight. "Here, maybe you'll find this better for you."

Twilight grabbed the juicebox and gave it an experimental sip. Her eyes immediately widened, which was followed by a squeal of bliss.

"Do you like it?" She asked with a smile. "It's grape."

Twilight hugged Celestia in response. "Celestia." She said with a simple warmth. 

Note to self: Get Twilight a language teacher, Celestia thought to herself before nuzzling her student. She then looked into the pantry, searching for a nice mix of oatmeal to prepare. Once she found a proper flavor, she prepared a small sauce pot, filling it halfway with water as she scooped the oats inside. With the water beginning to boil, she carefully stirred the bubbling mix until it was thick and creamy. Smiling, she prepared a clay bowl and spoon, scooping up a small amount of oatmeal into it with a careful use of a ladle. As it steamed, she pursed her lips, blowing away the heat as she presented it to Twilight.

"Looks yummy, doesn't it, Twilight?"

Twilight looked at it in concern. "Celestia?" She asked, pointing at the food in confusion. 

"You must not have had much to eat, so I made you some oatmeal," Celestia stated simply with a smile. "Come along; We'll eat it in the dining hall."

Twilight blinked, dipping a hoof into the bowl. She put the hoof to her lips. Her face wrinkled as she did so. Twilight's ears perked up at the word "come". She strutted along in front of Celestia, gesturing with her hoof. "Come?" 

"Yes, Twilight," She said as she lead the way, holding aloft the bowl and spoon in her magic as she made her way along, "That's what come means."

Twilight beamed, following Celestia with the clumsy stumbling and peppy enthusiasm of a puppy. 

As they made their way along, Celestia searched for  the archmage. Twilight, meanwhile, touched a hoof to Celestia's side, pokin her wings. "Bah?"

"Oh, you want to know what these are?" she asked in reponse, fluffing her wings.

Twilight made a hum of agreement. 

"These are my wings, Twilight." she explained in her iconic scholarly voice.

"Wiiiiiiiiii...gggs?...Wiiii...na....gs?"

"Yes," Celestia agreed as she gestured toward my horn. "And this is my horn."

"Hooooor...n." Twilight parsed the word slowly, eyes squinted at the monarch. 

"That's right," The princess assured, smiling as she repeated the gesture. "You and I have wings and a horn because we're both alicorns."

"Al...i...corns..." Twilight suddenly looked up. "We?" 

"That's right!" She beamed, pointing to herself, then to Twilight. "When you and I are together, we use we."

"Twilight Celestia...we..." Twilight looked off past Celestia, up into the sky. 

"That's exactly right," Celestia confirmed with a nod. "You're learning really fast, Twilight. I'm very happy for you."

Twilight beamed, her smile splitting across her face. Abruptly, she looked questioning. "We...alicorns. Purple Heart....?"

"Purple Heart is an earth pony," the Princess explained. "She doesn't have wings or a horn, but she's very strong. She's also good with taking care of the earth, and makes things from plants to help us feel better."

"Earth...pony...." Twilight tested the word, her lips continuing to flew in ways she didn't expect them to. She had noticed that this clumsy, heavy object in her mouth that had helped her gather her food and drink was also useful for saying words if she pushed it in the right directions. 

"That's it," she cooed with a smile. "The pony we're going to see soon is named Silver Hoof. He has a horn, and that makes him a unicorn."

"Uni...corn..." She tapped her horn, following Celestia's hoof gestures. 

"Yes, Twilight." her teacher replied with an ever happier expression as she gesured to her wings. "In a while, I'll introduce you to your friends. Two of them have a set of wings like ours. When a pony only has wings, that makes them a pegasus."

"Elements of Harmony?" Twilight questioned. "Friends? Applejack? Fluttershy?"

Celestia gasped as those words danced inside her ears. Such specific words, she thought, couldn't possibly have stuck so clearly in the mind of a mare so devoid of memory. And yet, through some miraculous act of Faust, they had stuck fast in the mind of her charged, where even her and her mentor's name had not. The surprise was as sobering as a wind across her cheek, and as she was taken aback, she stopped dead in her tracks, looking back to Twilight with perhaps the most jubilant smile she could ever produce.

It was as if the Element of Magic itself had written itself in stone to Twilight's subconscious.

"That—" Celestia could barely contain her joy and pleasure from what her student had said, her eyes welling up with tears that rivaled those she had shed upon Luna's freshly purified shoulders. "That's exactly right, Twilight! Please, who are the other Elements?"

"Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie" Twilight looked at Celestia, puzzled. She herself seemed stunned at her words. "Friends." 

"Yes, Twilight!" she gasped in glee, burying herself happily in Twilight's chest. "They're your friends!"

Twilight cooed at Celestia's hugging. She rested her head against Celestia herself. "Celestia friend." She stated with a firm, simple tone. 

"Yes!" Celestia quietly cheered. "I'm your friend, too."

Twilight stayed cradling the larger pony's head to her chest for a while, the horrid oatmeal forgotten by the pair quite thoroughly. 





"I'm not sure I've ever seen a spell like this, Your Majesty," said a weary silver unicorn. "Memory spells, I'm quite aware of, but I've never seen a spell meant to cause complete species shifting, much less one that essentially wipes the subject's mental slate nearly blank like this."

"So you don't know exactly how to fix something like this?" Celestia asked with mild concern.

The unicorn shook her head in reply. "For a memory restoration spell to work, the subject has to have something of a root memory from which to start restoring connected mementos from. However, in this case, the only real root to this is the Elements of Harmony, and near as I can tell, there's not much between that."

"I see..." Celestia hummed. "Is there perhaps a way to expediently implant memories related to that root, then?"

"Perhaps," The unicorn pondered, holding a hoof to his beard. "I'd have to go digging to find one, though. What you're asking for is Starswirl-level magic. This would be the kind of thing that requires the subject's undivided attention and focus to work. And given that Twilight still has the mind of a young filly, that may be difficult to come by."

Celestia chuckled at that notion, smiling a tad more than she should. "I don't think that will be a problem, Master Silver Hoof."

The unicorn archmage shrugged and turned about-face. "So be it, Your Majesty. It is a shame, though. Twilight was, as I'm sure I don't need to tell you, the brightest mind in our generation. It will be a shame she won't grow into her new role in my lifetime." 

Celestia nodded and nuzzled her old friend. "It is all well, Silver Hoof. You've always been a dutiful mage to me, young or old."

Silver Hoof sighed, smiling, despite himself."As always, I bow to your insight, Celestia."

"I'm glad to hear that," Celestia noted with a smile. "I wish you luck in finding the spell."

"And I wish you luck in rehabilitating Twilight," Silver Hoof replied.

"With that in mind," Celestia said as she returned to Twilight. "Might you need to use the bathroom, Twilight?"

Twilight scrunched her nose up and looked at Celestia with open eyes. "Bathroom?" Celestia's question had been ill-timed, as it was only now that she noticed a yellow puddle laying in one corner of the room. 

"Well, then," Celestia murmured, looking back to Silver Hoof. "Silver, be a dear and get a maid to mop this up, will you?"

"Right away, your Majesty."

Shortly thereafter, Celestia guided Twilight to a door with a picture of a pink looped cross. As she pushed open the door, it revealed a room of porcelain tiles containing a sink, a large tub, and a toilet with its lid facing up.

"I should have made this a priority, but better late than never," Celestia sighed, placing a hoof behind her head. 

"Twilight, it's time we trained you to use the bathroom."

Twilight looked from Celestia to her mess and then back, ears folding back. The tremble in her lips echoed another pony in another lifetime, horrified at the failing of her mentor in delivering her report on time. 

"Don't fret, Twilight," Celestia assured, patting the toilet on the lid. "This little wonder won't hurt you. In fact, it's here to help you. Come. Have a seat on it."

"Ce-Celestia." Twilight nodded, her gaze never meeting Celestia's. She crawled towards the seat and turned to face her friend, looking uncertain. 

"Right, now all you have to do is let nature to its work," her mentor instructed, keeping a reassuring smile."
Twilight looked confused, then looked past her mentor to the mess on the floor. She looked in between her legs, before eventually looking up at Celestia solemnly. Sure enough, a few minutes later she had changed the color of the water , a dripping sound filling the room as she let out a contented sigh.

"Very good!" Celestia cheered. "Now turn the little knob to your right."

Twilight blushed, looking at the floor once again. She placed a hoof down on the toilet, closing her eyes and shivering at the noises coming from beneath her. As soon as the process was over, she quietly dropped off the seat, gave a wince when she saw Celestia's smile, and slunk away with her head and shoulders hunched low. 

"It wasn't that bad, was it, Twily?" Celestia asked, rubbing a hoof in her mane teasingly. "Would you like to share a bath with me?"

Twilight only looked at Celestia. "Bath?" No excited inflection overtook her tone this time. 

"Yes, Twilight, a bath," the princess said, smiling a little more gently now. "I promise, you're going to love this."
With a careful swipe of her horn, she twisted one of the knobs behind the curtain, causing water to flow into the tub as she placed a plug inside.

Twilight, still not fully hydrated from before, plunged her mouth into the bath water and began to drink. She brought a dripping muzzle up to face Celestia. "Bath?" 

The sun princess chuckled and patted her head. "If you were a bird, it would be." 

For a moment, she stopped the water from flowing and dried off Twilight's muzzle with a towel, ignoring her whine of protest. 

"Come, Twilight. Let's get something nice to drink before we get in the bath," she asked as she lowered herself to let Twilight climb aboard.

Twilight glanced around guiltily, trying to show she was able to walk on her own. She walked on shaky hooves, still managing to maintain her balance regardless. "Twilight come." She said with an unsteady confidence. 

"Have it your way, Princess Twilight," Celestia giggled, walking back towards the kitchen and its fridge. This time, rather than juice, Celestia selected some grape-flavored mineral water in a pair of decorative plastic bottles.

Twilight followed behind, gladly taking one from Celestia. "Princess?" She asked, more confidence edging back into her voice. 

"Yes, Twilight," the older princess confirmed, smiling as she touched the empty space on her head where her crown typically sat. "You and I are Princesses, and we usually wear a nice crown on our heads to show it."

"Crown? Princess..." She sighed, squinting her eyes and clutching her head with her wings in confusion. She suddenly had a spark of insight, spread her wings and pointing at them with a hoof. "Princess?" 

"Exactly," Celestia confirmed. "You became a princess not too long ago."

Twilight gave a nervous blush, looking down at her water bottle. "Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked, looking at her with a tilted head. 

"That's what most call me," the Princess replied with a smile as she undid the cap of Twilight's bottle. "You're free to call me Celestia, if you want."

Twilight's face scrunched up, and she gave a whine. "Celestia?" She questioned, a bit more firmly this time. 

"Yes, Twilight?" she asked in reply.

"Friends? Elements of Harmony?" 

"You'll see them in due time," the princess assured, hugging her with a wing. "You have a lot to learn before then, however."

Twilight drooped. "Princess." She said, staring at her wings. 

"Don't fret," Celestia said as she gingerly held her chin. "With how fast you're learning, everything will be just fine."
Twilight didn't look convinced, but leaned against the wing anyway. She sighed, a mix between happy and sad. 

"Now come; we can't let the water get cold."

That said, the duo made their way back to the bathroom, where Celestia resumed filling the tub with warm water.
Twilight still looked at the white vessel in question with no small deal of uncertainty. She experimentally dipped a hoof in the water, letting it swing in lazy circles around the tub. She frowned at the heat, still harsh against her virgin nerve system.  

"Don't worry, Twily," Celestia cooed, easing her hoof out of the water. "You'll get used to it in a little bit."

Twilight skirted around the edge of the water, uncertain in the extreme. She skirted around the edge of the bath, before she felt a glow surround her and push her into the water. With a yelp, the newly minted alicorn was pushed into the water, splashing a wave of water around the room. Celestia chuckled at her efforts, tickling Twilight with her feathers as the pony struggled, giggled and whined. Soon enough, she joined her in the water, taking a rather expensive-looking bottle of shampoo and squirting a dollop or two in her and her student's manes. With a gentle hoof, she lathered the substance into the scalp, massaging it carefully.

"Doesn't that feel good, Twily?" she asked with a smile.

Twilight only hummed in reply, lying back against her rescuer and closing her eyes. For a moment,  she was a perfect echo of times they had spent curled up against one another, eyes closed in bliss. Just her and her mentor, sharing a private moment of happiness together. No worries, no cares, no pressing matters. Just a quiet moment of serenity.

Even in such unbridled chaos, this moment of private happiness felt all the same as it was before. The pair of ponies sighed, their breaths synchronizing in the warm comfort of each others' embrace, and all felt at peace with the world.