//------------------------------// // 103. Dolls by Bubble Boom...it's not...creeepy! // Story: The Sun and the Stars: A Twilestia Prompt Collab // by Fuzzyfurvert //------------------------------// by Bubble Boom *** Twilight’s horn glowed as she looked around the dark closet. The small room and its contents had been hidden away for what seemed hundreds of years. She saw a glint of red out of the corner of her eye. “Aha! What’s this?” Twilight gasped excitedly as she magically lifted a small jewel encrusted chest from the closet’s depths. She blew a thick layer of dust off, leaving some stubborn dust still stuck in crevices. Twilight Sparkle carefully moved the chest to a nearby study with an empty stone table. She giddily danced a few paces as she set the adorned chest down. “This has to be it! This has to be what Princess Celestia was talking about!” Twilight’s excitement could not be more evident. Her face changed to a grin, and her eyes opened wide. “I never thought I would find Celestia’s hope chest! And behind a dusty old tapestry in these ruins!” Twilight sighed in disbelief. “Celestia said she kept mementos from when she was a foal in this very chest! She thought she lost it. Oh, the Princess will be so pleased when I give this to her!” Twilight continued to grin as she drifted away lost in thought. A few moments passed and Twilight Sparkle shook herself back to reality. “Okay, Twilight, control your excitement. This is only your mentor’s foalhood you’re about to go through. Oh no! What if she doesn’t want me to go through it? What if there is some deep dark secret that she wants to remain hidden?! … What if everything is completely broken and destroyed?! Don’t you owe it to your princess to make sure everything is in order?” The unicorn convinced herself to open Celestia’s hope chest. Her eyes darted back and forth across the chest, inspecting every inch of its surface for hints of the past. The chest was made with oiled black walnut, carefully carved with alicorns and Celestia’s name, and ruby accents. The rusted brass lock looked so delicate it could have been held together with dust. Twilight bit her lip, concentrating, and used her magic to carefully remove the lock. She lifted the chest’s lid, which let out a tiny, cracking creak. The chest was open. Twilight systematically removed and cataloged each item, identifying individual items, its possible use, and condition. “Let’s see. Five scraps of faded decorative paper, two long, tattered silk ribbons, a perfectly shaped river stone, a locket with pictures of Celestia and Luna, really ancient bits – images of the sun and moon – and another small box.” Twilight paused and eyed the chest’s contents. This couldn’t be everything. Twilight lifted the smaller box’s lid in anticipation. Inside Twilight found two dolls, obviously made with love by hoof. The first doll looked like Princess Celestia. It’s fragile yarn hair, yellowed cloth body, button eyes, and uneven stitching made Twilight feel warm and nostalgic for her own foalhood toys. The other doll was a darker cloth with equally delicate details, obviously meant to be Princess Luna. Twilight marveled at the tiny seed beads sewn to create cutie marks on the dolls’ flanks. Nestled between the dolls she discovered two small pony doll sized teacups and saucers all rimmed in gold. Twilight smiled as she imagined a young Celestia playing tea with her dolls. She righted the teacups on the saucers and placed the Luna and Celestia dolls opposite each other. “My dearest sister Celestia, would you like some tea?” Twilight giggled as she moved the Luna doll. She paused to wonder if there had been a teapot to match. “Yes, I would, sister! Two cubes of sugar, please.” Twilight made a slurping noise, dunking the Celestia doll’s nose into the teacup, “Mmm, delicious tea. I do wish we had lemon cake to go with our tea.” The Luna doll nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, cake would be delightful. Perhaps we may have cake later?” Luna suddenly fell forwards and knocked over her teacup. “Luna! Do be more careful! You spilled tea all over yourself.” The Celestia doll watched sternly as the Luna doll was righted. Twilight reminded herself that these dolls belong to Celestia and they were clearly well loved, so she should be more careful with them. She closed her eyes and smiled as she tucked the dolls and other belongings back into the hope chest. Twilight gently set the chest on to her back and began the trek back to Ponyville. She would visit the Princess in the morning. Twilight sighed happily. She was sure the Princess would be excited and proud of Twilight for her discovery. Her good mood, warmed by the thought of a foal Celestia playing with dolls, continued through the evening. As Twilight snuggled in to her bed that night, she glanced over at the two pony dolls sitting on her bed stand. “Yes, I do believe more tea and cake is in order, my dear student Twilight!” She giggled and yawned, drifting off into sleep. ----- The next morning Twilight felt butterflies in her stomach in anticipation. She wanted to see Celestia’s face when she presented her long-lost hope chest. The palace guards pointed Twilight to a sitting room where the Princess was taking a break. Twilight was thankful for the cozy, more intimate setting. “Hello there, Twilight Sparkle. How are you this morning?” Celestia’s melodic voice asked. “Good morning! I’m doing well – I brought you a gift!” She lifted the chest from her back and set it before Celestia. She waited expectantly for Celestia’s reaction, grinning so widely her cheeks began to hurt. Celestia’s face looked shocked, her mouth opened slightly, and her eyes welled up. She rushed to open the hope chest. “Twilight Sparkle, I never thought I would see this again. I thought it disappeared long ago… These are all my belongings from when Luna and I were young, from before th-“ Celestia stopped herself. She still didn’t enjoy thinking about Luna’s banishment. Her eyes were still full of tears, “We were so happy then. Luna braided these beautiful silk ribbons into my mane so many times. And my dolls!” Celestia sniffled as a tear rolled down her cheek. Celestia held the doll of herself and Luna close. Twilight was unsure how to react. She didn’t expect her princess to be upset. “Princess, I didn’t mean to upset you! I thought you would be happy!” Celestia put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, still holding the dolls in her other hoof. “I am happy, my dearest Twilight. Luna and I made these dolls together when we were foals. We had to learn how to sew – oh, some of the first few were awful looking to say the least – but eventually we made these – together. It was a wonderful time, and your thoughtfulness has allowed me to remember the good times.” She pulled Twilight close and embraced her. “Thank you.” Twilight’s face changed from being unsure to bliss. She hugged the princess back tightly. Celestia pulled the small teacups from the box. Her eyes lit up. “Twilight, my sister and I used to have tea parties. We are going to have a tea party now.” She called for refreshments. Shortly after, Twilight, Celestia, and the two pony dolls gathered around a table set with a beautiful silver tea set. Celestia insisted she pour tea for all – even the dolls. As they began to enjoy their tea, Princess Celestia looked at Twilight with a very serious expression, “Why do I feel like having lemon cake?”