Across the Boundary

by Forthwith


Memories

Twilight blinked. Something was wrong.

“Are you okay, my faithful student?” asked Princess Celestia. “You seem a bit dizzy. Do you wish to lay down for a moment?”

“No, princess… Just– Just please give me a minute.”

Okay, I’m at our usual location for lessons. We are talking about how raising the sun and moon works.

Twilight looked around her ‘classroom’. Princess Celestia believed in hooves on learning and that meant lots of open space. The gardens were the best place in Canterlot if they wanted nice weather, but they had nothing on the badlands of the south.

Orange and brown rock stretched all the way to the Macintosh Hills which just barely stretched over the horizon. The occasional spire dotted the landscape and Twilight could see a dust storm pillaging the land of further debris as it traveled.

Seems normal enough.

Next, she turned her attention to herself. She was still a normal purple unicorn. She had no wounds, nothing was attached to her, and her light telekinetic shield was keeping her coat free of the dust clouds she and the princess had been kicking up all day.

Finally, Twilight started checking the enchantments she always placed on herself.

I really should have done this first, but it’s the princess. She wouldn’t–

Her alarm spell was not triggered. That was not what she used it for. Instead there was a spell signature subtly weaved into it that nopony, not even the princess, could duplicate without instruction.

And somepony had put their dirty horn all over it.

“Princess Celestia, has anypony else been here?” The fury she felt was seeping into her voice and gave her teacher a start.

“No.” That was the answer Twilight expected. “What is the matter?”

“How dare you!” The innocence with which the princess asked caused Twilight to snap. Her magic was instinctively burning up the surrounding area – both metaphorically and literally. Fire blazed from her mane and tail, her coat turned white, and her eyes became a glowing red with a lava like texture.

Princess Celestia took a step back and hesitantly stopped. She then cast a spell which halted the damage being done to the ambient magical field, although Twilight was still blazing.

“My mind is mine.” – Twilight’s voice reached the Royal Canterlot level – “That includes every single memory within it. Even as a princess – as a goddess – you have no right to touch it.

Twilight did not know what she was waiting for; nothing really seemed appropriate. She did know that the last thing she wanted to hear was an apology.

“I’m sorry,” the princess whispered.

A pillar of fire erupted where Twilight stood. When it died out she was gone, leaving behind only sparkles from her teleport.


Hours later, Twilight lay above the top of Mizyl Rock, a gigantic, top-heavy spire that had no business standing high among the other rock formations of the badlands. The natural magic in the area produced enough upward lift to keep the spire buoyed with plenty to spare for a young unicorn to float around.

Twilight had been reduced to a smolder, emotionally and physically, after a few minutes. She was still mad, but she had no idea how to make things better.

Sunlight pooled in front of her and formed into the only shape sunlight ever forms into – though it was a bit burnt.

“What do you want, Celestia?” spat Twilight. She regretted it immediately, but her indignity and remaining fury would not let her own up to it.

If she was affronted at the lack of formal titles, Princess Celestia did not betray it. An unpleasant crunch echoed off the not too distant mountains as the princess sat down on her charred barrel and legs. Twilight winced at the sound, but her mentor’s neutral face did not so much as frown.

“I want to…fix…us. It pains me to admit it, but I have not had many friends. They are rather difficult to find when you rule a country. I would hate to lose another before…before it was time.”

The fire in Twilight’s mane and tail instantly went out and returned to a more ordinary light-gray smoky tone and texture. However, her coat remained white and her eyes only reverted to a solid red.

“You consider me a friend?” Hay, now I feel guilty. “I really don’t know what to say to that. Erasing memories is a serious breach of a friendship.”

“I know. I accidentally said too much and you discovered something I really, really do not want the world to know. It is a big change talking with a pony smarter than myself.”

“What? That doesn’t–”

“It is true. You lack the raw knowledge and experience, but you learn and create faster than I do. I imagine you will surpass me a little after your first century if you keep this up. That is to say nothing of the original discoveries that I am sure you will no doubt make as well as the ones you already have made.”

“Celestia, regular ponies don’t live that long. I would think you of all ponies would know that.”

“That’s not quite true.” The princess smirked as she continued, “Look up the little known polymorph spell sometime soon. It will keep a pony alive and young until their magic runs out. The average lifespan of the rather skewed data set I have is about two-hundred years.”

Twilight’s mouth hung open. “…I don’t understand. How is that not a standard medical spell?”

With a sigh, Princess Celestia said, “Three reasons primarily. The first is the spell itself is hard to cast.”

“So study harder. Medical magic is already hard.”

“Yes, but I meant it more in general as a qualification for the next two points.

“The second reason is it requires frequent touch-ups. There would be a serious supply and demand issue. Doctors would spend their time doing nothing but casting polymorph. A self-correcting version can be cast, but only the most talented unicorns are able to use it.

“The third reason is a practicality problem. It takes a lot of magic to sustain a polymorph. Having all of Equestria polymorphed would drain the ambient magic quickly and the world’s reserves of solidified magic would deplete even faster. Few ponies would be able to supply the power alone. Even fewer could power multiple instances.”

“I guess that makes sense. Logistics and all that. Good news for me either way, I suppose…”

“Well, moral dilemmas aside, I am glad you have calmed down,” Princess Celestia said, gently flapping her wings to get closer to Twilight.

Looking at her coat, Twilight found it had returned to its regular purple color. Presumably her eyes had reverted to purple as well.

“I suppose I am. That doesn’t mean I’m not still mad, as interesting a distraction as that was.”

“I know.” The princess gathered Twilight – who was not even a third her size – awkwardly into her wings for a hug.

“I might not be able to forgive you for this.”

“Nor should you. I can understand how strongly you feel about this.”

“I probably won’t be able to trust you again. At least, not like before.”

“…I realize that. The damage has been done.” Still hugging, the princess continued, “Twilight, should we go force the castle kitchen to make us a huge cake?”

Looking up, Twilight could see a huge smile on her mentor’s face.

Laughing, Twilight answered, “Yeah, some make up cake sounds good. Let’s go home, Celestia.”