Castle Aurora Ballroom
Two Hours After Sunset
Twilight
Coal Dust’s proclamation echoed loudly in the ballroom, his nasally voice catching the attention of the entire crowd. Ponies stopped what they were doing and turned towards the offending duke of Fillydelphia. Twilight’s ears flickered as she heard the crowd murmur around them, mostly curious as to what the stallion was pontificating. She turned quickly to the unicorn with a scowl written clearly upon her face. She could see that Coal Dust was smiling smugly as he waved in his magic an old worn out piece of parchment above his head for the crowd to see.
“Let it be known throughout Equestria that Coal Dust of House Obsidian has revealed Sparkle for the liar she is and saved our glorious kingdom from her tyranny and the corruption of her court!” Coal Dust yelled to the assembly, basking in the attention he was receiving.
He seemed to gain confidence in his cause as ponies looked at him, though they didn’t seem to support the unicorn, it appeared that they only gazed at him to find the cause of the disturbance that had halted the dancing.
Celestia and Luna quickly closed ranks and gathered at Twilight’s sides, presenting a united front to the errant noble. They both wore expressions of annoyance and frowned firmly down at the much shorter unicorn. But despite the obvious disapproval emanating from the two intimidating alicorns, Coal Dust continued his rabble rousing.
“Never again shall we be deceived by this liar! For I have proof of Sparkle’s deceit!” All the eyes in the ballroom locked onto the parchment he waved. In the corner of her eye, Twilight could see Noctis and two of his guards shove their way through the entranced crowd towards the epicenter of the disturbance.
Twilight had had enough. “Duke Coal Dust!” She grounded out icily. “I know that you and your colleagues have issues with me, but can you at least have the decency to file a complaint like every pony else?!”
“HA!” The stallion laughed at her. “I do not take orders from a filthy commoner like you! Silence your tongue while your betters speak!”
The assembly gasped at the duke’s blunt insult, and ponies close to Coal Dust edged away slowly as if afraid of being associated with him. Noctis scowled darkly as he sidled up next to the oblivious stallion, the other two guards waiting impatiently behind him. Next to Twilight, Princess Celestia edged forward until she towered over him. Twilight could see that Coal Dust suddenly remembered the presence of the other two alicorns and he gave two quick bows, and she could see small beads of sweat start to form across his face.
“Your majesty!” He said. “I have just uncovered a great plot against the throne!”
Celestia didn’t indulge in his flattery, her eyes speaking for her as they smoldered with barely controlled rage.
“Coal Dust.” Celestia said flatly. “Former Duke of Fillydelphia, you are dismissed. Captain Noctis will see you out now.”
As soon as the words left her lips, the two guards behind Coal Dust seized the shocked former duke. But Coal Dust barely paid them any attention, he instead sputtered at Celestia.
“F--Former?!” He gasped, starting to struggle against the two guards. “Princess listen to me! That vile excuse for a mare is unworthy of the throne! I have pro—“
SMACK!!!
Twilight’s eyes widened as Luna gasped beside her, and the entire crowd looked on in complete shock at Celestia.
She had just slapped Coal Dust. Hard.
“Enough.” She stated simply in the eerie silence, her tone resolute as her eyes bored into the thunderstruck unicorn. “Guards, you know what to do.”
“At once your majesty.” Noctis saluted dutifully. He motioned with his head to the other two guard holding the silent stallion, and they departed from the ballroom. Ponies made a path for them as they headed towards the main doorway.
As they approached, the door opened by themselves to reveal a very dark hallway, save for a single spotlight. In the light sat Pinkie Pie, sitting quitely in the chair with Gummy in her lap. She stroked the oblivious alligator as she stared intently at her approaching victim with a creepy smile. Behind her, Twilight could barely make out the suspicious outline of an enlarged party cannon packed to the brim with what looked like the Cutie Mark Crusaders fireworks. Peering closer at the cannon, Twilight could see a note attached to a long stick poking out from the explosives. It read, ‘Reserved Fireworks Seat for Coal Dust, former Duke of Fillydelphia, courtesy of Pinkie Pie and the CMC.’
The guards took Coal Dust to Pinkie, and the doors started to shut behind them. But before they did, Twilight and the rest of the crowd caught what she told the unicorn.
"Nopony party poops on a Pinkie Pie party....
As doors shut with a final boom, the crowd dispersed and the music started again. Ponies across the room quickly fell back into their revelry and the party was in full swing again.
Celestia sighed and turned back to Twilight, her expression the very epitome of concern.
“Twilight, are you alright?”
“Yes princess, he just startled me. I—“ Twilight broke off, for her eyes had picked up the piece of parchment that Coal Dust had been waving about during his rant. She realized he must have dropped it while he struggled with the guards, or when Celestia had slapped him.
Curiosity getting the better of her, Twilight walked over to the parchment and picked it up in her magic, wanting to know why the former duke had thought it could damage her.
Behind her, she heard Celestia gasp and her mentor’s voice sounded increasingly worried as she walked quickly towards Twilight.
“Twilight, wait! I don't--"
But despite her mentor’s concern, Twilight read it.
Tender Heart Orphanage, Crown City of Canterlot, Kingdom of Equestria: Archive Copy
Certificate of Adoption
Name: Twilight Sparkle
Age: Two Months?
Gender: Female
Race: Unicorn
Biological Parents: Unknown
Event of Canterlot Custody: Miss Tender Heart found the foal abandoned on the doorstep of the orphanage soon after the sunset of the 24th, with only the name Twilight Sparkle written on a piece of paper attached to the bundle in which the foal was found.
This certifies that upon adoption, Night Light and Twilight Velvet will obtain custody of Twilight Sparkle as her legal guardians and be fully responsible for her upbringing, education, wellbeing, and legal welfare as her adoptive parants.
Furthermore, as the prospective guardians are nobility, Twilight Sparkle will receive full privileges of the unicorn nobility of House Armor upon acquisition of her Cutie-Mark with the exception of title inheritance in accordance with ancient unicorn law.
Signed,
Miss Tender Heart, orphanage matron
Lady Twilight Velvet, adoptive mother
Lord Night Light Armor, adoptive father
Mr. Fine Print, City of Canterlot public lawyer and witness
Next to the signatures, there were three seals. One was for the City of Canterlot, showing that they approved of the adoption. The second was for Fine Print’s legal firm, which showed that he had been a witness to the adoption. And the third was the seal of House Armor, showing their commitment to the legal bindings of the document.
Legal seals in Equestria were of the utmost importance. They were used for everything from postal services to royal decrees. Each seal’s stamp was enchanted and warded so that none other than the rightful owner of the seal could use it. The magic involving seals was a very intricate and difficult magic. First, there was only one mold for each seal in case the original was destroyed or lost, and the molds were kept in a high security vault that only royalty and officers of the Royal Guard had access to. Second, the enchantments woven into pictures of the seal made it impossible for a criminal to copy or reproduce. The magic embedded in a seal picks up on an attempts to copy it and causes the perpetrators to inaccurately copy it, making it easy for counterfeits to be detected. Third, if somepony stole a seal, and attempted to use it, the magic would cause the seal to break apart since a seal only worked for its owner. Fraudulent seal manufacturing (which was nigh-on impossible) carried a minimum sentence of twenty-five years in prison with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
In short, Coal Dust, a below-average mage, did not have the magical skill to even attempt a fraudulent seal copy, let alone do it successfully three times.
Which meant the paper in front of her was genuine.
Twilight’s pupils shrunk to pinpricks and her jaw dropped as the full meaning of that sank in.
I…I’m adopted?
The sound of the party around her seemed to fade away until she could barely hear the other ponies’ excitement. The only thing that seemed louder than before was her heart as it thundered in her chest. A hole seemed to open up in her as new feelings and thoughts whirled around inside her. Anger, depression, fear, sorrow, and disbelief all battled for dominance as Twilight tried to deal with the revelation.
No! No, it can't be true!
Can it?
“Twilight what is it?” Celestia asked, her voice sounding far off to her despairing student.
Wordlessly, and without acknowledging her, Twilight passed her the certificate of adoption that bore her name. In the corner of her eye, she saw Celestia start to read the page with Luna looking curiously over her shoulder at the worn parchment. She could see both alicorn’s eyes widen in shock, and it seemed to Twilight that Celestia turned pale underneath her white coat.
Reluctantly, Twilight took the parchment back from them and continued to stare at it. Beside her, she could feel the other princesses’ shuffle uncomfortably. Luna with barely contained rage, probably at Coal Dust, and Celestia seemed to be staring off into space, avoiding Twilight's eyes.
“How dare he!” Luna shouted, her face contorted in anger. “To insult Twilight and then attempt to frame her with some obviously fake document! Sister, we will have to have him arrested later for seal forgery too! In addition to public slander of royalty!”
For a moment, Twilight’s heart flickered with hope from her friend’s words, and her ears twisted to hear Celestia’s response.
But she said nothing.
Fear, dark and cold fear crawled inside Twilight. Doubt took hold of her as her mentor did nothing to dismiss her sister’s statement.
There were only two ponies Twilight knew of that could provide the answers she needed to soothe her heart.
Or break it…
Without another word, Twilight flew up from the crowd with a panicked thrust of her wings, soaring above the startle ponies as she made her way to the ballroom doors.
She needed to find the two ponies she called Mom and Dad.
Castle Aurora
Luna
Luna watched as Twilight flew through the doors frantically, ponies all around them staring at her as she fled. Confusion reigned supreme as Luna witnessed her dear friend flee because she did not understand why Twilight was upset. Surely she did not believe the small piece of parchment that rat of a noble had produced.
She looked up at her sister with deep concern. Celestia tried to hide it, but after several centuries of life together, Luna could tell that her big-sister was deeply shaken.
“Sister, I don’t understand. The certificate is a fake, why is she upset?” She asked sincerely.
Celestia didn’t answer, still gazing at the doors through which Twilight had just departed through, clearly deep in thought and oblivious to her lunar sister.
Now this came as very strange to Luna, that Celestia was too occupied with her thoughts that she didn’t notice her sister’s pressing question. Now that she thought about it, Celestia had been acting strange on several occasions throughout the evening, but she couldn’t quite put her hoof on what was causing it.
Luna prodded Celestia again, frowning as she still didn’t react.
“Sister?”
Again, no response.
Getting impatient very quickly, Luna frowned as she lit up her horn. Casting a quick teleportation spell, Luna reappeared directly in front of her sister. Waving a hoof in front of her unresponsive sister, she tried again.
“Moon to ‘Tia! Wake up!”
Celestia let out a sad sigh, and dropped her head and avoided Luna’s eyes. Her long white ears flicked back in the tell-tale sign of guilt or sadness. Probably both.
“Lulu, there’s something I should have told you a long time ago.”
Uh oh, that’s not good.
There were only a few occasions in her life that her sister called her Lulu, and with the regretful tone of voice her sister intoned, Luna doubted that whatever it was that Celestia wanted to tell her was something that would make her happy.
Casting a wary gaze at the ponies that had started to approach them curiously, no doubt wanting some royal attention, Luna whispered quickly to Celestia.
“Sister, are you sure this is the…um…appropriate place to speak right now?”
Looking up a little, Celestia eyed the curious mob too. “No, I suppose not.” And with that, she walked through the crowd towards the exit, trying to put back up her serene mask for their ponies to see.
And she failed miserably.
As they walked through the doorway into the empty hallway Luna’s concern for her sister increased exponentially. Celestia displayed no signs of improving soon, as the sun alicorn seemed lost and depressed.
Luna wracked her memory for what could be causing her sister such unprecedented distress. The only thing she could think of was Twilight’s needless paranoia. Seeing as there was no pony around, Luna spoke up once more.
“Sister, I can see that you are concerned for your pupil’s wellbeing but cheer up! There is no reason for despair! Twilight will find out what a miserable liar Coal Dust is as soon as she hears her parents—“
“They’re not.’
Luna stopped short, her sentence cut short by her sister’s interruption. Confused, Luna only raised an eyebrow at her sister as they walked.
“Not what?”
“They’re not Twilight’s parents.”
Luna stopped in shock, Celestia trailing ahead and leaving her behind. As soon as her mind caught up to what her sister had said, she sprinted back up to Celestia and scowled up at her sister.
“And how would you know that?”
Celestia’s ears flicked backwards again and she looked away guiltily.
“Luna I—“
“What?”
The muffled cry of pain came from beside them, through a crack in a doorway they were just about to pass. The both of them stopped with shared apprehension, peering at the door with caution. Luna noted that it was the same dining room where they had eaten earlier.
Luna recognized the voice that was filled with pain.
Leaving her sister to stand there, Luna reached forward and opened the doors a little, revealing the scene inside.
The first thing she took notice of was Twilight. Her dear friend had tears pouring down her cheeks to splash on the floor as she stared despondingly at Night Light and Velvet. Her wings ruffled and flapped randomly in accordance with her distress. The golden crown which sat upon her head was crooked as it leaned to one side. Her dress became more disheveled as Twilight plopped down heavily onto her rump, tears seeming to leak endlessly down her face.
Night Light and Velvet were in not in much better condition better condition, Luna could see that some tears also twinkled in their eyes. The blue stallion wrapped a hoof around his wife in comfort as Velvet sniffled a little.
Shining Armor and Cadance were sitting between the two groups, staring at the couple and the lavender alicorn with different levels of shock and concern. Shining just gaped at his parents in complete surprise, his jaw dropped and his eyes wide. Cadance, on the other hoof, had only eyes for Twilight. Her forelegs covered her mouth in a muffled gasp while her eyes too watered with tears.
Spike stood between them looking like he didn’t know what to feel. The confused drake shuffled his claws nervously as he looked between Twilight and her parents.
Behind them, Twilight’s friends stood back from the group in obvious discomfort. Applejack for some reason looked completely outraged, while Rarity next to her looked lost as she tried to analyze the situation. Rainbow Dash was postured like she wanted to punch something as she looked down angrily and mouthed what Luna could only guess was, ‘Coal Dust.’ Fluttershy hugged Pinkie Pie tightly as she gazed sadly at Twilight, and Pinkie’s hair had deflated a little while she rubbed Fluttershy’s back gently.
Behind her, Luna heard Celestia quietly look over her shoulder at the ponies gathered in the dining room. Together, they stood ignored as the discussion they had slipped in on renewed.
“You’re…you’re not my parents?” Twilight choked out through some weak sobs.
When Night Light and Velvet did not immediately deny Twilight’s words, Luna suppressed a gasp of shock, her heart leaping up into her chest at her friend’s obvious heartache.
“Twilight,” Velvet began cautiously. The small white mare then walked across the room until she was directly in front of the lavender alicorn, trying to hug Twilight. When Twilight resisted, Velvet sat back down and sighed heavily. “Night Light and I will always be your parents, never doubt that for a second.” She paused and looked sadly at her ‘daughter.’ “But…I…I did not give birth to you.”
Silence reigned supreme.
Twilight, who was taller than Velvet, could only stare down at the older mare as tears flowed down her face. Her mouth creaked open and Luna could here small painful chokes emanating from her shocked friend. It was very clear that she did not know what to say, or what to do.
Shining Armor had no qualms.
“Why?” He thundered angrily, staring at his parents. “Why didn’t you tell us? Twilight had a right to know.”
Night Light looked apologetic as he faced his son. “I’m sorry son, but Velvet and I never really had it in our hearts to tell her when she was a filly. We wanted her to grow up without the pressures that such knowledge would have come with.” He sighed heavily, looking older than he actually was. “And then, when she grew up, well…she was just so happy. We knew we needed to tell her, but we wanted her to be happy more than anything else.” He looked away from his angry son guiltily. “I’ll admit that we were cowards, not telling her, but we didn’t want her to see us as anything else but her parents. We should have told her a long time ago, but we…we just couldn’t.”
His father’s words fading into the oppressive silence, Shining stood there for a moment while his face contorted with different emotions.
As this was going on, something bright and purple caught Luna’s eye.
It was Twilight’s horn, she was preparing a spell.
Velvet saw it too, and guessed what Twilight was about to do. Rising up and reaching out to Twilight, Velvet let out a panicked cry.
“Twilight! Please wa—“
But before she finished, Twilight let out a hard sob before a bright flash engulfed her, temporarily blinding everypony in the room. Once
Luna regained her sight, she didn’t bother looking around like most of the other ponies in the room, it was clearly evident that Twilight had teleported to who knew where.
“She’s gone!” Velvet cried, rushing back to Night Light. The couple embraced tightly while small tears ran down their cheeks. Spike walked up to them and tugged on the end of Velvet’s dress.
“Um…I bet she’s in her room, and I can take you there. I suppose we should…um…go find her.” Spike said timidly.
Night Light nodded and let Spike lead the way with Velvet hugging his side. Shining Armor was soon to follow with Cadance trailing behind him. Luna opened the door so they could be let by into the hallway.
Once they were all through, Luna saw Celestia try to follow them, but Luna tugged firmly on her sister’s dress with her magic.
“Wait ‘Tia! Let them take care of Twilight.” She advised.
“But—“
“Right now Twilight needs to be with her family. You and I will just be in the way.”
Celestia frowned determinedly and continued to look down the hallway towards where the group had departed. Luna thought her sister was going to argue with her and go to Twilight anyway, but she let out a defeated sigh and followed Luna back into the dining room where Twilight’s friends stood awkwardly.
“So…um…what can we do to help Twilight?” Fluttershy asked into the descending silence.
Applejack perked up immediately. “Why, she needs to be wit her family of course!”
“But she doesn’t know who her family is, that’s the whole point.” Rarity chimed in.
Applejack scowled fiercely at Rarity and lowered her hat until Luna could barely see her eyes under the rim. “Family is more than just blood! It’s about the ponies yah care about!”
“Yeah!” Piped up Pinkie.
Rainbow Dash flew in a circle lazily about the room as her scrunched her eyes in thought. “But that doesn’t help Twilight right now. What we really need to be asking is how that noble—“
“Former.” Corrected Rarity primly, sipping from her tea.
“—former noble got his hooves on that certificate.” The blue pegasus finished.
“That’s a good question.” Fluttershy said, she looked up at Luna and Celestia. “Um…how would Coal Dust have found that certificate?”
Luna thought Celestia would start explaining, but she noticed that her sister was lost in thought again as she stared at herself in the mirror Tragulidae had given Twilight as a gift earlier. It was still sitting there, as Twilight had not yet moved the massive scrying mirror anywhere else yet. Since Celestia said nothing, Luna spoke to the others.
“That certificate was probably Canterlot’s copy for the public archive. The city keeps track of all adoptions in case any legal issues arise later on. There would have been three certificates total. The one Coal Dust produced was the city’s record, which he could have had access to since he was a public official. Velvet and Night Light should have another, because they adopted Twilight. The third would have been the original which the orphanage would have kept for their records. Theirs should be the most detailed since it was they who found her.”
“Which orphanage?” Rarity asked.
Before Luna could answer, Celestia seemed to speak automatically. “Tender Heart Orphanage.” But she blinked a little before adding hurriedly. “It was on the certificate Coal Dust had.”
“Oh, I see.” Fluttershy said. But she continued to look nervous and looked around at the others. “I hate to be the one that brings this up, but will this have any effect on Twilight’s crown?” When the others gave her incredulous looks she clammed up defensively. “It’s just the poor dear worked so hard and the nobles just can’t take it away!”
“Yeah!” Affirmed Rainbow. “Twilight has more than earned her wings! I don’t care what those stuffy nobles say!”
Luna sighed internally. It was obvious that neither Fluttershy nor Rainbow Dash possessed any real knowledge on how Equestria was ruled. She opened her mouth to speak but a large white wing fanned out stiffly as Celestia stood up in anger.
“No.” She said firmly. “Twilight will never lose her crown. The nobles cannot touch her, no matter who her family is. She was destined to be the Alicorn of Magic, just as Luna and I were destined to bond with the Moon and Sun. It is her birthright, and no amount of petty squabbling will ever take that away from her.” Calming down from her outburst, Celestia refolded her wings and sat back down next to Luna. “Besides, only a few of the unicorn nobles care about who a pony’s family is, and they don’t even represent a majority of the nobility as a whole.”
“That’s right.” Luna said. “Before Celestia and I were given the throne, the three tribes were ruled by a triumvirate. Princess Platinum of the Unicorns, Commander Hurricane of the Pegasi, and Chancellor Puddinghead of the Earth Ponies.”
“But all that’s just ancient history.” Rainbow dismissed quickly.
Choosing to ignore the ‘ancient’ part of that statement, Luna continued. “But you see, each tribe had a different culture, and therefore a different way of choosing nobility. When the three tribes settled in Equestria, each tribe still built their own different cities even though they were united.”
“Ah don’t see what you mean Princess.” Applejack said, scrunching her brow in confusion.
“Take Ponyville for example.” Luna told her. “What tribe of ponies founded it?”
“Why that’s simple! My family did!”
“And your ancestors were…”
“Earth Ponies!”
“And how do you choose Ponyville’s leader? I believe the current one is Mayor Mare, correct?” Luna asked, leading Applejack along a certain line of thought.
“Sure is. We elect her every few years, same for all our mayors.” Applejack replied.
Luna turned to Rainbow Dash. “And how is the consul of Cloudesdale chosen?”
“Eh, I don’t know. We get a new one every few years.” She replied idly.
Luna looked across from her to Rarity. “And Canterlot, how do the dukes and duchesses come into power?”
“Why, the nobles pass down their titles from parent to child, and it has always been that way.” She replied stiffly.
“The point I’m trying to make is that the way nobles are chosen differs from city to city, depending on which tribe founded it. Canterlot was founded by unicorns before Celestia made it the capital after the castle in the Everfree Forest was destroyed. Cloudesdale is a pegasi city, put together by one of Commander Hurricane’s legions at the founding of Equestria. Ponyville was founded by earth ponies.”
“Ah still don’t understand.” Applejack intoned, rubbing her head with a fore hoof.
“You see, each city in Equestria was founded by a different tribe, with different ways of choosing their nobles. Unicorn cities like Canterlot and Fillydelphia have always been ruled by the Unicorn Noble Houses, like Blueblood’s House Platinum or Coal Dust’s House Obsidian. The ancient pegasi were militaristic, so the Commander-in-Chief of the nation would appoint rulers over their cities, usually retired military. Celestia, Cadance, Twilight, and I are Equestria’s Joint-Chiefs when it comes to our army, so it is up to us on who becomes the consul of Cloudesdale, Rainbow Falls, and Los Pegasus. Usually we hire retired pegasi guard ponies to fill in as consuls, though we usually let the ponies of those cloud cities choose from a few candidates. The earth pony cities like Ponyville and Appleloosa elect their nobles, like Mayor Mare and Sheriff Silverstar. Together, all those nobles come together to form the Council of Confederate Nobility, which acts as a senate or a parliament to voice concern to us, the princesses.”
Rainbow huffed impatiently. “Go on! Get to the point already! What’s this got to do with Twilight!”
Luna frowned firmly at the shorter pony, she was enjoying relaying these interesting facts. “The point is that most of the nobles won’t give a flying fig on who Twilight’s parents are or aren’t. The only block-headed nobles that would be imbecilic enough to doubt Twilight’s legitimacy are the unicorn nobles, like Prince Blueblood and former Duke Coal Dust, who absolutely depend on their ancestry to be a noble.”
“Well can the unicorn nobles do anything to Twilight?” Rarity asked pointedly.
“No.” Luna replied. “Nopony can remove Twilight from her throne.” But Luna winced a little as she remembered her time as Nightmare Moon. “As—um—as long as she doesn’t do anything crazy like…refuse to lower the moon.”
Luna felt a large white wing wrap around her tightly, and Luna leaned into Celestia’s comforting embrace. She felt her big sister sigh heavily.
“Does anypony else have any other concerns or worries?”
A chorus of shaking heads answered.
“Then let us wait for Twilight to come back, I’m sure she’ll need your help to get her to through this revelation.” Celestia told them. But then in a quiet voice that Luna was sure only she could hear, Celestia added an amendment to her statement. “And the revelation that will come.”
Castle Aurora
Immediately After Twilight’s Teleport
Twilight
With a bright flash of purple light, Twilight crashed heavily onto her large bed, sending pillows flying and ruffling her normally orderly purple bed sheets.
But she didn’t care.
Sobbing heavily into her pillow while fresh tears stained it, Twilight burrowed herself into her bed, trying to sort through the feelings that tormented her.
Twilight whimpered as hundreds of different scenarios played through her mind.
She didn’t know what to do, how to react towards the terrible revelation. Was she no longer a part of the Armor family? Did this not make Shining Armor her brother, or Cadance her sister-in-law?
Was she…alone? Without a family?
Inexplicably, Twilight’s thoughts turned to who she actually came from. It was clear whoever her real parents were didn’t want her, as they had abandoned her to an orphanage without even acknowledging that she was their daughter. Was she the result of something terrible? Was Twilight such a burden on her birth parents that they left her in the care of some random orphanage?
Maybe…maybe they were ashamed of her, that’s why they abandoned her. Or perhaps she was an unwanted mistake or the result of a careless fling. A burden. A nuisance.
An unwanted child.
Twilight closed her eyes and sobbed pitifully deep into her pillow, not caring to dry her eyes or wipe her nose. She tried to find comfort in her soft and warm bed, but nothing would calm her and relaxation seemed to elude her, letting her drift with her treacherous thoughts.
A soft knock interrupted her sorrow.
“Twilight? Are you in there?”
It was Spike.
“Go away!”
…
“Um…your parents, Shining and Cadance are here with me. Do you want to see them?”
“Go away! They’re not my parents!”
Twilight heard Velvet whimper on the other side of the door. Instant guilt panged her heart at the sound, but Twilight tried to ignore it and busied herself by burrowing further into her bastion of pillows.
As she softly cried, she heard the door open. Twilight’s ears flickered as she heard the soft pitter patter of what was the tell-tale signs a baby dragon walking towards her. She didn’t look up from her tear-stained pillows, and only mumbled roughly at where she thought Spike would have been standing.
“I said go away, I don’t want to talk to anypony.”
Spike didn’t immediately answer, instead the small drake crawled up onto the bed and waddled through the sea of overly-fluffed pillows until he sat down next to where she was laying.
Turning away from him, Twilight thought Spike would go away if she ignored him long enough.
“Does that mean I’m not family? That I’m not your little-brother?” He asked quietly.
A sudden stab of pain lanced through Twilight’s torn heart at Spike’s words, and she instantly tried to batter away her guilt with words.
“No…I…uh…Spike…” she tried.
He continued, battering down her defenses with his hurt-filled words.
“Because I’m not related to you or them by blood. We’re family Twilight, it doesn’t matter if we’re not related by blood. Because you love me, and I love you. And I know you still love your parents.”
Twilight couldn’t ignore him anymore, as his words tore a new hole in her heart. She turned her neck around and looked up at him since he sat on a mountain of pillows, and her head was still lying on the bed.
His words made sense, and Twilight berated herself for not working it through earlier. Of course they were all still family, and Shining was still her brother, Night Light and Velvet were still her parents, and Cadance was still her sister-in-law. Family was more than blood, it was about the love and care put together with unbreakable bonds.
And Spike would always be her little-brother.
Spike only sat sagely, regarding her calmly. For being such a young dragon, she still surprised him with his insightful wisdom.
No words were needed, Twilight knew what she must do.
Getting up from her bed, she made her way over until she could firmly embrace Spike with her hooves. Brining him in close until his scales pressed tightly in her fur.
“You’ll always be my brother Spike, and I’m sorry for being such a…a…”
“A pony? You have feelings too Twilight, don’t think that just because you’re a princess that you’re invulnerable to being hurt.”
Spike, will you never cease to amaze me?
“Thanks Spike.” She leaned down and nuzzled him, letting a small smile brighten her face a little.
“You’re welcome.” He replied. Spike then left her hug and clambered off the bed, heading towards the door. “But I think you should talk to some other ponies too.”
Nodding her head, she too climbed off her bed and joined him as they headed towards the doors. Once they were there, Twilight lit her horn and opened them slowly with her magic, revealing four other ponies waiting patiently on the other side.
…
“Mom, I’m so sor—“
Velvet leaped forward and hugged her tightly, large tears of happiness matting Twilight’s fur.
“I’m still your mother Twilight, and I love you.”
Twilight leaned into the smaller mare and grasped her tightly, almost afraid of letting go.
“I love you too mom.” Twilight replied, burying her muzzle into Velvet’s mane. Her large magenta eyes looked up to spot Night Light.
Without needing any prompting, the blue stallion joined Velvet and together they embraced their adoptive daughter. After a minute, they released her only for Cadance and Shining to also hug her.
“You’re still my little-sis, nothing is going to change that Twily.” Shining whispered.
“Thanks Shiny.”
After a bit, they released and they all sat together in an impromptu circle. Small smiles lighting each of their faces. Twilight could only bask in her family’s love, she had been foolish to think that would ever change.
However, she still had questions.
Facing Night Light and Velvet reluctantly, Twilight shyly implored them.
“So…um…do you know…who, um—“
“I’m sorry Twilight, but we don’t know who your biological parents are.” Night Light told her. “The orphanage didn’t know anything either, they just found you on their doorstep.”
Velvet came up and hugged Twilight again fiercely, trying to comfort her. “You were such a beautiful foal Twilight. Night Light and I had been thinking about adopting a new-born foal, and so we went to Tender Heart Orphanage in Canterlot. We were looking for a small, young filly to take care of, and the orphanage introduced us to you, and we just couldn’t leave you there. You were the cutest and most adorable foal we had ever seen, and we adopted you then and there.” Despite her calm demeanor, a note of suppressed anger entered Velvet’s tone. “I don’t understand why any self-respecting mare would ever give you up Twilight.” But her tone softened a little. “But I’m glad she did, for if they had not you would have never been a part of our family, Twilight. And you have been a blessing to us all the days of our lives.”
More tears flushed Twilight’s eyes, but this time they were tears of happiness and gratitude. She then hugged Velvet firmly, trying to convey her love to her.
Even so, I want to know.
“There may be,” Twilight began. “a way for me to find out.”
Velvet leaned back and looked up into Twilight’s face with a concerned expression. “How?”
“After you all went to the ball, I received several gifts from our foreign friends. The deer gave me a scrying mirror which will show me my past. It’s still sitting in the dining room with the princesses and my friends. I might be able to use it to find out.”
Night Light also looked concerned. “Are you sure Twilight? Knowing won’t change anything, and the truth might not be pleasant.”
Now reassured of her family’s love, Twilight had a burning need to know where she came from, and why her parents gave her up.
“I’m sure. I want to know.”
Despite their obvious reluctance, her family supported her decision, and Twilight led them back towards the dining hall.
Towards the truth.