Castle Aurora
Three Hours After Sunset
Luna
With a determined shove, the doors opened behind Luna and her sister as the Armor Household returned from their brief sojourn.
Putting a hold on the conversation about nocturnal creatures she was having with Fluttershy, Luna turned around to get a better look at her friend.
With all that had happened, Luna was glad to see that Twilight and her adoptive family were mostly none worse for wear. Red eyes that had most certainly cried were shared all around, but each pony seemed to be acting in accordance with their own reactions.
Velvet and Night Light were obviously relieved to have reconciled with Twilight so quickly. Their postures were more relaxed than the others and it was evident that the revelation of Twilight’s adoption had made them very, very tired. Though they smiled and supported Twilight unconditionally, the dark bags beneath their eyes told Luna that they desired rest and that they had had enough excitement for one night.
Shining and Cadance wore different reactions to the recent events according to their own perspectives. From the way he carried himself, Shining was shocked to find out that Twilight was not his blood-sibling but from his stiff posture and determined stance, Luna could see that the information didn’t change how he felt about his adoptive sister. Even now, Luna observed as Shining carefully eyed Twilight as if afraid she might get hurt. It was evident that he still had that big-sibling protective instinct that was hard-wired into older siblings. Luna knew how strong such bonds were from first-hoof experiences with Celestia. Cadance, on the other-hoof, seemed absolutely delighted. No doubt because of her empathy magic she could feel the love the Armors had for each other, and was infinitely glad the revelation had not shaken that foundation of love. While she and Shining stood side by side, she seemed excited as if to see what other events might transpire, only for love to conquer all.
Spike was perched up on Twilight’s back, like the dragon-riders of old, except reversed. He smiled and seemed very happy. Luna wondered if he was privately glad that he was not the only adoptive member of the Armor family, and the thought that he and Twilight were adoptees together probably brought a large amount of peace to his mind.
And then there was Twilight.
Her friend was the exact polar opposite of her adoptive family. While the others were tired and relieved, Luna’s friend was revitalized and driven. Twilight was producing this fierce aura that she carried whenever she was faced with a problem she was determined to solve. Luna had witnessed this phenomena several times when Twilight confronted such obstacles as Sombra and Tirek. It was almost scary how single-minded Twilight could be, it was as if she was once given a task to accomplish, or a mystery to solve, nothing and nopony could stop her.
Quickly and without even breaking a stride, Twilight strove past Luna and Celestia and walked firmly towards her friends behind them.
They rose up to greet her, happy to see her in a better state than in which she had departed. Luna watched patiently from afar as Twilight relayed what had happened, and was pleased to see her friends support her. Next to her, Princess Cadance took her place on Luna’s left while Celestia sat silently on her right. The rest of the Armors walked with Twilight towards the mirror on the other side of the room, like moths attracted to a lantern.
“What are they doing?” Luna whispered to Celestia, eyeing the large mirror curiously and Twilight’s sudden fascination with it.
“Twilight is going to try and find out who her real parents are by looking into the scrying mirror.” Cadance answered excitedly, bouncing with energy.
Luna pursed her lips but nodded in reluctant approval. “While I support this venture, I am afraid it will only bring Twilight sadness.”
Celestia’s ears flickered in Luna’s direction and she frowned a little at her sister. “What do you mean sister?” Cadance grimaced up at her curiously as well at Luna’s statement.
“Well,” Luna began frankly. “surely whoever her parents are must be dead. Twilight has been a princess for over a year now and nopony has come forth as of yet claiming to have given birth to her. And even before her coronation Twilight was famous for her many adventures and triumphs. If her parents were alive, they would have come forth by now and claimed her. I know not of any sane mare that would not want to be known as the mother of Twilight Sparkle, the hero of Equestria.”
Celestia pursed her lips, and looked away from Luna and back to the gaggle of ponies on the opposite end of the dining hall. Luna could see Twilight talk firmly with her friends and family as she examined the mirror critically, probably trying to figure out how to work the scrying mirror’s magic.
Cadance was not so easily dissuaded as Celestia. “Don’t be such a Negative-Nancy Aunt Luna!” She reproached sterfully. “Perhaps they were scared to reveal themselves or didn’t recognize her. Twilight Sparkle isn’t exactly a rare name. I mean look at Velvet, even her first name is Twilight!”
“My point still stands.” Luna asserted. She would not put up false hopes, though she wished it were otherwise. “There can’t be that many ponies that share Twilight’s exact age, exact coat color, and even exact race before she ascended for there to be more than one! If her parents are alive, they would have already come forth already and revealed themselves.”
Cadance snorted in disbelief and stared away from Luna, while Celestia said nothing.
That’s odd. Usually ‘Tia is more talkative.
Her musings were interrupted however, as she noticed that Twilight was quickly approaching the three aloof princesses.
“Princess.” Twilight said, obviously addressing Celestia. “Are you familiar with using scrying mirrors?”
Celestia seemed to mull it over a little before speaking reluctantly. “A little, mostly from when Starswirl and I use to experiment with them and mirrors like them a long time ago.”
Twilight nodded and seemed to file away that bit of information in that remarkable memory of hers. “Can you help me then? I’m trying to use the mirror in order to find out who my birth parents are.”
Celestia, her face calm and neutral, nodded her head slowly. “Of course. I would be glad to help.”
And with that, Celestia and Twilight walked side by side as they approached the scrying mirror, Luna and Cadance following close behind. When they got there, the Armors and Twilight’s friends had formed a rough semi-circle around the mirror so they could let Twilight and Celestia have some space as they examined it. Luna, along with Cadance, sat down patiently with the other ponies as they watched the pair look into the mirror.
Celestia, calm as ever, pointed out to Twilight the frame surrounding the mirror. “The runes along the frame help stabilize the enchantment so that it can discern the images and information it picks up from the magic fluctuations in Equestria’s innate magical energy. Usually, it has to be near a great source of magical energy in order for it to work properly and without error. Canterlot Castle is but one such place, and so is the Crystal Spire in the Crystal Empire. The old castle in the Everfree would probably have the best connection, since it sits right above the Tree of Harmony. Castle Aurora probably has similar properties since it came from the Tree.”
Twilight had been nodding her head all along. Luna had to stifle a giggle, despite their equality in in status and power, she could easily see that Celestia and Twilight could still fall easily into their old mentor-student relationship.
Luna knew this constant mentor-like affection irritated Celestia. Though ‘Tia had never voiced her displeasure to Luna, the moon princess could easily see that Celestia had hoped that their equal standing as princesses would lead to something akin to a strong friendship or family. Not that Twilight didn’t love Celestia, that was undeniable, it was just that Celestia seemed to want something more than the bond they had of master and apprentice.
Snapping her attention back to the scene in front of her, Luna shook her head and flicked her ears as Twilight spoke once more.
Twilight pointed at the runes at the base of the mirror. “I recognize those symbols as ones used to recognize the caster of a spell, like rune circles when placing a unicorn enchantment. I assume I need to place my hooves there in order for it to recognize me.”
Celestia nodded, a quick and almost bird-like motion. “That is correct. This mirror was built for earth ponies and by earth ponies, and so the owners of this mirror would have to use their hooves in order to channel their magic in it. This is the same for Alicorns that want to use it.”
“What then? Do I cast a spell or chant an incantation? I’ve only had earth pony magic for a year and I still haven’t found out all its applications.”
“No.” Celestia answered shortly, shaking her head a little as she gazed down at Twilight. “You ask it. Earth Ponies don’t use their magic like unicorns, as you well know, so they would have to fashion the mirror so that it would respond to verbal commands.”
Twilight nodded in understanding and approached the mirror, visibly steeling herself as she prepared to confront the mirror’s hidden mysteries. Celestia stepped back and took a spot next to Luna to watch Twilight. Her face was the very epitome of calm and neutrality, an odd face to pull in this situation, Luna thought. She would think that her sister would be more encouraging and supportive of her prized apprentice in trying to find her birth parents.
Luna put away her thoughts for the moment as irrelevant anyway, and instead watched intently as Twilight placed her hooves on the mirror’s base. The frame seem to shine with an inner brightness and the mirror’s surface shimmered a little upon Twilight making contact.
And they waited. Nopony seemed to breathe, or otherwise move. For all intents and purposes, they could have been statues.
Twilight stared at her reflection intently and seemed to wage an inner debate with herself. No doubt trying to decide on what to ask or command. But then she took a deep breath and gazed bravely into the glass.
“Show me my mother.”
As soon as the words finished departing from her lips, the mirror glowed fiercely with a bright inner-light and the surface swirled in a mix match of colors and images, like a whirlpool of different colored paint. It was slightly dizzying for Luna, and probably doubly so for Twilight. But instead of looking away, Twilight tried to capture what the mirror was doing as if afraid she would miss the image of her mother. In the heart of the swirling colors though, Luna started to see a scene being formed and brought to the surface of the mirror like an approaching train. Twilight and the others stared intently at it as it fast approached.
Luna peered closely, squinting her eyes to get a better look. It was still very small but she could make out a few colors and the vague shape of a pony. Pink, white, and—
SSSSSSSCCCCCCRRRRRRREEEEEEEEECCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHH!!!!!
Luna covered her ears at the unexpected and very loud sound. She winced in pain as the noise was akin to Tirek clawing a chalkboard. All around her, ponies also covered their ears with their hooves or wings and tried to shake off the painful screech.
Through the daze of pain, Luna blearily saw Twilight rear back in surprise and pain as the bloody sound assaulted her eardrums, violently shutting her eyes as hooves clamped her ears in an effort to suppress the piercing wail.
And just as it had come, it was gone. The silence almost abnormal in the absence of the screech.
Luna grimaced back at the mirror as she tried to decipher what had happened, and as she did, Twilight did the same.
The mirror was now a puzzle of different images thrown about in a random and undecipherable order scattered across the reflective surface. It was as if somepony had taken the mirror, shattered it, and then put it back together into the same shape, but now all the pieces of the image were in no discernible shape of recognition. She suspected it was still one image, but broken as to be unrecognizable to all that looked at it.
Twilight desperately put her hooves on the mirror and looked feverishly at the mess of cumulated images, her face drawn up in horror.
“What…What is this?” She cried. “What’s happened?”
Luna stepped forward and joined Twilight in front of the mirror, her horn scanning it for an enchantment. Behind her, she heard the doors on the far side of the room open and close, and the recognizable clip-clop of the iron shoes her Night Watch used.
“Your majesties.” Luna recognized the voice as belonging to Noctis, her captain. “I heard a terrible noise come from inside, is everything alright?”
“Calm yourself Captain.” Luna asserted calmly, still scanning the mirror. “Nothing dire has happened, but please stick around. We may have questions that need answered.
“Yes your majesty.”
Twilight looked intently back and forth between the mirror and Luna. “Well?” she asked. “What is it? Was the mirror like this to begin with? Is it broken?”
“Your questions would best be answered if they were given to me one at a time.” Luna told Twilight gently. She then finished her spell and Luna stepped back, eying the mirror warily.
“Captain?” She addressed Noctis. Luna needed some answers from her captain before she voiced her theory to Twilight.
“Yes?”
“How many ponies have been in here since after our dinner with the foreign dignitaries?”
Noctis was silent for a moment, and Luna could see his face scrunch up in thought as he mentally crunched the information and numbers in his head. After a short pause, he spoke reluctantly, his face grim.
“Hard to say, there hasn’t been any sentries guarding anything in this part of the castle, and the room has been open since your dinner concluded with the foreigners.” He paused again, letting out a deep sigh. “The best I can guess is perhaps 800 to 1200 ponies. Perhaps more.”
Luna frowned firmly as Twilight sat heavily down next to her, the former thirsty for further information on the mirror’s mysterious condition.
“Why do you ask this Luna?” Twilight asked quietly.
“Because the mirror was fine when Celestia and I scanned it after Tragulidae gave it to you. And the enchantment that has been placed on it is a cypher spell.”
Twilight shook her head, not understanding. “I don’t know that one, and I’ve actually never heard of it.”
Luna opened her mouth to explain but stopped as her sister spoke up finally.
“It’s an old spell Twilight.” Celestia said, walking up behind them. “Not one used very much anymore since these mirrors are not as common as they once were. It’s actually very simple, but difficult to undo, and doesn’t require much power. What it does is that instead of completely blocking an image on the mirror, it divides the image into thousands of pieces and displays them randomly across the surface, rendering it unreadable. The mirror has defensive magic designed to counteract enchantments blocking images, but this spell doesn’t block it and instead rearranges it.”
Twilight nodded along, disappointment dripping clearly from her face. “Does it target all the images, no matter who is using it?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so.” Celestia told her firmly. Luna didn’t bother to confirm her sister’s statement. Though she was not as familiar with the spell as much as Celestia obviously was, Luna could tell that such an enchantment would be almost impossible to target a certain pony or image.
Twilight sat down and put a hoof beneath her chin, thinking quickly. “So that means somepony between the time you two scanned it and now enchanted the mirror so that nopony could read it.” She shook her head despondently. “That doesn’t seem plausible. Nopony should have been able to predict that this mirror was coming tonight, and shouldn’t have had the preparation for casting such an old spell. And then why? Why would somepony not want anypony to use it?”
Celestia didn’t say anything immediately, so Luna spoke up.
“Perhaps somepony didn’t like the idea that one of the princesses could look anywhere at almost any given time in the present and view events. Criminals, conspirators, and just plain ponies wanting their privacy could have cast the spell. We can narrow it down a little, as only a unicorn could cast a spell like this. But that still leaves several hundred ponies.” A thought struck Luna suddenly. “You didn’t by chance post a guest registry for ponies to sign as they arrived did you?” Luna asked Twilight.
Twilight shook her head despairingly. “I did for those ponies I invited. But it’s an Open House, so anypony can come. I didn’t want them to feel like only a select few could come so I made it so that anypony in Equestria could come if they wanted to.”
“Ponyfeathers.” Luna swore. “Then there is almost no way for us to catch the perpetrator.”
“Is there any good news?” Twilight asked the two eldest alicorns. “Can we undo the spell?”
“Not really.” Luna answered frankly. “This particular spell is called a cypher spell because when cast, the castors magic forms a key in which to lift the spell but if another pony attempts to lift the spell, like to pick a lock, the magical lock will rearrange itself and to confuse almost any attempt to unlock it. It would be best not to attempt to unlock it right now until we have a better way of solving this puzzle.”
Luna cocked her head to the side. “But fortunately, the cypher spell has a time limit. The energy infused into it will only last so long before fading away and then the mirror will perform perfectly again.”
Twilight stared sternly at the mirror, as if it’s refusal to cooperate has insulted her. “How long then? Were you able to tell from your scan?”
“Yes. A great deal more energy than usual was put into this one. Perhaps two months…maybe three.”
“Three months?!” Twilight groaned. “Well that’s just great!”
Twilight then stomped off to talk with her friends and the Armor family, leaving Luna and Celestia at the mirror. The other ponies in the room had been listening intently to their conversation but now the Armors tried to comfort and help Twilight. Ponies began chatting in different groups behind them as Twilight and her adoptive parents delved deeper into conversation.
Luna looked up at her sister beside her, as they stood in front of the enchanted mirror. Luna could see that Celestia was looking very tired, and sad for some reason.
“There, there ‘Tia.” Luna tried to soothe her, patting her gently on the back with a hoof. “I’m sure we’ll find a way to lift the spell soon. There’s no reason to fret.”
But much to Luna’s surprise, Celestia brushed off her soothing words and shook her head wearily, her wings drooping at her sides..
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” She said quietly. Celestia then turned around and headed back towards the door into the hallway.
“Where are you going?” Luna called after her, still sitting in front of the mirror.
“To bed.” Celestia said simply, her eyelids drooping with exhaustion. Even her mane seemed exhausted, dragging itself behind Celestia instead of billowing in the cosmic wind. “I am so, so tired and I can’t…I don’t want to do anything else tonight.”
And then she was gone, leaving a very confused sister behind.
Luna shook her head in frustration, she had never seen her sister have such a lack support or energy for a mystery such as this before, especially when it concerned Twilight. Turning around and examining the mirror critically again, Luna wracked her brains for why, how, and when somepony would tamper with the mirror.
It wasn’t like these mirrors were very well known. The chances of somepony knowing about one, finding out Twilight had received one, having the ability to cast the spell, and then actually doing it were very, very, extremely small.
Luna just couldn’t quiet put her hoof on it. She could tell that something sat right on the edge of her awareness, an answer that was just beyond her reach. But for the life of her, she couldn’t figure it out.
With all the facts stacked against her, Luna just couldn’t come up with a plausible explanation. In fact, if she didn’t know any better, she would have thought that the only ponies that could have known about the mirror and have the ability to cast the old spell would have been either herself or…Celestia…
Luna’s line of thought screeched to a halt, and she reexamined what she had just pictured in her mind.
No. It wasn’t possible, and it should have never have crossed her mind in the first place. Luna berated herself for the ridiculous line of thought her musings had taken. She should never doubt her sister and think Celestia of all ponies could have cast the spell on the mirror. What reason could she possibly have that would drive Celestia to enchant Twilight’s mirror? The only thing she could think of was that ‘Tia had been jealous of Twilight trying to figure out who her birth parents are.
Celestia would do everything to help Twilight, and to think otherwise is to court foolishness.
Luna smiled, chuckling to herself at the absurdity of her thoughts. She could not see Celestia try to keep such knowledge from Twilight for any reason. Luna would have had to have been deaf and blind not to notice just how much her sister cared for the young alicorn.
Why, Twilight is like the daughter Celestia never had!
…
…
Luna blinked.
…
…
Her blood then ran cold as her thoughts began forming a different picture, and her heart beat slowly, thundering in her ears.
No…It’s…It’s not possible…
But as if against her will, Luna’s neck creaked like a rusty gate as she turned her head to stare at the small lavender alicorn.
Twilight was now discussing things with her friends, a frown firmly plastered to her face and her wings ruffling in agitation. So deep in discussion she was with them, Twilight did not notice the disbelieving stare Luna was giving her.
Now that Luna thought about it, there were several things Twilight and Celestia shared. She had known Celestia since they were fillies together, and that meant she knew the younger Celestia better than anypony alive.
Luna realized that Twilight…that Twilight was a mirror of that young Celestia.
It was uncanny. They were both exceedingly intelligent, wise beyond their years, and with a magical might that was unchallenged save for Luna and Cadance. Luna remembered when she and her sister had ascended to the throne all those years ago. Celestia had been so nervous back then, so scared to make mistakes, constantly seeking the approval of their mentors, Starswirl the Bearded and Clover the Clever, just like Twilight had been before her own coronation.
They had both wielded the Element of Magic, and after the incident with the vines in the Everfree Forest, Twilight and Celestia were the only ponies that Luna knew of who had ever wielded all six elements by themselves.
Even more disconcerting was that Twilight had a lot of quirks that were similar to Celestia’s, and before now Luna had thought it was because Twilight had practically grown up beneath Celestia’s wing.
But perhaps, there was a different…more maternal reason.
Then, there were the physical similarities. If Luna had not been looking for them, she doubted she would have noticed them and put two and two together before now. On top of that, it was hard to compare the smallest and youngest alicorn to the largest and oldest, but Luna had known the young Celestia. If Luna took Twilight and dumped white paint on her, plastered Celestia’s sun over Twilight’s stars, and then dyed Twilight’s purple mane pink before fluffing it a little, the two would have been twins.
In fact, now that she thought about it, the pink stripe in Twilight’s mane was offlly similar to Celestia’s mane when she wasn’t powering it with magic. And like Celestia’s, Twilight’s mane was parted into different colors.
Then there was their body build. Cadance was similar to Luna in that regard, while Twilight shared a lot more body shape to Celestia.
Although their wings were quite different, but that hardly mattered since Luna could see that Twilight’s wings were similar to her own, and she was Celestia’s sister.
And then, there was their eyes.
Celestia and Twilight had the same magenta eyes.
Luna didn’t know how she didn’t see it before, she must have been blind or stupid.
Or deliberately deceived.
There was no denying it anymore, Twilight was Celestia’s daughter, Celestia was Twilight’s mother.
And Luna was Twilight’s unsuspecting aunt.
“I see you’ve finally figured it out. Took you long enough.” Said a wiry familiar voice.
Luna jumped, she had thought she was alone. But it would take more than a thousand years to forget that voice, or its owner. She looked around hesitantly, trying to find the source of the voice. The other ponies were oblivious to Luna’s revelation however, and they seemed to have also not heard the voice that had startled her.
“Nuh uh. Up here Moonbutt.”
Luna felt a claw rap her skull and she immediately looked towards the ceiling, but she still didn’t spot the trickster.
“Nope. Bit lower.” Another rap on top of her head.
Luna rolled her eyes until they almost disappeared into her forehead. She scrunched her teal eyes in annoyance and glared at her black crown, which looked back down at her.
“Discord? Are you in my…crown?” She asked the crown with eyes.
“Pfffftt! Don’t be silly! I am your crown!”
Luna quickly suppressed the sudden urge to face-hoof.
“Then where is my real crown?” Luna asked, annoyed.
“In the bottom drawer of your night stand. I simply transformed myself into your crown so I could get front row seat tonight.” The crown made a munching noise that sounded suspiciously like popcorn.
“You’ve been sitting on top of my head this whole time?!”
“Of course I did.” Munch, Munch, Munch. “How else was I going to go to the ball?”
“I thought Twilight invited you.” Luna grimaced as a discarded popcorn kernel bounced off her nose.
“She did, but where’s the fun in going like everypony else and dressing up all fancy? Besides, I even did get dressed! I’m fit for royalty!”
“You’re a crown.” Luna said flatly.
“There’s nothing more royal.” Discord snarked.
“Point taken.” Luna conceded. She then lowered her voice. “So…you knew Twilight was Celestia’s daughter?” She eyed the crowd of ponies several yards away from her warily, afraid they might overhear their conversation.
“Don’t worry, they can’t hear you talk to your crown. And yes, I did know.” Discord said smugly. Luna didn’t know how it was possible, but her crown seemed to sit up on her head proudly.
“How? I doubt ‘Tia told you.” Then her own statement sent a pang of disappointment and betrayal through her, and Luna wilted a little. “She didn’t even tell me…”
“Well, it’s simple really.” Discord continued, oblivious to Luna’s sudden sadness. “I tasted the rainbow.”
“You what?” Despite herself, Luna couldn’t ponder and wallow in Celestia’s betrayal while Discord played word games with her.
“Uugghh! Do I have to explain everything?!” Discord whined, Luna’s crown shaking slightly. “Look Moonbutt, every time I got blasted with the Elements I tasted it, for kicks. Well all that sticky power of harmony is channeled through whoever is wearing the princessy magical tiara of doom! And each user of Magic has its own taste. Oddly enough, Celestia’s and Twilight’s rainbows tasted the same. Different kinds of bubblegum and raspberry with a hint of vanilla. That was my first clue.”
“And your second?”
“I had an interesting conversation with myself while imprisoned after I tasted Twilight’s rainbow. I was a goody-two shoes mind you, and I had my doubts. But time and space paradoxes are like chicken and dumplings with a side of crunchy blue-boxes to me, so I rolled with it.”
“I am very lost.”
“Are we? I thought we were in Twilight’s castle?” Discord said. Her crown then produced a large periscope through which Discord’s yellow and red eyes shone through as it peered about the room.
“Right.” Luna face-hoofed. “You talked to yourself? And that’s how you found out Celestia was Twilight’s mother?”
“Kinda. We pieced it together you see. I told me my experiences on this side of the timeline, and I told me my experiences in my version of reality. It was incredibly fascinating, I couldn’t stop yammering about Twilight’s father. Meh meh meh meh meh meh! And then I would whoosh back to my flawed version of Equestria saying, ‘Captain Good-Guy, Away!’”
“My head hurts.” Luna groaned, rubbing her head with a hoof.
“It’s me isn’t it?” Discord lamented, and a tissue dabbed her crown as if it were crying. “Being reformed has done nothing good to my digestive system. Pretty soon I’ll be as round as Sunbutt before she squeezed out Twilight.”
Luna shook her head and pressed on to her next question, her curiosity piqued.
“Well,” Luna huffed in exasperation. “can you still talk to this…uh…other you?”
“Hhhmm.” Discord pondered. “You know I haven’t tried since the Elements repaired the space time continuum, just give me a moment.”
A small pause, leaving Luna to ponder over Discord’s jumbled words.
Ring Ring Ring, were the sounds her crown emanated as it shook. Luna raised her eyebrows as it gave a long beep, and then very tinny female voice spoke.
“We’re sorry, but the number you are trying to reach no longer exists in this level of reality and/or alternate timeline. Press 1 if you want to try again. For more information on Starswirl the Bearded’s Magical Mirror catalogues, press 2. If you are unsatisfactory with this service, press 3. If you are interested in purchasing fur—“
Her crown beeped again before Luna heard Discord grumble.
“Stupid voice machines, and there goes my last quarter…”
Luna felt an odd mixture of confusion and disappointment flash through her. She quickly dismissed the feelings and pressed on to a more troubling issue. It was strange to her that Discord, since he had known Twilight’s true heritage, had not caused trouble using the valuable information.
“So why didn’t you say something to Twilight about Celestia before and after you were reformed?” Luna asked pointedly.
“First rule of Chaos: Disharmony is best sown over long periods of time, like tomato soup cooking over a lava oven. And then the rule before that is that there are no rules. Go figure.”
“That didn’t answer my question.” Luna growled, her patience starting to run thin.
“Oh I did answer your question,” Discord said sagely. “just not in the way you expected. But anyway, I thought if I let the secret simmer, it would explode in their faces at just the right moment.”
“And now?” Luna pressed.
Discord paused, looking to all the world to be Luna’s dainty obsidian crown.
“Fluttershy did reform me, truly.” His voice had lost its trademark snark. “But it wasn’t until Tirek that I finally and fully understood what friendship meant.” Discord said, but then let out a fierce growl. “I hate it that the oversized hunk of goat took my magic! He chewed it up and then Twilight made him spit it back out! Do you know what regurgitated magic tastes like! It was like maregolian barbeque dipped in the burning rivers of Tarturus! I couldn’t use my tongue for days it was so spicy!”
Luna shook her head, trying to banish the repugnant imagery his words conjured and tried to steer the conversation back on track. “We’re getting off topic.”
“Oh right!” Discord exclaimed, the crown making the noise of snapping claws. “After Tirek, I knew I couldn’t do it for the same reason you won’t tell Twilight.”
That sounded offlly ominous. “And why is that? ‘Tia hasn’t told her and Twilight needs to know. It’s her right to know who her parents are.”
“Ah, but here’s the clincher. Twilight does have a right to know, but whose responsibility is that? Yours Auntie Moonbutt?”
Luna wilted, realizing the truth in the trickster’s words. “It’s Celestia’s.” But she was still determined despite the warning. “But she still hasn’t told Twilight yet.”
“That’s right, and Sunbutt better hurry up and spill the beans too. There’s almost nothing that can stop a Starbutt on a quest for knowledge. Trust me, I’ve been there. Got the t-shirt too.”
Luna nodded, Discord was right on the money. It was a well-known fact that Twilight was a fierce researcher, especially when something of this magnitude troubled her this deeply.
“You are right of course. Now that Twilight is looking, it is only a matter of time until she discovers the truth.” She picked up Discord/her crown and nodded her head to him/it. “Thank you Discord, you have been most helpful.”
The crown didn’t answer, so Luna shook it a little, frowning at the lack of a response. “Discord?”
A claw tapped her shoulder. Luna turned around only to crane her neck up to gaze up at the much taller draconeques. Discord was wearing an outfit that was ballerina for the bottom half and tuxedo for the top, complete with a rotating disco ball on top of his head. He had high heels on his feet and his face was decorated like a clown, complete with a large red rubber ball on the end of his snout.
“Luna?” He asked curiously, his eyes twinkling with mirth. “Why are you talking to your crown?”
Luna looked sternly from Discord then back to her crown, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Then she gave up trying to understand it and firmly plopped the crown back onto her head. She turned to face Discord and gave him a small, but genuine smile. Luna would have probably been more enthusiastic if she were feeling better; but having her sister deceive her over Twilight’s true relation to her hurt Luna deeply.
“Thank you Discord, you have a wonderful night. I must find my ‘dear’ sister and talk with her.”
Discord opened his fanged mouth to reply but a curious voice behind Luna pre-empted him.
“Talk to her about what?”
Luna froze, but then quickly relaxed her posture so as not to signal anything or look suspicious. Turning away from Discord slowly, Luna gave a hesitant smile to the pony surrounding her inner turmoil.
Luna was deeply conflicted and wasn’t sure how to proceed. On one side, she resented Celestia for not trusting her with the truth about Twilight’s relation to them. Luna didn’t like feeling so bitter towards her sister, it reminded her of the dark feelings she had possessed, though not nearly as strong, before becoming Nightmare Moon. Inside, Luna felt betrayed that Celestia didn’t trust her enough to tell her she had a niece, and it burned her that her trust was so unvalued and belittled.
Luna wanted to tell Twilight. She could see that Twilight was disappointed and hurt by not knowing, just by the way Twilight looked tired and frustrated. Luna could tell her, right now, that Celestia was her mother and end this pointless search.
But Luna had to be honest with herself. If she did tell Twilight, Luna’s feelings of betrayal and anger towards Celestia would only make the reveal painful and bitter. Also, Luna recognized that it was Celestia’s responsibility to reveal it to Twilight. It pained her to keep the deception, especially from Twilight of all ponies. The lavender alicorn had done so much for Luna over the last few years, and now she was forced to deceive her.
Before Luna had discovered her familiar connection to Twilight, she had already considered her to be family, like a little-sister in fact. Being in the exclusive club of alicorn princesses meant that they would share a great many things together. Finding out that Twilight was in fact her niece shouldn’t change how Luna felt towards Twilight, since she already loved Twilight as family. However, now Luna was in the awkward position of deceiving Twilight further or revealing the truth, neither of which she was inclined to do with her current disposition.
Luna inwardly cursed herself as she decided to maintain the deception, at least until she got answers from her sister.
“Ah, Twilight.” Luna said as if greeting an old friend, not her recently discovered niece. “I was talking to Discord about…um…”
“Gummy Bears.” Discord added helpfully.
Luna grimaced a little. “Right…uh…gummy bears. We were talking about them because…because…”
“Because Luna has an incurable sweet tooth. If not for her workout, she would be all flabby and pudgy like an old pillow. But thankfully for her, raising and lowering the moon every night burns a lot of calories.” Discord smirked, giving Luna an encouraging nudge with his claw.
Twilight didn’t seem to be making any sense of the conversation. “And what does this have to do with Princess Celestia?”
“Um…” Luna searched furiously for a reasonable explanation.
But as always, Discord was only too happy to lend a helping claw.
“Because Sunbutt is a notorious sweet hoarder.” He leaned down and whispered closely so that only Luna and Twilight could hear him. “Legend has it that the vaults beneath Canterlot are filled to the brim with cakes that would make Pinkie’s cupcakes taste like spinach.”
“Oh.” Twilight said, blinking furiously. “I…uh…right.” She finished lamely.
“Better believe it Twilight.” Discord stated bluntly. “Oh, and the moon is made of cheese.”
Luna frowned. “No it’s not.”
Discord snapped his claws. “It is now.”
Luna face-hoofed again, groaning in frustration.
“Right…” Twilight said carefully, as if a ticking time bomb sat in front of her. “I’ll just…um…go talk to Applejack…over there…about stuff.” She then scurried off and left the two of them alone again.
Discord nudged Luna firmly, pushing her towards the door.
“Go on, I distracted her for you. That won’t distract her for long though, eventually she’ll come back with Pinkie Pie and ask what kind of cheese the moon is. It’s swiss by the way, with a blue tinge to it. I aged it just right so it’s the good kind of stinky cheese.”
Luna nodded but grimaced slightly.
“You…uh…will change it back, right?” She asked hopefully.
“Probably.” Discord said, munching on some popcorn. “What good is the moon being cheese if nopony can dip nachos in it?”
Luna started towards the door, intent on finally confronting her sister. “Right. Thank you Discord, you’ve been most…helpful?”
“You’re welcome, now go do some sisterly bonding/fighting/hugging/forgiving thing or whatever it is that siblings do. I have a cow to fetch.”
Despite herself, Luna glanced back at him, confusion reigning supreme.
“A cow? What in Equestria for?”
“To jump over the moon with of course! It's the only way to travel! Now all I need to do is find a big enough trampoline and earn a doctorate in physics at Canterlot University. Now go on! Scat!”
And with a final shove, Discord pushed Luna through the doors out into the empty hallway, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
Shaking off Discord’s antics, Luna straightened her crown and reorganized her ruffled feathers. Gaining a sense of where she was, Luna turned around and headed towards the doors Luna recognized as the ones Twilight had pointed at to them as Celestia’s guest room for the night.
Stopping outside the doors, Luna suppressed her anger and steeled herself for the coming confrontation. She didn’t know why Celestia hid the truth from Twilight, but she was going to find out. Reaching out with a silver hoof, Luna rapped firmly on the thick crystal door.
To her surprise, instead of the door refusing to budge, it opened up to reveal the bedroom inside. Luna poked her head in hesitantly, disturbed slightly by the lack or resistance. Her ears picked up a faint sound that crushed her heart.
Celestia was crying.