//------------------------------// // Questions and Answers // Story: Mother // by Foals Errand //------------------------------// Celestia opened her mouth before frowning as her horn glowed. Twilight cleared her throat as the gold magic massaged her throat. "Go ahead, Twilight. Say something." Twilight licked her lips. "What exactly did you just... oh! Thank Celestia!" Celestia smiled. "Sorry, Twilight. While you sounded adorable as you were. I think it’s important that we all be able to understand each other." She glanced at the floor and nodded. "One thousand and three years ago, I was forced to banish my dear sister Luna to the moon. Though I had wished for other options, the Nightmare within her was far too powerful. I was injured in the battle between myself and the nightmare as you witnessed yesterday, Twilight. What you did not see was that I collapsed into unconsciousness not long after the spell was completed.” Celestia felt her sister tremble beside her. A quick glance told volumes of the discomfort displayed on her face. Oh, Luna.... She leaned over, giving a gentle nuzzle to reassure her. “Luna, we’ve discussed this at length; I do not hold you accountable for anything that Nightmare Moon did. That includes any injuries I sustained while in battle with her.” Luna hesitated, obviously wanting to say something to the contrary, but as she opened her mouth Celestia placed a single feather over her lips. “No. Please, Luna. I have fully forgiven you, little sister. Fully.” Luna closed her eyes then smiled with a nod. They would talk further later, but for now she was just pleased that Celestia seemed to be telling the entire story. With that thought Luna wiggled herself closer to Celestia’s side. If Twilight doesn’t… if she can’t… Luna gulped, fighting back her tears. I’m going to need Tia now more than ever, then. Celestia, as if sensing Luna’s trepidation, blanketed her with a large white wing. “Now, where was I?” Twilight glanced over at where the two sisters laid. They seemed to be trying to comfort each other. This was not that surprising, however. Even two years later, Luna still seemed to retreat into a near total depression when anypony brought up Nightmare Moon. Well, except on Nightmare Night, but that is a special circumstance. On one hoof, Twilight desperately wanted to hear the history of that night. The small glimpse she had gotten of that night the afternoon before was just enough to make her want to know more. Unfortunately, that day, even the years after the banishment of Nightmare Moon, had been seemingly lost to history. However, on the other hoof, Twilight really had no idea how the banishment or anything to do with it affected her, or how it explains why she had woken up as a foal. “You had just collapsed unconscious, Princess,” Twilight said after a moment of debating with herself, curiosity regarding history winning over wanting to know exactly why she was a foal. She’ll get back to it, I’m certain. After all, she did promise to tell the full story. Celestia smiled at her former student and soon to be recognized niece. “Ah yes, thank you, Twilight. Well, of course I was not told of how it occurred until after the fact, but I woke up some hours later lying on a bed in the Palace Infirmary.” Celestia closed her eyes and was able to recall every second of waking up in that room. The stone walls surrounding her having been decorated with tapestries of both Luna’s and her own cutie marks. A young mare had been replacing a wet cloth on her brow, but as her eyes opened she had been startled into dropping it. To this day I still wonder if it was out of surprise or fear... “Moments after I awoke, my guard captain was at my side. They had seen the final moments of the battle between myself and the Nightmare. They had brought the kingdom’s finest healer when they found it impossible to rouse me.” Celestia shook her head. “I carefully explained to my captain what had happened, though I…” She sighed and then continued speaking. “I may have doctored a few facts, such as the part when I told him that a demon had been able to infect Luna due to her depression that no pony loved her night.” Celestia laid her head on her forehooves as she considered the best way to continue. “It was about an hour later that I heard the scream. My ears whipped around but nopony else seemed to hear it as they tended to my injuries. Luckily for me, they were minor to what they could have been. Cuts and bruises mostly.” ‘Along with four broken ribs, a broken radius in your right wing and a broken tibia in your left leg.’ The healer had informed me, upon noting the injuries that he had already treated. However, she did not wish to reveal this part. “For a few moments I considered the possibility that since only I could hear the scream, it was just my imagination, so I settled back and tried to sip the broth they had brought me. As the healer left my room, though, I heard it again... The scream. It was different this time, however. Previously, it had seemed to be a scream of pain. This time, it was of pain and horror.” Celestia felt her ears fall back, remembering her greatest fear that perhaps the Elements had malfunctioned... That her sister may have been dying. With the sun as my witness, I fear I will never forget the screams I heard that night. “The spell to teleport long distances is... difficult, even under normal circumstances, but in that moment I did not care. That scream was coming from the moon, and it wasn’t one of anger or hatred. My heart had sunk at the idea that Luna was in pain, so I gathered my remaining strength and promptly sent myself to the moon. It… was not easy. I knew I only had a brief amount of time there until I would be called back. I simply had to hope that if Luna was in danger, the Elements would allow me to bring her home.” “You mean you could have brought Princess Luna back at any time without the Elements? Then I don’t understand! Why did you keep your sister on the moon? How could you?” Spike asked, his voice almost breaking from confusion. Celestia gave Luna a light squeeze before turning to Spike. “I was not able to bring Luna home for a few reasons, Spike. The main one being that she was still infected, shall we say, with the Nightmare. The other reason was much simpler and much more painful—the Elements had chained Luna to the moon. You do not understand the pain and sorrow I felt in seeing her when I arrived.” Luna pressed closer to Celestia while whimpering, not wanting to remember the chains which had held her during that first century. Once she had broken the chains they had slowly released, allowing her to explore. But the memory of being unable to move... It was something she desired to never go through again. Celestia nuzzled the back of Luna’s neck to calm her before sighing. “So when I arrived on the moon, the first thing I noticed was the fact that Nightmare Moon was chained to it. At first glance that was all it seemed to be, but I had to know for certain. I took a step forward and noticed that she was nosing something which was lying on the moon’s surface. I could hear her speaking. It was quiet, but so gentle, I… it terrified me.” Twilight felt her breath catch as she saw both Celestia and Luna looking directly at her. Whatever was about to be revealed to her was… “Lying near Nightmare Moon’s teats was a newborn foal. It wasn’t moving or breathing. For all intents and purposes, it appeared to have been a stillbirth.” Celestia paused, remembering how much her heart hurt listening to Luna whisper to her foal. “She was asking it to open its eyes, to take a breath... to stay with her.” Celestia heard a small whimper come from Luna and gave her another quick nuzzle. She gazed directly into Twilight’s eyes. “The foal was beautiful. It had a lavender coat and the tiniest fluffy wings. Its mane was a dark shade of blue with a purple and pink streak, and the stubbiest little horn.” Twilight felt dizzy as Celestia told her how her niece or nephew had appeared. The description of that foal sounds like… but that’s impossible! “It was a little filly. My daughter,” Luna whispered finally. “I was so close to giving birth when the Nightmare finally overwhelmed me. The shock of landing on the moon put me into labor. It was so painful and I was so alone. More than anything, I wanted for my sister. I was so sorry that I would have given anything... anything to have her with me, to be home. But it was not to be. I gave birth, I cleaned her, and I waited for her to stand on her wobbly little legs and nurse, but she wasn’t moving. I began nosing her. I tried encouraging her. When I saw her eyes closed I… I lost it. I cried out for Tia with all my heart and soul. A cry that I am certain took the Nightmare by surprise, but that did not matter. She did not matter. The only thing that mattered was my foal. My sister… she had to save my baby.” “W-what happened to her, Princess? The foal, I mean?” “I was able to teleport back to Equus with her in my forelegs. I went to my room and scanned her little body. Her heart was slowly beating to my great relief, yet she was saturated in dark magic. I knew that if I wanted to save my sister’s foal, my niece, I was going to have to act fast.” “The first thing I did was begin to siphon away the dark magic into a crystal. It was a slow and tedious process, but as I transferred the dark magic away I noticed my niece begin to perk up. Her color got better, and she began to move her tiny hooves and fluff her little wings. But, she was still just so weak... I had to do more than just take the dark magic away.” Celestia licked her lips and closed her eyes, remembering how terrified she had been to do what came next. “Alicorns are the embodiment of all pony kind. Literally. Even our magic. And as I returned from the moon, I felt it in myself. My own magic was weakening. At first I believed it merely to have been from my exertions, but then I realized that just as Nightmare Moon had disrupted the harmony between Luna and myself, the battle had disrupted the harmony between the pony tribes. I realized that Luna and I had been their primary unifying focus for centuries and pony kind had just witnessed us… witnessed me banish my own sister. Their faith in the unity we represented had begun to falter, and the old fissures of tribal rivalry began to resurface.” “It was causing an imbalance in our magic. In our blood. Mine and that of Luna’s foal, at the very least. So to reduce the strain in her blood, in her magic, I took her pegasus and earth pony magic from her. This left her as a normal, but very powerful, unicorn. Once I had done this, she finally opened her eyes and looked up at me, with her beautiful purple eyes.” Twilight felt Spike’s eyes on her now, as she began shaking her head. No, no I can’t be! My mother is Twilight Velvet! I… it’s impossible! Even as she denied it though, she could feel the analytical side of her brain point out the many similarities she had to Princess Luna: Her mane was the same color as Luna’s coat; they were both comfortable at night; they were both quiet individuals that enjoyed reading. In counterbalance, her Mother and Father had always seemed in awe of her, as if they often weren’t sure what to think of her. When the Princess had asked her to be her personal student, they had appeared to be almost relieved. Can’t forget the fact that Princess Cadance was my foalsitter. Come to think of it, I don’t recall hearing that she foalsat anypony other than myself. Celestia smiled sadly as she watched Twilight begin to work it out for herself. “I thought I had given my niece a death sentence. That by taking her alicorn magic away I had made her mortal, but there was something odd about her. She grew very slowly. As near as I was ever able to figure it out, it seemed that remains of the dark magic stunted her growth to where she only grew one year per every five hundred. Obviously this presented a problem. Due to her erratic growth, I could not care for my niece as I wished to. I’d never be able to explain her to the populace. Even if I’d felt that they would have understood that, I knew that being Luna’s daughter would put her life in danger. So I went to Luna’s most trusted advisor: Starswirl the Bearded.” Celestia smirked as she heard the overwhelmed gasp from Twilight. “I asked him to watch over her and he accepted. Once he was gone I tried to keep her with me, but when the questions began to mount I was once more forced to find another trusted advisor or guard. Over and over I was forced to do this as my niece very slowly grew. Then, about seventeen years ago, something happened that I wasn’t exactly prepared for.” Twilight watched her former mentor and her sister carefully. I can’t be… I can’t be Luna’s foal! They couldn’t have hidden this from me for so long! My parents couldn’t have! Twilight frowned as a bit of doubt gradually formed. But then why don’t my parents have any pictures of me younger than two? Why are there no pictures of Mom holding me after my birth like they have with Shiny? “My niece suddenly began retaining memories. She was beginning to learn, and quickly. I had to do something that some ponies would consider radical, before she began to notice that other little ponies were growing while she wasn’t. I found a spell that would place an all-senses glamour around her. It caused her to appear as if she was aging. She would feel taller and heavier, look more mature. Even her smell and the sound of her voice would mature. I selected my most trusted magician, my arch mage, to raise her with this glamour on. I told her and her husband everything, I even offered the help of my adopted niece. They were very nervous to take her, but they did so, and I am certain they loved her.” Twilight gulped; everything was pointing to one conclusion. She had to speak up now, she had to know. “Princess Celestia? A-are you talking about… about me?” Celestia closed her eyes and Luna wiggled out from her wing. She stood up and lifted her hoof to take a step forward, but stopped, her face filled with sudden indecision. Finally, she sat on her haunches and looked at Twilight. Her mouth felt dry, but she had to continue on. Twi… her daughter was hurting and confused. “You are my daughter, Twilight Sparkle...” Twilight felt her entire world collapse. Her entire life she had been a lie! No wonder her par… Night Light and Twilight Velvet were so nervous around her! Princess Cadance foalsitting her, the way she cared for her… it now made perfect sense. They were cousins! And Celestia had lied to her! She had said she was the most gifted unicorn she had ever seen, but she wasn’t even a unicorn! How powerful was she as an alicorn, anyways? Maybe she was actually nothing but a weakling. Maybe she was the weakest alicorn ever! Twilight sunk to the floor, her hooves covering her head, trying to figure out what was real anymore. Everything looked wrong, felt wrong! Wait a minute! This is fixable! All the Princess has to do is put that glamour back on me and I can come to terms with all of this slowly! She opened an eye and chewed her lip. Yes, there is no reason for her to disagree with this, I’m being responsible! She relaxed and put her hooves back on the ground, sitting back up confidently. “Princess, I’d like it if you’d put that glamour back on me now. I still have my job as Ponyville’s librarian and the rest of my life and my friends to think about.” Later today I’ll send a letter to my... parents? To Night Light and Twilight Velvet? Twilight frowned, not exactly sure what to call them anymore. She didn’t want to insult Luna; Luna was her mother. She had obviously cared for her and she would never deny that she felt close to the Night Princess. And in giving us time to bond… Twilight frowned as Celestia turned away from her. “Twilight, I cannot nor will I recast that glamor spell. That mare was not you. The dark magic has fully left your system and you will begin aging normally, just like any filly. This, like it or not, is you. I’m sorry.” Twilight stared at Celestia in shock. Sorry? She’s SORRY? She won’t turn the glamor back on? What about my job? My life! My friends?! I’m not a foal! I’m a mare! I have things I have to do as an adult! It’s not like I can go to the mayor and say, ‘I’m sorry but I can’t open the library today, I’m a foal!’ “You have to! I’m a grown mare! I have a job… responsibilities!” “You are not a grown mare, Twilight Sparkle! You are a foal. Yes, the glamor gave you the illusion that you had grown into a mare, but now that it’s gone you will regain your foalish attributes! I will not turn any foal into an adult and that includes you, my niece!” Please try to understand, Twilight... I’m doing this for both Luna and yourself. Twilight began to twitch. “But you… but I… I, you ugh! Twilight’s coat color turned white and her mane turned into flames as she flared in undeniable anger. As she came out of the flare she felt forelegs wrapped around her. Exhausted and weary she buried her head into the large chest of the pony holding her. It felt warm there, safe. “It’s alright, mine baby, I know that… that this was not what you expected, but I am here now.” Luna gently nuzzled her daughter’s head as she cuddled close to her. She turned to Celestia. “Is there truly nothing you can do for her, Tia?” Celestia frowned. “I’m sorry... I truly am sorry, Twilight, but I can’t turn you back into a mare. However, that doesn’t mean everything will change. I’m certain your friends will still want to be part of your life. Your magic lessons will continue if you wish. I’m certain your mother has many things about the night she wishes to teach you. Also, now that you have reclaimed your birthright you can even learn of the day. As for the library…” “As for the library, you need not worry, mine baby; I mean to take over as librarian.” Luna turned to Celestia. “While I am beyond thankful for what you have done not only for Twilight, but for myself, I must admit I am angry with you, sister, and I know it will take time for Twilight to trust you again. So for the foreseeable future Twilight and I will remain here. If I am needed in Canterlot, send a letter through Spike and I will come.” She smiled sadly as she felt the tears on her chest. “We’d also love for you to come and see us. Not as Princess Celestia, but as my sister, Tia, and Twilight’s aunt. We are a family, but right now we are a broken family. We need to fix this, but it will take time.” Celestia closed her eyes and lowered her head, tears dripping down her muzzle, her breathing shaky. She felt a tiny hoof on her own and opened her eyes to see her niece with tear-filled eyes looking up at her. Twilight stared up at the crying Princess for several moments, her mind awash with conflicting thoughts. Princess Celestia lied to me my entire life… she lied to me about who I was. Who my parents were. Everything! She never even told me about my mother; I had to discover that information myself! And what if I had failed and Nightmare Moon had been re-banished or worse… killed? Would Princess Celestia have ever even told me who she was? …On the other hoof, Princess Celestia protected me from bullies and taught me magic. I know she loves me, I can see it in her eyes even when she was upset with me. But still… “I don’t think I can trust Princess Celestia… not right now.” Celestia let out a small sob but nodded as Twilight looked over at Luna who nodded with a small smile. Twilight looked back up at the weeping Princess. “Lu- uh, Mom tells me she has a great big sister named Tia though, I’d really like to meet her and get to know her.” Celestia blinked then smiled hopefully, levitating her crown off her head and setting it to the side as Spike watched warily. She took a deep breath. “Hello, little one. I’m your Mommy’s older sister. My name is Tia.” Twilight smiled widely as tears trailed down her cheeks. “Hi, Auntie Tia. I’m Twilight. Do you like baby dragons?” Luna smiled as she watched her daughter and sister restart their relationship from scratch. It’s a start… to something wonderful!