//------------------------------// // 273. Dinosaur by Drizzle Quill // Story: The Sun and the Stars: A Twilestia Prompt Collab // by Fuzzyfurvert //------------------------------// by Drizzle Quill *** Scrolls. Scrolls everywhere. Twilight’s eyes shone as she darted about the old room, randomly grabbing tattered pieces of parchment – the older and moldier, the better! Some were torn; some appeared to be in perfect condition, but all shared one quality: they all were utterly fascinating. Each and every one held some important secret about the past, some important truth or discovery Twilight had yet to find. She bit her lip, trying to hold back the shriek of excitement bubbling up inside her chest. From the back of the room Celestia smiled, shaking her head. “Having fun?” Twilight shrugged sheepishly, glancing towards her now massive ball of floating scrolls. “Do you think this is enough?” Celestia raised an eyebrow, giving her marefriend a deadpan stare. Blushing, Twilight took a seat next to the princess and allowed her mountain of scrolls to drop to the floor. “Just think,” she breathed. “Starswirl the Bearded’s many secrets, in my hooves!” She swallowed another squeal. “How exciting is that?” “You’re the perfect pony to unravel them,” Celestia murmured, nuzzling Twilight behind the ear; she squirmed, snickering, before carefully selecting a particularly handicapped scroll from the top of the pile. Celestia watched carefully as it floated down and unraveled; Twilight took a deep, shuddering breath and began to read. “Mirror 1.” Celestia stiffened. Twilight felt it, and turned. “Are…are you alright?” Loosening slightly, the princess nodded. “Yes.” Seemingly convinced, Twilight turned back around and continued to read through the scroll, narrowing her eyes. “But…but this looks like a spell of some sort. And what does this mean, down here on the bottom? UNSTABLE?” She paused. “Do you know what this means, Celestia?” “Yes.” Celestia casually placed a hoof around Twilight’s shoulders, hugging her closer. “A long time ago, Starswirl and I attempted to create portals to alternate dimensions. I do believe you have experienced more than one of them.” Twilight’s eyes went wide; she nodded. “Well, this was one of the portals.” Celestia smiled sheepishly at the memory. “It was quite strange.” “How so?” Twilight frowned; before her marefriend could answer, she shook her head, eyes going wide. Celestia knew that look – Twilight had just had an epiphany, and depending on the topic of conversation, it could either be good or bad. “No, wait. Show me.” Celestia blinked. “What?” Bad epiphany. “Can I see what was in the portal for myself? This spell doesn’t look too difficult…I’m sure I could easily cast it on the mirror.” Twilight smiled sheepishly. “Please?” Yes, definitely bad epiphany. “Twilight, it was marked UNSTABLE for a reason.” Celestia wrapped her wing around her marefriend and gave her a peck on the cheek. “I don’t want anything to go wrong. We can’t do this. You don’t know – there’s a monster, and…and…” She sighed and simply sputtered out of breath. For a moment it seemed like the princess was going to win. Twilight snuggled in her marefriend’s feathers, giggling as they tickled her on the neck and behind the ears. Celestia allowed her body to loosen, and then – “Just a peek?” Celestia looked down at Twilight and immediately wished she hadn’t. Not the face. Not those eyes. “Twilight…this isn’t the time or place for…” Twilight’s ears drooped, and Celestia felt her heart melt. “O-okay, fine. Just a peek, though.” Her marefriend nodded earnestly. “Just a peek.” -- “Celestia?” “Yes, Twilight?” “What is that?” “We never named it, actually.” “This is why the portal was UNSTABLE?” “This is why the portal was UNSTABLE.” “…Celestia?” “Yes, Twilight?” “You’re shaking.” “…Yes, Twilight.” “…Let’s go back now.” “I thought you’d never ask.”