Castle Aurora, Twilight’s Chamber
Sunrise
Twilight
A bright light threatened to awaken Twilight from her sleep, along with a slight pressure of her horn as the sun rose and the moon set.
“Nyeh.” She mumbled, and rolled over in her bed. Unconsciously, she reached out with her magic to the two celestial orbs and murmured irritably in her sleep. “Five more minutes mom…”
And the sun obeyed, dipping back down below the horizon.
It was about ten seconds until Twilight realized what she had done.
Sitting up suddenly in her bed, Twilight stared through tired eyes out her window at the sunrise she had just reversed.
Woops…
Releasing her magic from the sun, Twilight watched as the sun started its second rise today. With her new senses of feeling the sun and moon, due to her brief possession of Celestia’s and Luna’s magic when Tirek attacked, she now felt every sunrise and moonrise.
It was an interesting side effect, and Twilight had yet to fully explore her modified magic. But she understood she needed to learn how to control her new abilities, so that she didn’t cause any accidents.
Like preventing the sun from rising for example.
Twilight marveled that a year and a half ago, she would have panicked and probably returned Ponyville to the stone-age from the fallout. Now, after a few calming techniques that Cadance had taught her, she managed to calm her nerves before she went to Twicon 1. Also, she had thrown the sun around a lot while possessing Celestia’s magic. A brief delay of the sunrise was almost nothing compared to that.
Almost.
Granted, she hadn’t had her morning cup of coffee yet either, so her mind wasn’t fully up to speed either.
Like a zompony, Twilight groaned as she reluctantly got out of bed and walked towards the mirror in her bedroom. Staring into it, she could see how horrible she looked.
It was clearly evident that she hadn’t gotten much sleep the previous night. Her eyes drooped with black circles under them and her mouth felt dry. Her mane was in all sorts of disarray as if she had used one of Discord’s Plunder Plants to brush it. Her magenta eyes were red with exhaustion and frustration. Her wings needed some desperate preening, as many of her primary feathers were out of alignment after last night’s anxiety. Her fur was matted and sticky with sweat from her tossing and turning in bed.
She hadn’t had any nightmares, Twilight just couldn’t find any peaceful sleep. All of the fiascos during the Open House Ball had left her physically and mentally drained. Sleep had just simply eluded her.
Twilight glanced at the clock hanging above her dresser and decided she had time to wash up and clean herself up before heading down to breakfast. There were several things on her to-do-list that would soon need to be done.
It was going to be a long day.
__________________________________________________________________________
After Breakfast
“Are the mops cleaning the ballroom?”
“Check.”
“And Captain Noctis has confirmed that everypony but our guests have left?”
“Check.”
“Good.” Twilight sighed. She and Spike were standing at Castle Aurora’s front entrance, preparing to give a warm good-bye to their guests who had stayed over for the night. The castle, predictably, was messier than it had been before the Open House Ball, and the enchanted cleaning supplies were hard at work.
Thank goodness for magic.
Breakfast had been great. Twilight Velvet had insisted on cooking her favorite pancakes this morning, and Cadance had assisted. While Spike and the enchanted kitchen were great at cooking, you just couldn’t beat a meal made by your mom.
A separate breakfast had been provided for the foreign royalty. It wasn’t that Twilight didn’t want to eat with them, but that her guests had preferred to eat alone in their rooms while they packed for the return trip home.
Her friends had already gone home for the day, probably as tired as Twilight was.
Curiously enough, she hadn’t seen Princess Celestia and Luna all morning. She had been keeping an eye out for them so she could apologize for her tampering with the sunrise. When they didn’t show up for breakfast, Cadance had explained to her that they wanted to share a sisterly meal together in Celestia’s guest room. Since then, Twilight had been too busy cleaning up the castle to go and find them.
Twilight peered out the door as the carriage for Grand Duke Tragulidae pulled up to the castle. Her ears flickered and she felt Spike tug on her wing.
“Look, here they come now.”
And sure enough, the foreign dignitaries had arrived in the entrance hall to make their departure. The deer from Cervidae stepped forward first.
“Well Princess Twilight, you have a wonderful home. Thank you very much for inviting me to come. I hope you will find the mirror to be useful.” Tragulidae said regally.
Twilight bowed politely. “I will.” Eventually. “Thank you for coming as well. Will you be at the United Kingdoms meeting in Manehatten this year? Or is your ambassador filling in this year?”
“I normally don’t come personally, but I think this year will be the exception. As I understand it, you will be representing Equestria for the first time at the United Kingdoms.” Tragulidae nodded respectfully. “Word of advice, drink plenty of coffee. Diplomacy during the General Assembly is like speed dating.”
Twilight laughed a little. “Thanks. I’ll remember it. Have a safe journey back to Cervidae.”
“Thank you.” And he departed.
Twilight turned her attention to Cheiftess Mali as the elderly zebra made her way carefully towards her with her guards.
“May kindness guide your mind, so that only peace will you find.” The old zebra rhymed, gazing up at the lavender alicorn with near-blind eyes.
“Your wisdom is precious to young ears, it shall guide me for many years.” Twilight replied, choosing to respond with a Zebrican rhyme as a sign of respect.
The crinkled face smiled and Mali made her way towards the carriage that awaited her and the robed guards outside.
As Twilight watched the zebras depart, smooth talons grabbed her and pulled her in to a tight embrace.
Can’t…breathe!
“I am so sad to be leaving your grand fortress ‘Little Spark!’” High King Horus laughed as he suffocated Twilight. “You must promise to come visit my grandson and I in Griffonia! And bring Starfell! We shall teach you to properly swing that dazzling sword while we battle those pesky Diamond Dogs!”
When Twilight didn’t immediately reply, the graying griffon looked into her face to see that she had turned blue from the lack of oxygen. He chuckled and let go.
“Sorry. I forget my own strength sometimes.”
“It’s…O.K.” Twilight wheezed. She took a moment to catch her breath before replying properly. She stood up straighter and smiled at the kindly king. “I’ll take you up on that offer. Perhaps you and Princess Luna can give me tips when we join you for the annual visit to Griffonia for the NETO summit.”
“Good! I look forward to it already.” Horus boomed. He gave her a friendly nudge with his closed talons and a wide smile split his beak. “May your hearth always be warm and your swords sharp!”
Twilight smiled at the traditional Griffonian good-bye. “And may your armor protect your heart and your home.”
Horus nodded in approval and then he and his guards moved out onto the castle’s front lawn. Unlike the others, a carriage did not await them. Instead, they unfurled their wings and leapt up into the air, catching the wind as they flew to the east.
“That’s everyone.” Spike said. “If you need me Twilight I’ll be in the kitchen.”
Twilight watched him go, before turning back around to shut the doors.
A polite ‘ahem’ spoke up from behind her as Twilight closed the castle doors. Turning around, she saw that it was Princess Celestia and Luna.
“Oh! Good-morning Princess, did you sleep well!?” Twilight asked. But she frowned a little as she took in her mentor’s bearing.
Princess Celestia looked tired, and if that wasn’t strange enough, she also looked wary. Her mane didn’t flow as smoothly as it normally did, and her smile seemed to be brittle and irritated. Her wings were slightly agitated as they ruffled at her sides.
And her crown was crooked.
Luna, on the other hoof, looked impatient and irritable. She was slowly tapping her hoof as if waiting for something and she kept looking from Twilight to Celestia with an undisguised glower.
Celestia smiled weakly at Twilight. “I slept like a rock.” Her voice sounded careful and measured. “That is to say, I didn’t sleep. Because rocks don’t sleep.”
Twilight wasn’t sure how to answer that.
“Ummm…”
“What my sister means to say Twilight is that she’s been doing a lot of thinking.” Luna gave Celestia a rough nudge in the ribs. “Right, sister?”
Celestia sighed. “Right.”
Twilight cocked her head to one side in confusion but remembered why she had been looking for them earlier.
“Oh! About the sunrise this morning…I, uh…I’m sorry for—“
“There’s no need to apologize, Twilight. I’m sure it was an accident.” Celestia smiled gently. “It takes some getting used to when you don’t wake up with the sun, but the sun wakes up you.”
“Umm…yeah.” Twilight said awkwardly, a grimace forming on her face. “Still…I’ll try not to do that again.”
“It’s alright Twilight. I could do with a couple more minutes of sleep myself.” Celestia said wistfully. “It’s been several centuries since the last time I slept in.”
Luna’s frown deepened and her impatient hoof-tapping increased in speed.
Celestia’s nervous expression returned as she glanced quickly at Luna before returning her eyes to Twilight. “Anyway…I came to find you because…because I found out a way to fix the mirror.”
Despite herself, Twilight felt a gleeful smile erupt across her face and she got up excitedly. “You did!?” She squeaked. “That’s great! How in Equestria did you get past the defense mechanisms embedded in the enchantment?”
Celestia shook her head a little and turned around, motioning with her wing for Twilight to follow her. “I’ll explain later, but please come with me.”
As she, Celestia, and Luna walked towards the room where the mirror was, Twilight couldn’t contain her excitement and had to fold back her wings multiple times after failing to hide her enthusiasm. Oddly, neither Celestia or Luna seemed keen to engage in conversation and remained silent for most of the trip.
Soon enough, the three alicorns had arrived at the doors. Celestia turned towards Luna.
“Sister.” Celestia spoke cautiously. “Would you mind if you stayed outside while Twilight and I examined the mirror?”
Luna looked up at her taller sister with a frown threatening to dominate her face. Twilight watched patiently as the two sisters had a silent conversation of facial expressions that only they could understand. Twilight didn’t know why Celestia wanted Luna to stay outside but she assumed it had to be for a valid reason.
After a minute, Luna nodded firmly and gave a slight huff of acceptance before resigning herself to sit in the hallway. “Very well. But keep in mind Celestia of what I spoke of earlier. I fully expect you to keep your promise.”
Celestia bowed her head slightly. “Of course.” Her magenta eyes flashed in Twilight’s direction. “Come along Twilight, there is much to discuss.”
Slightly puzzled by how her mentor chose to phrase her words, Twilight walked into the room and shut the doors quietly behind her. Across the room, the enchanted scrying mirror that had rebuffed her efforts last night sat innocently on the other side of the room. Twilight and Celestia walked up to it silently and sat next to each other facing the mirror.
Twilight looked up at her mentor and noticed that Celestia was staring at her own reflection in the mirror. “So,” Twilight broke the silence. “How did you dispel the enchantment?”
Celestia shook her head and still refused to meet Twilight’s questioning gaze. “I haven’t yet, I just wanted to wait until you were here.” And with that, Celestia’s horn lit up as she began dispelling the enchantment that hindered the scrying mirror. Yellow light engulfed the frame and washed over it completely. After a few minutes, Celestia sighed deeply and let her magic fade, leaving the mirror whole and intact. “There, ask your question. The mirror will answer you.”
Still she did not look at Twilight.
Twilight, repeating the actions of the previous night, put her hooves on the mirror’s base and channeled her earth pony magic, filling her words with power necessary for the mirror’s magic.
“Show me my mother.”
Once again, same as before, the mirror became a kaleidoscope of images and color that flitted faster than Twilight’s eyes could track. Blooming in the center of the chaos was a bright light as if an image was coming forward from the center of the deluge of pictures. Twilight peered closer and narrowed her eyes as the image she couldn’t discern zoomed in closer and closer. Sooner than she realized, the bright light encompassed the whole mirror and Twilight had to look away as the light was too bright. Once the light faded away, she quickly turned back to the mirror to find…
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
The mirror just reflected Twilight and Celestia as they were, sitting and staring at the mirror.
A wave of disappointment and annoyance welled up inside her as she stepped back angrily and scowled at the mirror. “Darn it!” (That was the closest Twilight ever came to profanity) “It didn’t work!”
Celestia said nothing, she continued to stare at their reflection in the mirror.
Twilight continued to frown as her mentor failed to react to this disappointment. She kept flitting her eyes back and forth between the mirror and Celestia, waiting for one or the other to change or react.
Celestia sighed deeply, looking very tired and worn, as if she shouldered a great weight. “No Twilight Sparkle, the mirror worked perfectly.”
Twilight’s frown deepened as she stared back at the mirror, which only showed their reflections. Did Celestia see something that Twilight could not? Confusion dominated Twilight’s mind as she tried to figure out what she had missed.
Slowly, as if afraid of what she would see, Celestia turned until she was directly staring into Twilight’s magenta eyes for the first time since entering the room.
"Twilight...I am your mother."