by UhOh
***
Twilight Sparkle sank wearily to the ground the moment Celestia suggested a break; while by no means out of shape it wasn’t exactly fair to expect an ordinary unicorn to keep up with an alicorn. Especially considering Celestia’s current advantage.
It took a while but once her breathing had evened out Twilight felt ready to try conversing with her former mentor. Her last twelve attempts at initiating conversation—not that she was counting—had been expertly shut down by the princess who seemed bound and determined not to enjoy her company but the scholar was—definitely counting—nothing if not persistent. “You’re looking rather… translucent nowadays, princess.”
Celestia, from her self-appointed position as lookout, smiled ever so slightly. While she knew the best course of action was to ignore Twilight’s presence as much as possible she couldn’t deny that she’d missed the young mare immensely these last couple of years. “I take it you don’t approve?” She asked, with a teasing pout.
“Well, the change—now I can’t put my hoof on it—but it’s somewhat lacking in substance.” Twilight bit her lip, determined not to break first.
Twilight’s attempts were admirable but Celestia had a poker face that could put a nopponabou to shame. With an expression of the utmost serenity Celestia offered her rejoinder. “Guilty as charged. There’s simply no fooling you, Twilight Sparkle—it’s almost as if you can see right through me.”
The immediate and indelicate snort let Celestia know she’d won their battle of words before she’d even set eyes on her unexpected companion and she let her own smile out in full force.
Try as she might Twilight couldn’t keep the stupidly contented look off her face any longer as she basked in the familiar joy she always felt in one-on-one exchanges with the princess. The joy was short-lived however as in the next moment homesickness kicked in and Twilight felt the weight of her banishment as keenly as she had on the day of her sentencing; homesickness for her family, for her friends, for her home in Canterlot Castle, and most of all, for her princess. Twilight’s smile faltered.
Celestia picked up on the mood change immediately and she felt her own disposition take a nosedive. The easy intimacy evaporated as the two ponies were reminded of just how wide the gulf was between them.
Twilight’s mind scrambled as she searched for a less charged topic. Celestia was only just beginning to accept her presence on this venture and the last thing she needed was for Princess Celestia to remember the less than stellar terms of their parting. She coughed nervously, throat dry from the endless flurries of ash present through all Tartarus. “Luna wasn’t, uh, the most forthcoming on the details when she approached me in my dream. All she really told me was that it was too risky for you to enter through the Gate at the Sugar Loaf Mountains.”
“My sister has a curious gift for both enormous understatement and tremendous melodrama—sometimes at the same time. ‘Too risky’ fails to cover the situation by half; I’ve never entered any of the Death Realms without an invitation from their masters and we weren’t certain about what would happen if I tried.
Twilight’s eyes shone with an achingly familiar curiosity. “Well, what’s the worst that could happen?”
“That depends entirely on the pony you ask. Luna was of the opinion that the sun would disappear from the sky leaving the moon dark forever. The only light would come from the distant stars and all life on Earth would freeze to death with incredible speed. On the other hoof I am reasonably sure the sun would lock into place leaving half of Earth to turn into a boiling desert while the other half freezes into an eternal tundra—in my scenario there would be a habitable strip of twilight encircling the globe.” Celestia said in a tone far too matter of fact for the scholar’s liking.
“So you chose the third option that won’t end life as we know it?” Twilight prompted, her voice creaking slightly.
“Astral projection. My physical form rests safely within the sun while my soul travels this realm. Should something happen to me here the sun would remain as it is and Luna would be able to ensure the Stellar Tides continue unabated.”
“And Luna agreed to that?” Twilight asked incredulously, not liking this option much better than the first two. It was a well-known fact that Luna could be fiercely protective of her older sister even if the situation wasn’t particularly life-threatening, Twilight found it hard to believe that Luna would allow Celestia to risk so much without putting up a fight.
Twilight’s beleaguered skepticism reminded Celestia all too well of those last days in Equestria. Her own hackles metaphorically raised Celestia gave her response a deliberately lofty tone. “We were somewhat out of options—Death refuses to claim the ill and injured, remember?” Without waiting for a response Celestia stood and walked to the edge of their impromptu campsite. As she went she tossed a final comment carelessly over her shoulder. “Besides, she obviously didn’t agree; that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”
Twilight acknowledged the truth of that statement silently. She studied the opalescent mare for a moment debating whether or not it would be fruitful to try to continue the conversation. A sudden sharp and itchy sensation attacked her nose and made Twilight’s decision for her. The air filter spell she’d applied just a few short hours ago was about to expire and if she didn’t act quickly the—
The spell failed and the stench of Tartarus hit Twilight with full force.
Perhaps it would come as no surprise to others but Tartarus stunk. Everything about the dreary Death Realm from the air to the constant flurry of falling ash bore the same acrid stench. Twilight was certain that the unrelenting odor would cling to each hair of her coat for years to come. The young unicorn took a swig of her canteen and gagged slightly—without the spell acting on her senses even the water tasted sharp and bitter.
Celestia watched her uninvited guest’s struggles silently. While she could have made the water more potable for her friend the princess knew that overuse of her magic should be kept to a bare minimum, there was no sense in alerting this unknown threat to her presence before Celestia knew just what it was she was dealing with. Even still it wouldn’t hurt to try and turn the situation to her advantage… “If memory serves me correctly the waters of the Zebra Confederation are amongst the purest in quality and best in taste in all the world.” Celestia said innocently as she channeled more energy into her form and dragged one of her translucent hooves through the ashy soil.
Twilight shot the princess a rather affronted look of disbelief before her features evened out to project calm she didn’t feel. “You do know I’m not going to leave you alone here no matter how hard you try to push me away, right? That’s not what friends do—friends don’t take off when things get uncomfortable or messy.”
The great white mare was silent for a moment, abashed at Twilight’s earnest reply. “Is that what we are—friends?” She asked with a quiet sincerity that took them both by surprise. The atmosphere was just as charged as before but the current running between the two was completely different.
It was Twilight’s turn to stop and contemplate her response. “We’ve been more than friends for a long time, I think.” She said softly, valiantly ignored her heart beating violently against her ribcage.
For a being that was only little more than smoke and magic Celestia managed to give an impressively hearty sigh. She cast an immeasurably fond gaze at her faithful Twilight. “You’re right, of course.” She conceded. “Still I’d never hop—”
**SCREEEE**
Celestia leapt to her hooves as the scream of the thestral pierced the air. Twilight scrambled to a fighting position only a heartbeat later, her anointed khopesh held threateningly in a field of magic at her side. The two mares shared a grim look as the sole thestral was quickly joined by nearly forty more. Celestia’s form grew nearly solid as she channeled more energy into it. “Stay close.” She murmured, silently vowing to do whatever it took to ensure Twilight’s soul would not be lost in Tartarus.