First Weekend with the Friendship Princess
Eclipse woke up like she had the past few days, curled up next Twilight, and yawned a bit before crawling out of the bed without waking the the lavender alicorn. The past few days had been some the happiest she could recall, even if she had noticed her speaking mannerisms weren't what they were when she was “in the care of” Great Spell. She was fine with it though, the further she got from anything related to that place, or those two mares, the better. The filly was used having her stomach rumble, more to do with refusing to continue an unappealing diet while the ones that called themselves her parents and grandmother ate much hardier looking meals without so much as offering a bite to the fillies across the able from them, so she didn't even notice that she was feeling a bit hungry when she got up. Eclipse made her way to the main library and settled down with a small stack of beginner's magic books.
Twilight awoke almost a half hour after Eclipse had left the room. After several days of testing the filly regarding her sleep talking the lavender mare had confirmed that Eclipse was unaware of just what she was saying when asleep, while a fascinating study in itself Twilight found herself actually reeling back from such actions when she reminded herself she was supposed be mentor to somepony now and regardless she'd have to ask permission from the pony in question to actually research why her newly acquired quirk was the way it was. Twilight smiled to herself when she thought of the lessons she had given to the filly thus far. Eclipse wasn't a prodigy of magic, that much was for certain, but she was a very quick at learning and study. When Twilight had pulled out a star chart to discuss the constellations Eclipse was skimming the book the moment it cracked open and pointed out constellations that were very different and similar to what she had found before coming to Equestria.
In other matters the journals of Myrraldin were such marvelous reads, while there were no spells written in the pages Twilight had analyzed the spells that were practically embedded in the ancient tomes. After jotting down the formulas for each of the spells she could identify and had a professional that they were expertly woven into the books she had checked through her entire archive for any spells with similar principles or effects behind and to them. She found that some of the spells were in fact similar to Starswirl's work. What fascinated the Twilight the most though was the tremendous time and distance the two great unicorns had despite having very compatible magical philosophies. What clenched it for Twilight in regards of sharing the journals with her friends was when she read that the name was an alias he had assumed to make himself more mysterious and the fact that he had a name and hinted it could be indicative of something that could probably surprise her new student, she also resolved to ask Eclipse what the sacred island he referred to was at around the same time.
“Four days,” said Twilight to herself making her way towards the kitchen, “that's how long she's been learning here, and 2 for getting together like we used to. I wonder what she'll think of Saturdays? The way she described her days before she never had a day she wasn't forced into lessons that were too advanced in regards to her knowledge base,” Twilight was just getting to the threshold of the kitchen when she was stopped by Spike.
“Oh, thank Celestia you're up,” said Spike, quickly catching her attention, “Eclipse is in the library reading, that wouldn't be much of a problem in and of itself, but...”
“But what? Spike? What's wrong?”
“She's mumbling about having lessons, quiz's and tests regarding things that haven't come up yet, than and her stomach growls every few minutes. Instead of doing the sensible thing when she notices, which thankfully you always do, and put down her reading material she just massages her belly and keeps at it.”
“What?” Twilight yelled, “but I told her when lessons were over yesterday that we wouldn't have any magic lessons today, in fact I told her any lessons today and tomorrow would be rather impromptu.”
“Which is why only half of her pile is beginner's magic,” said Spike as he pulled his claws over his face in a facepalm, “the rest are geography, geology, biology, history, mythology and biographies. I checked, double checked and triple checked, she didn't have any fiction or fantasy books in the lot, heck she said something about the Daring Do book I offered her not being appropriate for an academic mind, I tried again with one of the foal friendly romances Rarity seems to enjoy every now and then only to get a similar response. When I asked her where she got such concepts she exposited something about how that's how it's always done in Bridleton and books of such genres aren't ever seen in the family manor so they must very little importance.”
Twilight moved to facehoof before getting a rather mischievous smile then saying, “if she wants lessons, we'll give her lessons, but not the kind she's expecting.”
“Care to share with the rest of the staff what you're planning,” said Spike teasingly.
“Make sure the kitchen is clean, once that's done go find Fluttershy and tell her get as many of her younger animals out for us as possible, after that find Rarity and tell her that Eclipse will be taking her up on that thing she was promised sooner than I anticipated.”
Spike started sporting a similar grin before saying, “by your command Princess Twilight,” and headed for the kitchen.
Twilight trotted into the library and found that Spike had be for more accurate than she had thought. The books lay in three stacks on table with simple signs written before each the two to the right of Eclipse said “to read later” and were within hoof's reach of the filly and “unrelated to studies” further off and in the pile were a number of stories that Twilight and her friends had said they enjoy reading in their spare time, to the left of the filly was sign with a growing pile of books that read “already read”, the alicorn's amused look changed to serious when she saw this, which now that she thought about it would help “sell” the ploy she had surprisingly cooked up on the fly. Twilight chuckled quietly to herself when she thought about what she and Eclipse were doing first.
“Young filly,” she said in the best imitation of her brother's authoritative voice, this also got Eclipse to stop her reading and look at Twilight before pulling her ears back and position her body as if it were ready for a horrifying punishment, Twilight knew she had to keep up the ruse, so she continued, “I specifically told you we were not having magic lessons today, I actually intended for today and tomorrow to be a time for you to digest all that you learned, but since you're so keen on keeping lessons going,” she dropped the charade and said, “I don't see any harm in a few non-magic lessons for today only, but I think you should take my advice and just relax tomorrow, maybe try reading some of the books Spike suggested.”
“But a good academic knows all their formulas and spell principles,” responded Eclipse with a confused voice.
“And good magic user knows how to adapt and be creative with the spells they know,” said Twilight with a gentle voice as she beckoned the filly over.
Eclipse showed apprehension all the way during her trot over to Twilight, which melted when the alicorn gave her an affectionate nuzzle before saying how silly the filly was. The alicorn beckoned the filly to follow, which she did (almost shuffling her hooves in the process, she wasn't sure if Twilight really was displeased with her or not. She had done such an amazing job the past few days, Twilight had even praised her for her accomplishments, but now she didn't feel like she could actually know what the lavender mare wanted from her).
“Everything's ready in the kitchen Twilight,” said Spike as he came out drying his claws on a white cloth towel, “after I get this to laundry I'll run those errands you asked me to do.”
“Thanks Spike,” said Twilight with a smile, Eclipse was surprised by how fast she had gotten used to the dragon, considering how she first reacted upon seeing him. Spike left the eyes and ears of the two shortly after. The alicorn turned to Eclipse and said, “You are probably wondering where the castle staff is right now,” the black filly nodded carefully, “well, I gave them weekend off, in fact I give them every weekend and official holidays off. That works out fine for us, do you know why?” Eclipse shook her head slowly, the filly didn't want to say anything for fear of angering the alicorn and genuinely wanted to know where the conversation was headed, “you're going to have your first cooking lesson,” said Twilight with a smile, “so we're going to start with something easy,” the alicorn waited a few seconds for dramatic emphasis, thank Celestia Rainbow Dash wasn't there to ruin it, but if Pinkie were here then she would be finding a way to overly excite filly, “waffles,” said Twilight after a few seconds had lapsed.
“Um, I've never heard that word before today,” said Eclipse.
“They're kind of like pancakes, but” said Twilight as she floated out checkered griddle, “you use things like one of these to cook them. First we'll mix the batter, then pour some it on to the heated griddle. You have to be careful because if you make the mix too light it pours out like water and is rather bland when cooked, make it to thick and it's more like your working with some kind of dough mix that you're trying to cook wrong,” Eclipse gulped, she thought this had to be a test of some kind (and if she failed they would send her back to where all her worst dreams and source of nightmares resided, she would pass the test no matter what).
*************************************
It had been almost half hour and Eclipse had shown a great deal of care with each of the ingredients, turning to Twilight for approval before each one was added and was mixed, her delicate mixing style told Twilight very clearly the filly didn't want to mess anything up. The first six made were a beautiful golden brown with a rather generic, but not bland, flavor to them. Twilight had asked Eclipse what she thought they needed. With Twilight's assistance she added some lightly chopped apple peel, cinnamon and a little honey to the mix and lightly stirred the new ingredients into the batter. That all went fine and the next four were far more enjoyable. Then came the dreaded moment, while enjoying the next to last waffle before going to make more (Eclipse decided that pending any new developments that making food with Twilight was her new favorite past time, books were nice, but the chance to take a formula that existed and revise it made her feel like she had been missing out on something for far too long) the remaining batter randomly exploded from bowel (while the bowel remained unscathed) and took the form of collection of carnation petals falling around the two.
Almost in perfect sync the two yelled, “Discord,” this was highly amusing considering the draconequus had only bugged the two twice since Eclipse's arrival.
“Just trying to make breakfast more memorable for the two of you,” said Discord as he faded in from nowhere in particular, “by the way it looks like Dream Step recreated a piece that doesn't exist.”
“Wouldn't that mean she just made her own original piece,” said Twilight with notable irritation in her voice.
“Normally yes,” said Discord, “but it seems the piece she 'made' has the hallmarks of another pony and has an image that hasn't happened at all. You were in it by the way, as was I, the amusing part is you were actually happy to be there despite my presence.”
“Now I know you're trying to pull one over on...” Twilight stopped short when the image of a painting that showed her next to thestral stallion appeared, taking a few steps back Twilight saw the rest and her jaw dropped, not only was she smiling at a little bundle in her hooves but Luna was also doing the same and standing next to a very proud looking Big Mac.”
Twilight immediately teleported the two (along with the picture) to another point far from the area from the castle Eclipse was in before saying, “before you ask about any abnormalities I've encountered thus far I'll just come out and say it, every night she calls me 'mommy', after her second night here she stopped asking me to save her sister and giggled something about a Heart Guard tickling her and a Sola singing silly songs, I don't know of any ponies by that name and when I brought the names up in casual conversation as a test of her knowing what her dreams are like she had no clue either, I hope you tell Princess Celestia about this, I'm concerned. Also, Luna is a little more blind to romance than I am, I figured it out about you two three years ago.”
“Well you took all the fun out of that,” said Discord before disappearing in a flash of light.
“Well,” said Twilight to herself, “he's gotten a little less random, don't know if that's a good thing or not.” She teleported back be next to Eclipse and said to her, “sorry, I needed a private conversation with Discord, some the things I thought I would end up saying wouldn't be suitable for a filly to hear at your age.”
“I'm fine with that,” said Eclipse with a smile before finishing off the rest of her waffles.
“You're... not going to press me for more than that?” inquired Twilight with confusion.
“Great Spell, Great Seal, and Grand Charm would talk about things I shouldn't hear right in front of me and right next to me,” said Eclipse, “using terms that a filly my age should never have to hear. They treated me and my siblings like we were decorations more than individuals.”
“You're brother said your age when we met, I just wanted to hear you say your age in your own voice. How is it you made this far?” said Twilight with shock, “just how old are you?”
Eclipse gave a sigh before saying, “six years, last I checked, I wouldn't really know if it weren't for Storm Walker and Sunshine Bottle. The closest Dream and I came to celebrating the anniversary of our birth was being told to perform summoning spells we never learned and be told how useless we were,” the filly started to break down crying, “it never,” sniffle, “hurt like this, it was just something we thought was the w...” she just gave out desperate cry of despair.
Twilight was at the filly's side in an instant and said in a soothing voice, “those are are all painful memories you can leave behind now, we better get going. I had Spike make some arrangements with Fluttershy, come on let's see what she has for us.”
************************
A good fifty minutes (it should have taken a half hour at most) of trotting, which unsurprisingly had little affect on Eclipse's mood since the filly was so sullen that she dragged her hooves so low and slow she was making a set of grooves in the dirt roads of Ponyville. The filly didn't even look up when Twilight said they had arrived at Fluttershy's cottage.
“Are you okay, sweetie,” came Fluttershy's soft voice next to Eclipse, this snapped the filly out of her sullen thoughts.
“Sorry,” said Eclipse, “I got caught in bad memories,” she immediately looked around and saw a menagerie of baby animals with concerned looks on their faces, “um, miss Twilight, why are we at miss Fluttershy's place? Why are there so many baby animals around me?”
“You're here to learn the meaning of responsibility,” said Twilight with a smile, “Fluttershy is going to help you pick the right animal to be your companion. She has Angel and I have Owlwicious, I think you deserve an animal friend to help you in these hard times.”
“All of these cute little guys volunteered when they heard you were a pony in need of a lot more love,” said Fluttershy as she gestured to all the animals, “you just have to find the one that feels right,” said yellow pegaus with a smile, “not with your hooves or wings or magic, but here,” she place a hoof on Eclipse's chest, “let your heart be your guide in this endeavor, your head can help, but it's your heart that will tell you that you're making the right choice. Just because Twilight has an owl doesn't mean you need one too, Spike looked after a baby phoenix for a few weeks before he returned the little guy to his rightful parents. We all miss Pewee, and Owlwicious is starting show his age rather aggressively. Rarity has a cat named Opalessence, Applejack and her family have Winona the boarder collie, Pinkie has her alligator Gummy and Rainbow Dash has her tortoise named Tank. You don't need any pets like theirs, just look around and see which of the little furry friends I have here feel like the best choice.”
Eclipse looked to Twilight with confusion and a need for confirmation it was okay, Twilight nodded and gave the filly a little scooch forward. Taking a deep sigh Eclipse carefully trotted around the cottage and stopped at a little black otter pup with a golden tip on its tail with silver boots on its feet and a silver stripe next a gold one going down its face from the base of the nose to the base of the skull. She brought a cautious hoof forward for the little creature to sniff. The pup sniffed her hoof with caution of its own then ran down her outstretched hoof and started nuzzling her face. Twilight watched with curiosity and Fluttershy looked on with surprise.
“That's one of the newer animals from outside of Equestria I received in a shipment a couple years ago, they're all very smart, but it took almost a week to earn their trust, they were wary of me and unsure of my intentions. I found out the ponies responsible crated them up against their will and I received them as mailing error, fortunately the cute little critters that were supposed to be the shipment supposed to come in arrived the following week. The ponies responsible were arrested for smuggling, poaching and potential endangering who knows how many communities. The fact that this one is taking a liking to her so fast is surprising.”
“I'll say,” said a very cunning and wily female voice behind the two, both Twilight and Fluttershy turned to see a pony sized white fox with golden boots, a silver tail tip and gold crown mark on her forehead. The fox smiled and said, “that little one is still wary of others, but she still wants to make friends. She doesn't even have a name yet, and she barely understands anything outside her native tongue. I have a talent for picking up new languages quite quickly.”
“They can talk in our language?” said Twilight in surprise, “but that would mean you potentially have your own culture and technically aren't animals at all.”
“Our kind have never had a formal governmental structure,” said the vixen, “my name is Ina, and I'm the closest my kind have ever gotten to having a ruler. Truth be told we are becoming fewer and fewer, we need a new place to call home and raise our numbers. Lady Fluttershy is helping is to that end, we are doing our best to manage ourselves in the Everfree Forest. Our magical prowess is great, if a bit limited. That young one,” she gestured with her head towards the the pup that Eclipse was now cuddling and crying tears of joy over, “lost her parents in the event that started her journey to this land, she was so young. I have done everything I could think of to help her understand who I believe her kind are. I have a feeling that she will be the one to help bring something amazing to our futures.”
Trotting over to Eclipse and the pub Twilight said, “I was told she doesn't have a name yet, you can give her any name you want.”
A brief flicker flashed through her eye before Eclipse said, “Abal, her name is Abal.”
“That's a pretty name,” said Fluttershy, “does it have any meaning?”
“Well,” Eclipse shifted uneasily, “I didn't know how your friend or her family would take it if I told them that names containing or referencing Apples in Bridleton are forbidden. Abal is the old tongue word for Apple.”
Fluttershy and Twilight looked at each other before Twilight said to Fluttershy, “send word to Spike my plans for today just took an interesting turn, also see about contacting Applejack and have her gather all the Apples at Sweet Apple Acres, Eclipse has some explaining to do to them after we visit Rarity, I'll be seeing Applejack during the time Eclipse spends with Rarity.”
Eclipse drew her new pet in closer for comfort, and act that was made all the cuter by the big eyes both were giving, and said in shaky voice, “am I... in trouble?”
“No,” said Twilight in a gentle tone, “I just think you need to explain a few things to Applejack and her family. Why did you decide to call her Abal anyway?”
“The apple in the time before Bridleton was a sacred plant, it was said to hold mystical properties and...”
“Save it for when you talk to the Apples,�said Twilight, 的 have a feeling they'll want to hear this.”
“Okay,” said Eclipse easing up on Abal. The cub nuzzled her again.
*******************************************
Fifteen minutes later they had waved goodbye to Fluttershy and Ina and were coming up on Carousel Boutique. The moment they entered Rarity was there to greet them and saying, “so, what can I do for you darlings?”
“I thought Eclipse could start taking you up on the etiquette lessons you offered, also I hope you don't mind that we stopped by Fluttershy's and got her a pet,” Twilight indicated the sleeping black bundle on Eclipse's back.”
“What's your little companion's name?” Inquired Rarity.
“Abal,” said Eclipse with pride, “I'm going to be explaining the meaning of her name and a few other things to the Apple family after my lessons with you today.”
Rarity looked over at Twilight who silently motioned she would explain later, “well in the interest of understanding the culture you came from I think I'll join them for your lecture,” said Rarity, “oh and I made you a new little bedtime companion,” she floated over an expertly made plush doll in likeness of Twilight, down to the finest detail.
Eclipse took the doll in her magic and gently trotted up to Rarity before hugging the mare like she was a precious treasure. “I think she likes your gift,” said Twilight with a smile towards the white unicorn mare.
“She's far more reserved than I anticipated,” said Rarity, “that might play well into her lessons on being a proper mare. Come along darling,” she motioned for Eclipse to follow her, “you'll begin your lessons immediately, and your first two are no pets at the table without permission, which I am providing today and expect you to leave your furry friend in Twilight's care during during future dates, and a proper mare always treats everything and everypony with courtesy and respect in company of others, even if they don't always deserve it.”
Twilight just nodded to the two and trotted out the door saying, “now, to see Applejack about what Eclipse said.”
As Twilight made her way out of the store Rarity lead Eclipse to the kitchen. After getting out some jasmine tea and setting to brew for a bit Rarity said, “first rule of having a pet at the table is they must never actually be on the table, they to remain by your side if they wish to be in the same room as a table. If they wish they may leave the room. If you wish to leave you ask to be excused and wait for your host to allow it.”
Eclipse gave a curt nod before saying, “I suppose I'm also never supposed to act to eager and instead I'm to act the part of delicate flower, right?”
“Oh heavens no,” said Rarity with surprise, “yes you must never act to eager, interested, uninterested or bored with what happens around you, that much is true. However you must never liken yourself to 'a delicate flower' as you put it, you need to show a sense of strong assertion that is not brutish or aggressive. Let those colts and fillies know you mean business, but be accepting of the views of others. You can debate with them over conflicting views, but only do so when they invite you to do so.”
“I... really haven't had practice at that sort of thing,” said Eclipse, “back in Bridleton it was either be forced to read books that in my hindsight usually are very disagreeable with the philosophies of Equestria or have to try advanced spells without knowing my basics and be told I was expected to get the spell right on my first go.” Eclipse dropped her view towards the table before stealing a glance at her new pet, “but by far the worst part of the experience was being told what was expected of me without being told how to execute such behaviors. Granted, standing around like a set piece for the majority of ball sounds easy enough, but what happens when nature calls or my tummy rumbles so hard I can't ignore it?”
“You must never ignore the needs of your body,” said Rarity, “to do so is akin to scandalous, you just discreetly ask somepony to retrieve you a refreshment or discreetly tell somepony you need to powder your nose, you never want to tell anypony at a formal event you need to use the little filly's room.”
“When I said I was made a set piece it wasn't metaphorical, I really was just there for display purposes and was specifically instructed to not draw attention to myself or move a hoof, I was only allowed to move my head, but I was forbidden from talking. I heard miss Twilight yesterday going on about the gala ball Princess Celestia throws every year, and how I would probably be required to attend it with her. Will I be expected to be a decoration? I don't want to be a fixture for the crowd to enjoy!”
“Oh heavens no,” said Rarity, “that kind of thing is just dreadful, you'll just be greeting other ponies, shaking their hooves and making an excuse when you need something else to do. That's the way a proper mare does things.”
“I don't know,” said Eclipse with a sullen voice, “I don't feel comfortable around large groups. It sometimes makes my second innate ability flare, and that makes me get scared.”
“Second innate ability? Darling, I was under the impression your only innate ability was canceling out magics.”
“Sometimes I can... sense a pony's true nature,” said Eclipse with tears swelling in her eyes, “I've always had it, but I ignored it until about a year ago. Why would I ignore my own instincts, the answer is simple, I hoped they were wrong about the ponies I called my parents and grandmother. They weren't the way I needed them to be, I saw their true selves and it scared me. Sunshine Bottle, Storm Walker and Dream Step were beautifully shining stars when my ability flared up near them; but around Great Spell, Great Seal and Grand Charm I kept seeing this horrifying dark pit that gobbled up all light that tried to illuminate it, it was the same for all the nobility that attended their parties. The staff in the manner were varying degrees between the two. One of the brightest stars I ever met was a wounded pegasus maid named Gentle Wind, she would talk about her daughter and what her filly could have been.”
“Could have been?” said Rarity, “Oh no, no, no,” she took a deep gulp, “that means she had to bury her filly.”
“The ruling caste of Bridleton wouldn't allow a non-noble to bury their dead, they wouldn't allow them the decency of a funeral pyre. The body would have been thrown unceremoniously, much to the horror of the parents of the prematurely passed foals, into the catacombs. That's the best somepony not born into a 'noble' house could hope for.”
“That's just morbid,” said Rarity, “I suppose I brought it on myself by indulging that line of conversation. Has your ability ever 'flared' around me?”
Eclipse smiled and said, “yes, the only star brighter than you is miss Twilight, you both have beautiful souls, the kind of souls that shine so bright they can strongly resist whatever corruptive force tries to change them. Miss Fluttershy shines with same brilliance you do, so does miss Applejack. It hasn't happened around the rest of your friends, but I think they might all be a collection of beautiful stars that can shine through anything.”
“Sweetheart,” said Rarity with tears of joy in her eyes, “that is one of the most beautiful things anypony has ever said about us,” she gave a smile and used a hoofkerchief to dry her eyes delicately before giving a smile that filled Eclipse with hope and joy, “that wasn't always the case. When we faced Discord after he broke free of his seal he used his powers to manipulate us into becoming the opposite of our elements and more importantly the opposite of who we really were. The way you said it says that if somepony tried something similar that could never happen again, I thank you for your faith in our bonds,” she got up and found the water for the tea to be at the right temperature and added the materials for the tea itself and stirred it delicately into the hot water with her magic. Afterwards she set the cap back on the teapot and set it down on the tables center, “we need to let it brew a few minutes,” she said with a curt nod, “and once it has cooled after brewing we will begin to drink. Every tea has a proper temperature at which it is to be brewed and proper temperature to drink it at, it will still be a while. When somepony makes an inquiry about something you are uncomfortable about you either try to divert the conversation or excuse yourself from the conversation, if neither is possible you merely tell them it is something you are uncomfortable with and hope they leave it at that, but if they don't take a hint your last chance is hope somepony comes along to either distract them or give an avenue out from the individual you are entertaining.”
“I... think I understand,” said Eclipse hesitantly, “now that I think about it, all the things I was told about social interactions before coming to Equestria hadn't changed in centuries, in fact the only things that changed were which ponies were around and names. The rest... never changed, no new art, no new culture, nothing to inspire ponies to new future. It's like it was all being blocked, I don't know how that's possible. I read about something that could explain it, but I never found sort of proof.”
“So, in short,” said Rarity as she trotted over to the fridge and brought out a small plate of tea cookies then set the plat next to the teapot, then places one cookie each on the saucers next to the cups, “that place hasn't had any sort of advancements in centuries, it must have been simply horrid to live there. Certainly the lesson policies must have at least been done in a way to allow the student to acquire the knowledge they were intended.”
“No,” said Eclipse folding her ears back for few seconds, “the lesson plans were the same regardless of your age, and if advanced lessons were going on for one student who had the same teacher as new students those new students were just dropped into the advanced course instead of having a separate lesson plan. At least that's the way it was for us, Dream and I were dropped into Sunshine Bottle's lessons without even an introduction to the basics. I like the basics, they're fun. I read the tale of Equestria's founding, I don't know why Bridleton hasn't been assaulted by Wendigoes considering how everything there is. Maybe the nation is kept safe from them with some kind of spell.”
“It's sounds like a dreadful place, I'm not surprised to see you made your escape. It's a shame your sister and your brother's friends didn't join you,” she poured some tea into the cups.”
“He says they did it give us a better chance of escape, we might see them in a few months,” her ears pulled back in fear, “along with Great Spell and Grand Charm, those two called themselves my mother and grandmother, but the more I look back at my time around them the more I realize how much they lost the right to those claims a long time ago. A mother is supposed to be their for her foals in times of need and comfort them when they're scared, sad or confused, Great Spell never did that, she treated us all like a means to an end that could be tossed aside when we were no longer of use to her, Grand Charm was the same way, a grandmother shouldn't be like that, we were supposed to be the family babies, they were supposed be keeping us safe from the horrors of the outside world, instead we were dangled like a hunter's bait and used as a shield for their ambitions. What kind of ponies do that? I don't know if I can call them ponies anymore,” tears started to well up in her eyes, she sniffled her next words “what is the proper course of action for dealing with... individuals like that?”
“I don't know, dear,” said Rarity, “I think the best course of action is begin talking to them with the respect you know you deserve before transitioning to the respect you know they deserve.”
“So, no matter what it important remain courteous and... civil,” said Eclipse.
“Indeed, darling,” said Rarity as she took dainty sip of her tea, “you better drink up, tea is best when warm.”
Eclipse took hesitant sip before making a motion for larger sip, but was stopped by Rarity before that could happen, “oh, so I'm supposed to take light sips of my drink,” said Eclipse as the teacup lowered to the saucer in Rarity's magical aura.
“that's right dear,” said Rarity, “you need to always conduct yourself with poise and grace, it better helps show your refinement.”
Eclipse's ears folded back before she said, “why did nopony teach me any of this before, up until we made our escape I genuinely wanted to please Great Spell and Grand Charm, but now I find myself wondering why they inhibited my education in how social interactions are meant to go, especially how much they talked about it in front of me, and at me.”
“You mean they talked about it's importance to you, don't you dear?”
Eclipse shook her head before saying, “they never wanted my input or verbal response, just a firm nod that understood what they expected from me. I was never given an opportunity to practice anything like this, I was only given a sub par meal and told that I had to earn the right to better food. What kind of ponies do that?”
“The wrong kind for foals,” said Rarity primly, “you're a lot kinder than your environment should have made you! Is there a reason for that?”
Eclipse smiled and said, “Storm Walker and Sunshine Bottle mostly, and the journals I brought with me. I feel real bad that I had to bring a bag made from a living creature as their mode transit, I want to treat that unknown creature with the respect it truly deserved.”
“The fact you feel that way makes you a better pony than the ponies that kept it for other uses,” said Rarity, “take solace in the fact you already have the right mindset for a proper mare. I think that's enough of a lesson for today, you can finish this at your leisure. Just remember, take your drinks and food delicately, at least in public or around guests, you can eat however you want in private,” the white mare gave Eclipse wink as the filly delicately lifted the cookie to her mouth and took a small nibble before having her eyes light up with enjoyment. This caused her to take larger, yet still dainty, bites of the cookie and gently sip her tea. Rarity smiled at how quickly the filly had taken to proper tea etiquette. After a careful half hour of refined silence Eclipse asked Rarity for a napkin and delicately wiped her mouth with it when the mare passed her a white cloth napkin before thanking the alabaster unicorn mare and asking to be excused.
“You already seem to know all the important bits,” said Rarity. The unicorn mare walked the filly to the door, the moment the door opened Eclipse started hyperventilating. “Darling,” came a concerned voice from Rarity, “what's wrong?” She started to gently stroke the filly's mane, which surprisingly calmed Eclipse down.
“The moment it all stopped I started getting really scared,” said Eclipse with shame, “the moment you opened the door a bunch of memories best left forgotten assaulted me, I feel really scared. Abal! Where's Abal?” Rarity floated the sleeping otter onto Eclipse's back, this caused the filly to visibly relax. “Thanks,” said Eclipse with a gentle hug to the white mare before trotting out of the door.
That filly needs more guidance than I originally thought, it's good thing her new guide in life is Twilight thought Rarity as she closed the door behind her and helped guide the filly to the farm. Eclipse had a big grin on her face when she saw the mass of apples before her, one had admitted to Twilight on their way to Rarity's that she had done her best to hide her first time there.
***************************************
A few minutes later Eclipse was standing in front of Applejack, Apple Bloom, Big Macintosh, a surprisingly spry Granny Smith, Twilight (whom was keeping the filly's new pet otter near her until it was time to leave, said mare also had a mass of notebooks and writing materials next to her) and Rarity (whom was lamenting about not bringing a sun hat).
Eclipse took a big gulp, she had admitted to Twilight about being uncomfortable with large groups (but it seemed standing before a small group was just as frightening to her), “um, would anypony like to suggest where I should start?”
“Yeah,” said Applejack, “Twi showed us all uh passage in one uh the tha books ya brough' with ya that mentioned tha autor havin' an earth filly named for tha 'Sacred Island', whut's the tha' exactly?”
“Digging a deep trench for the canal I see,” said Eclipse under her breath before giving a deep sigh, both of which were heard by the whole Apple clan and caused them all to give little chuckles, “the 'sacred island' is Abalonia,” said Eclipse, “roughly translated to the modern tongue it means Island of Apples or Apple Isle,” this caused all the Apples to smile, “according to Bridleton's old legends the island is swarming with magics that are said to be as old as the world itself, and apples are the only trees to ever grow on the island. It is said that apples from different regions of the island have different magical effects. The only only known ponies to travel to the island are the original Artanus and Myrraldin himself, it is said that the Original Artanus is in an enchanted sleep within a hollow hill upon the island and waiting for the day where he is awakened because he is needed once more. Unfortunately nopony today knows how to get to the island. If Myrraldin named his daughter after the island it could only mean one thing.”
“And whut woul' tha' be?” said Apple Bloom.
“He wanted to say just how special she was to his life, in modern Bridleton it is against the law to have apple related names, I don't know why that's a reigning law though. Apples are rather easy to get a hoof on, but why you can't name any foals after them is beyond me,” said Eclipse.
“He said he cast some spells on her to keep her safe,” said Twilight, “AJ ever since Pinkie thought she discovered a common ancestor to her and Apples you said you've been taking a closer look at the Apple family records.”
“Tha's right Twi,” said Applejack, “whatcha getting' et?”
“Have you ever encountered a reference to a pony named Abalonia?” inquired the purple mare.
“Tha's a name ya don' rightful ferget on account uh et bein' so unusual,” said Applejack, “sorry Twi I've gone as far back as tha family records allow and tha's wun name Ah never saw.”
“What about names that are rough translations?” said Eclipse with interest, “what about Apple Isle? Or Apple Island?”
Applejack's eyes went big, as did Big Mac's and Granny Smith's when they all said in unison, “Apple Island was the first great Matron uh tha Apple Clan, she appeared in Equestria shortly after et was founded, many uh the traditions we 'ave stem from her.”
“That was a little creepy,” said Twilight.
Eclipse suddenly acted like something clicked, “that's it,” she hollered, “he said his name was an assumed name to make himself more mysterious, but he also reportedly said 'the key to my true name is in my mother's words to me and the generations I leave in the hooves of the most beautiful filly in the world'. Every good father thinks their daughter is the most beautiful filly in the world, and his mother supposedly said he was the seed for a new age. His name, his real one, was probably Appleseed. One of the spells he placed on his daughter probably blocked off unicorns from appearing in the bloodline, and Twilight said his daughter was an Earth filly. In short the entire Apple Clan can be considered his successors, especially considering their dedication to Apples. Apples are the sacred plant of the age Myrraldin is from, the most mystical fruit of his day is cultivated by a clan with direct blood link to him. Knowing how his magic worked the Apples probably won't produce any unicorns until a magic stronger than Myrraldin's joins the bloodline, it's the only way he could ensure the safety of his descendants since those that took over would be looking for potentially powerful unicorns and assume they were his direct descendants only to find out during the course of the unicorn's training that wasn't the case. The Apple clan holds the keys to Abalonia, they just need to try and figure out where the keys were left by Apple Island. She was probably a bit like her father and placed the clues to uncovering the location of the keys in a place only the most trusted ponies would be allowed to go.”
“Did she jus' ramble on about how we're tha' ones that are directly descended from a unicorn on par wi' Starswirl tha Bearded and have access ta means of travelin' ta an island that would make any member uh the clan giddy?” said Apple Bloom with confusion.
“Ah believe tha's wha' 'er ramblin' was abou',” said Big Macintosh.
“Well bless mah bones,” said Granny Smith, “tha doctors kep tellin' me thar's no way Ah can be able ta keep goin' as long as Ah have wi'ou' some extra means, maybe uh bi' uh thaut unicorn heritage she thinks we got is 'elping me ou' uh bit. An' Ah like her little theory, mostly 'cause she rambled abou' us havin' tha keys ta go ta tha greatest Apple Orchard in tha world.”
“About that,” said Eclipse rubbing her neck, “Abalonia hasn't had anypony tending it for centuries, or so I've been lead to believe, so it might be a little haphazard when you do finally get there.”
“If we ever do get ta visit this place ya told us abou' and et's the way ya described et that jus' means et needs a uh bit of tha lovin' care we Apples provide all thar trees,” said Appejack.
“Please don't tell me you'll name every tree on island,” said Twilight with exasperation, “it's bad enough when every tree in the orchard has a name.”
“Now Twi,” said Big Macintosh, “just because you haven't com ta accept sum of tha more unique eccentricities uh tha Apple clan don't mean ya have to groan about somethin' aint happened yet.”
“Well that confirms it,” said Eclipse, “they're going to try naming potentially thousands of trees that have grown wild for who knows how long on an island that is potentially teaming with so much magic it could cause the internal magics of anypony to either grow out of control or cause magics related to their talents to become so strong they're on a whole other level.”
“Wait, back that up a bit,” said Twilight, “it can make our inherent magics more powerful?”
“From what I've read about the island, yes” said Eclipse, “Artanus's magics aren't running wild because he's in an enchanted sleep within the Hollow Hill, Myrraldin didn't have a much of a problem because magic was his talent and he frequented the island so often that he developed an adaptation to the island's magic, it's possible his daughter was born on the island granting her unique properties nopony else could have.”
“Magic is my talent,” said Twilight with pride, “so by your calculations the island will have very little effect on me.”
“Yes, well the island is said to have time pass different than the rest of the world. Some of the texts I read speculated that only few hours on the island could translate to a few days in world outside, others speculated that time was inconsistent for those visiting with some spending few hours to find days or weeks had passed them by while others spent months on the island to find barely a week had slipped by. These are all speculations, seeing as all the ponies that wrote those theories never visited the island.”
“Really? That's interesting,” said Twilight, “if I was able to study the magics of the island I could provide a conclusive decision regarding temporal transition theories, the study could revolutionize magic as a whole, most notably age spells and time travel spells, can you imagine the ability to...”
“Gonna have ta cut ya off thar Twi,” said Applejack, “if ya keep et up we might lose ya ta tha theory fervor beast again, and what would that do ta yer student here?”
“Oh, I'd probably be helping her with all the theories,” said Eclipse, “creating and altering formulas is fun, exciting, and feels very rewarding. Back in Bridleton we couldn't do any of that, the newest magical theories and formulas are over seven centuries old, and we're not allowed to even think about altering or tweaking them.”
“She's made fer Twi alright,” said Apple Bloom, “wait, watcha mean yer not allowed ta mess with existing magical theories an' formulas, Ah thought that was part uh tha whole magic centered unicorn deal.”
“Bridleton has been frozen in all its policies for thousands of years,” said Eclipse, “I didn't realize that until I actually got a good look at Equestrian technologies and formulas. Making waffles with miss Twilight was fun, as far as I know we don't have anything like them in Bridleton,” her ears drooped, “that place is full of bad memories for me, I don't ever want to think about it again, but I'll catch glimpses of my bad memories when miss Twilight finally uses that memory spell on me, I don't want to fight. I feel like I need her to do it, she's the first pony I've felt I should never keep anything from, I just now realized it and don't want to keep anything from her no matter what. She's what my new definition of a mother should be, and you should never keep anything from your mother.”
“That's sweet, Eclipse,” said Twilight, “but you should know that it's okay to keep some things from your mother, but you're right in believing whatever is in your memories is best left as an open book for me to read when I finally get around to using that memory observation spell. You were right with your instincts on that one, it's a very benign spell and is exactly the kind of spell I would expect from a unicorn here in Equestria, in fact I might have even devised a similar spell in a few few years.”
After answering some minor questions from the Apples Eclipses thanked them for their time and asked Twilight if they could go. They walked back to the castle in silence, not the uneasy silence one usually has but instead the more content silence. When they were back at the palace Twilight said, “I'm proud of you, you looked like you were really uncomfortable with all that, but you did well. Now I want you to remember you don't have any lessons for tomorrow, so instead I want you to go out and interact with other foals around your age. You already met one, and she really wants to get to know you. Just like my mentor wanted me to make some friends years ago I want you to try making friends as well. You need to get out of the mindset Bridleton put you in, the best way to do that is to get as far away from that line of thinking as possible. Friends have a way of making all those old worries seem almost insignificant if you take the time to listen to them.”
“I'll try,” said Eclipse as they walked into the castle.
Owlwicious (looking like he was getting elderly) was on a perch watching the door, “don' you give me that look mister, you could have been introduced to her proper days ago, but you decided to keep yourself out of sight,” said Twilight.
“Hoo, hhoo,” said the owl.
“You really are getting a faulty memory,” said Twilight, “I don't need to be in Canterlot since the princesses got back days ago. How is it you didn't hear the party for Eclipse when we got back?”
“Hoo, hoooo hoo,” said the owl.
“I'm aware Pinkie might have thrown a few parties here in the past couple of weeks, she does have a spare key to the castle. However, the part four days ago was for Eclipse Touch. The filly you just asked about. And Before you ask, the little thing curled up on her back is an otter that she's decided be her new pet. Now say hello to her.”
“Hoot, hahoo,” said the elderly looking owl with a curt bow before flying off.
“You... can understand him?” inquired Eclipse.
“Oh, yes,” said Twilight, “I learned how from Fluttershy, her special talent allows her to understand animals. I learned how to understand owls from her, although it's only owls. Trying learn how to understand all the creatures she does would take up far too much of my time and I have a lot of responsibilities now. I made sure to make next week clear for me so my friends and I could have our meet and greet. You'll be joining us, mostly because we don't mind. In fact I think everypony would want to meet you. The only one you haven't met yet is Rainbow, I think she'll like you.”
“I'm really tired,” said Eclipse.
“I think you should sleep in your own room this time,” said Twilight, “its preparations were finished days ago, since it is your personal space you can do with it whatever you want. That means that Abal and your new doll will fit in there nicely, I'll ask Fluttershy about the dietary needs of the kind of otter Abal is while you get some rest. It is a weekend and you need to start getting into some weekend habits.”
****************
Twilight watched as Eclipse was curled up in her new bed with the Twilight doll drawn in close and Abal curled up near the foot of her bed on top of the sheets. After looking over the sleeping filly for a few minutes she smiled and gently closed the door before making her way to the stairs and door so she could make her way to Fluttershy's.
As soon as she opened the door she was greeted to the sight of her old mentor. “Princess Celestia,” said Twilight with surprise, “to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”
“I just wanted to check up on how you were doing,” said the ivory alicorn, “how has it gone with your new student?”
“Well she definitely is like me when I was learning from you, she's really focused on reading up on spells that she doesn't consider any other options. Part of it is how she was raised, but I think it mostly has to do with some kind of sense that she needs to control her ability so she can deal with whatever she considers a threat. She's so focused on academics that she doesn't even consider any sort of method for winding down.”
“Twilight,” said Celestia with a smile, “you were the same way during your first year with me, it wasn't until half way through your second year under my wing that you started reading books that weren't of any substantial academic value. Where is your student now?”
“Sleeping,” said Twilight as she let the taller alicorn in. The two headed for the sitting room and settled into seats they considered appropriate, “I told her we wouldn't be having any lessons today, it's mostly so that she could rest properly from pushing herself the past few days. The first thing she did when she got up head for the library and load up with academic books, about a quarter of which were magic related.”
Celestia gave a little giggle before saying, “you were the same way Twilight, you were so eager about advancing my magic you didn't take time off during weekends either.”
“Yes, well I at least made requests of the castle staff when I got hungry enough to notice and took short meal breaks,” said Twilight, “she was completely ignoring the needs of her body in order to continue her studies. I think it has something to do with what she had to deal with before she arrived. Her diet was highly controlled, and not in a way that is meant to ensure her abilities performed at optimum efficiency. She was made to endure a diet designed to keep her magic levels maintained, she was told that when her performance improved she could have more substantial foods.”
“That is definitely not the best way to encourage magical capabilities,” said Celestia, “has she said anything else of substance that explanins her birth nation?”
“She said something about an entity named Still, she says Still is the spirit of stagnation. I'm not really sure what that's supposed to mean, Discord is often referred to as the spirit of chaos, but I'm not sure what kind of relation the two could have. When I looked over the journals she brought they also talked about this Still, what had to say wasn't pleasant. From what I've read so far Still has an inablity to enter a stable nation she wishes to exert her influence over, she needs to find a way to sow the seeds of civil war upon those nations and then when that's been done she trots right in and waits for the dust to start clearing before establishing a system of government that she can better manipulate. She uses the foundations of the prior nation as scaffold and erects a sort of twisted version of what was once there.”
“That's horrible,” said Celestia, “it worse I assume.”
“Yes,” said Twilight, “she instates herself as a key advisor to the rulers of the nations she's reconstructed to her specifications, never the ruler though. Then when a revolution is unavoidable she selects a new nation to twist around her hoof and sets things in motion for her move. Myrraldin was very clear about this, he seemed to have done a tremendous study on her and other entities he coined 'Supreme Supernatural Forces'. He has some references to an entity that sounds an awful lot like a much younger Discord, but it seems he focused mainly on Still. He theorized she created some kind of method that began the process of slowing the development of her target nation, his two most prevailing theories was she sent ponies in under the guise of ambassadors to begin slowing the progression of the other nation or some kind of spell that influenced the development of her target nation. He didn't have any sort of proof either way, but those were the most likely methods he could think of.”
“Discord showed you the art piece?” said Celestia, seeming to change the conversation.
“Yes,” said Twilight, “I don't understand much, and some of the image didn't make sense because...”
“I've been dating Discord for the past five years,” said Celestia, which caught Twilight completely by surprise, “we've been very good at hiding it, but if that image is in fact something from how things are supposed to be that would mean Myrraldin's theory about a spell was closer to the mark than he thought.”
Twilight suddenly realized what her former mentor was getting at and said, “Still somehow has managed to have one of the unicorns of the nation she has influence over that makes it so that ponies with the potential to bring about some the greatest changes are prevented from being born at the proper time and probably born before their appointed time and placed in a surrogate she had some measure of control over. But going off that theory Eclipse and Dream would probably be one of the foals in the image we saw. If that is the case the question of which foal she is would come up. Is she the one I was holding in the picture? Or was she Luna's? Also it probably cause a temporal ripple effect, like what Starswirl theorized if a time travel spell was big enough, one that caused events that would lead to the births of those foals to happen in ways that did not lead to their births.”
A yawn came from the top of the stairs and Eclipse's tired voice said, “you're failing to account for fixed temporal points, if a spell like that were to occur a fixed point in the nation's history would prevent it from progressing further.”
The two alicorns turned to see a sleep trotting Eclipse, “an event like the defeats of Discord and Tirek would act as break walls for the temporal ripples which in turn would prevent their effects from going further and only cause minor changes that had no real influence on the events as a whole. If we take into account the temporal fixed points then that means...” Eclipse suddenly woke up, “um, miss Twilight what am I doing down here? I thought I was sleeping in my bed, it was wonderful feeling to sleep without fears keeping me fixed to the bed.”
“You just gave input on a discussion Princess Celestia and I were having, while you were sleeping. You talked about time influencing spells.”
“But I,” Eclipse looked at the two alicorns with a confused look, “I've never read up on any time spells or formulas.”
“But you were talking in a way that stated you actually had appropriate input to the conversation,” said Celestia.
“She was also literally asleep when she did it,” said Twilight, “something is up and I'm going to find out about it soon, I've been preoccupied with the journals, but I think I'll give that memory spell a thorough reading.”
“Can somepony explain what is going on, please?” said Eclipse, “I'm really confused. And sleepy,” she collapsed on the ground between the two mares.”
“That was odd,” whispered Celestia as Twilight lifted the filly in her magic, this caused Eclipse to give a couple of little giggles of delight while remaining asleep.
“I know what you mean,” whispered Twilight back, “there are a lot of things that seem a bit random with her, but not in the same way Pinkie is random.”
“Is she still insisting on sleeping with you,” whispered the ivory mare.
Twilight ascended the steps with Eclipse in her magic and half way to the sleeping filly's room said, “no, Rarity gave her plush doll in my likeness and that seems to make her comfortable enough to sleep by herself, and her new pet is probably helping as well, she actually got them both today.”
“And the two new additions to the household are making her more comfortable,” whispred Celestia as she watched Twilight tuck the filly back into bed, with almost a motherly touch, before gently closing the door behind her.
Once the two were downstairs in the library, because Twilight just loved having all that space for her books, and seated Twilight said, “so, why are you here? Don't you have court duties to attend to?”
“I decided to end court early today,” said Celestia, “you can only take so much repetition before you begin to decide to try changing things up, and besides the same thirty petitions every month can grate on even my nerves. I wanted to see how you were coming along with your new student, and see the kind of relationship you two have.”
“She's very formal with me,” said Twilight, “much the way I was my first few months with you, I'm trying get her to be a bit more informal.”
“With limited success I suppose,” said Celestia with smirk remembering her first few years with Twilight.
“I suppose,” said Twilight, “I told her we would have the weekend off, at the very least I listened to you when you said that and read some recreational books.”
Celestia chuckled at the memory of what Twilight had called recreational in their early years together, after a while she snapped her attention on her former student and said, “why did you word it that way?”
“None of the books Spike or I caught her reading were for recreational purposes, every single one was academic in nature. In fact the recreational books Spike suggested to her were all in a neat little pile labeling them as not being useful. If I catch her doing something similar tomorrow I'm going to stage an intervention, in the best way for a filly!”
“And,” Celestia inquired, “what would that be exactly?”
Twilight's face lit up with big, goofy grin as she said, “Story time! When I catch her doing the academic approach only I'm going to pull her aside and read one of the foal friendly story books in this library, and maybe I'll do the same for a few nights.”
“Careful Twilight,” Celestia said in a mock chastisement, “you're starting to sound more like a mother than a teacher.”
“Truth be told, Princess,” said Twilight, “I think she might be scared of her mother, the definition of a mother she gave me yesterday when I asked her give the definition of a mother was far to cold and clinical for my tastes.”
“So you compared your lexicons with each other yesterday? I suppose it's a good start Twilight.”
“Yes, but everything she's been told about magic feels wrong, the societal structure she describes her home as is something that Equestria could have become if the tribes hadn't banded together and formed the foundations of the nations we live in today. The foundations of Bridleton seem to be specifically designed to keep the tribes as far apart as possible, and it even seems like ponies that are of one tribe that have foals that are of different tribe are treated worse with their foals being treated like some kind of disgrace. Their brother is treated like the family's dirty little secret they decided to sweep under the rug and forget about, that is except during events that mandate that all living members of the family be present.”
“They really did go the way Equestria could have if events played out a bit differently in the past,” said Celestia with a sad tone, “how long have they had a nation like that.”
“It's hard to say,” said Twilight, “I've been reading Myrraldin's journals in my free time, they're a fascinating read,” Celestia stifled a chuckle while think how some things would never really change, “and it seems that under Myrraldin's guidance a colt named Artanus founded a kingdom under a similar prospect to Equestia. Artanus's kingdom was safeguarded by knights, the greatest of whom were his most trusted advisors and best friends. Together with him they formed what were known as the Circle Knights, an order dedicated to ensuring equality to all across the lands of the kingdom.”
“They must have been some amazing ponies,” said Celestia with a renewed interest.
“They weren't just ponies,” said Twilight with excitement, “the circle knights had earth ponies, unicorns, pegasi, griffins, dragons, hippogriffs and even kirins among them. I had look up what hippogriffs and kirins were since I was unfamiliar with the words, but you must know what they are princess!”
“Indeed I do,” said Celestia with a smile, she knew Twilight could often slip into old habits when she got really excited, “it's been a long time since I encountered one of either. In a way the Circle Knights could be considered much like you and your friends these days.”
Twilight sat thought for a bit and then nodded vigorously, “I've been thinking too hard on what I want my possible royal guard to look like, I think it's time I started looking at what I need it to be like, the journals and this talk helped me remember that lesson from way back when.”
Celestia smiled and made her way to the door, “oh and Twilight, try to keep an open mind about things, just be careful because you never who who or what could trot in when you do that.”
“Sure thing, I hope your next rendezvous with Discord doesn't get interrupted before you can actually get to the kissing stage.”
Celestia stopped just sort of the door and said, “How long have you known? Have you told anypony about it yet?”
“Three years,” said Twilight with a smirk, “I figured out on my own, this is made more incredible when you take into account how I'm usually oblivious to such things. The only pony I've told is Cadance, and that was only last year. She's agreed to keep it a secret until you two are willing to come admit to the relationship.”
“Well,” said Celestia, “that's going to make our annual princess meeting this coming fall a little awkward.”
“I suggest you come clean with Luna by then,” said Twilight, “you still have a few months to do so, if you don't tell her your fiancée will.”
“How long have you known about the horn ring he made for me?”
“About a year, at our last meeting before you rushed off to pick up those three you were showing twitch with your wings touching your horn when you were starting to show a sense worry when we were in private.”
“Thank you, Twilight, for not spreading this to those in Equestria that would possibly ruin what we have going on.”
“The way I see it, one or both of you deserves to share with Equestria instead of somepony with a blabber mouth or access to a well-read news publication finds out. The populace might feel less betrayed, they might even be understanding of your secret relationship up to that point.”
“Thanks for not overreacting Twilight.”
“Oh, I did that after I first came to the realization, I had three rooms dedicated to the formulas I personally created from scratch to try and explain how you could even consider entertaining a relationship with Discord, I spent three months not talking to anypony when not in court, it worried my friends.”
“It rightfully should,” said Celestia, “out of curiosity, is Eclipse now spending time in one of those rooms?”
“No, I made sure to put her in a room that hadn't been used for anything other than storage.”
“Well, we'll see just how you both develop in a few years,” with that she was out the door.
Twilight trotted back to the hall just outside the filly's room as she cracked open the door to peek she thought, I've never really felt this maternal before, not even with Spike. She peered in and smiled at the sleeping filly, who was cuddling the plush doll in her likeness. Maybe I'll ask Rarity to make one in the likeness of each of us, it might help her feel safer.
Eclipse was sleeping soundly in her bed and said, “Mommy is the best, ever,” before going quiet again. Twilight smiled a bit wider and headed to her room.
Now, thought Twilight, to get back to those journals.
****************************
It was almost noon when Twilight heard Eclipse giggling outside her room, the lavender alicorn closed the journal she was reading through after marking the page with a feather from Owlwicious. It was at this point she noticed the feather shimmer for a bit before its age reversed to the age she knew the owl had been around when he had become a part of the life she and Spike shared. “So, that's how the books have managed to remain in such good condition,” mused Twilight as she placed the book on her nightstand, “they have a restoration spell that maintains them, a truly ingenious method.” Twilight opened her door to find the sight of Eclipse cuddling the doll in her likeness and sleeping next to the mare's door, she giggled and picked the filly up in her magic, this in turn caused said filly to giggle as she was carried in the lavender mare's magic. This caused Twilight to smile as she took the Eclipse back to the bed she was meant to be in and tucked her in, before leaving the filly Twilight kissed her just above her horn. Why am I feeling so...maternal? Thought Twilight, it's almost as if I really do want her to be my foal. But why would I want to be the mother of a filly I only just met a few days ago. This requires study, I also need an establishing baseline so I'll have talk to mom and dad about all the parenting stuff... They are definitely going to take it the wrong way.
Twilight returned to her reading of the journals when the sound of giggling came from Eclipse's a few hours room, she once again marked her place and peered in on the filly. This time her otter was cuddling up in a way that was tickling the filly, while surprisingly not waking her. First thing's first, I need to read up on parenting, the books are more readily available and my parents can inform me which components of the information in the books is actually viable and which pieces are next to worhtless. I wonder what it feels like to be real mom, not just a mother figure or storybook mom. She probably thinks of me as her storybook mom, as cute as that is I think it best I set her straight before it goes to far, if it hasn't already. My friends and I will all start catching up tomorrow, I think it best Eclipse and I get some things squared away before that happens.
*************************************************
It was almost three in the afternoon when Eclipse came down and saw Twilight making sandwiches and Wraps in the kitchen with Spike. “How long was I out? Did I do anything you didn't approve of? I hope not,” said Eclipse in a tired voice that was scared and looking for approval.
“You were out for most of the day,” said Twilight, “a little sleeptrotting, and giggling, but nothing more beyond that, I got a chance to read through quite a few of those journals you brought. I'm making lunch for my friends and I for our get together later this week, six days of getting together and reliving a bit of how things used to be, I'm looking forward to it.”
“Will I...”
“Of course not, if anything you'll help remind some of us of how we envisioned the future. I've had musings about being a mother, and in a way you've been helping me get a taste of what it would like to be a mother, especially since you call me mommy when you're sleeping.”
Eclipse looked around like she was in trouble and searching for a place to mitigate her punishment before saying, “I hope I wasn't being inappropriate Miss Twilight, I don't want to be responsible for something that is too problematic for you.”
“As if,” sad Spike, “if anything you've dong something very right, I haven't seen Twilight so happy to be around anypony like she is with you in a long time, you've made Twilight feel like she's more than your mentor, and that is something she was hoping for from the start.”
“She's not like how I was told a magic instructor should be,” said Eclipse.
“Take that as a good thing,” said Spike as he headed out the door.
“I'm not just your magic instructor,” said Twilight as she gestured for the filly to join her, “I'm your mentor, that means it is my duty and privilege to help guide you to being a better pony and learning about more than just magic. That's why when the summer has come to an end you'll be enrolling in Ponyville's public school, there are things that I am unable to teach you that the school can, and it will great place to meet new ponies.”
“I'm scared,” said Eclipse, “not just about meeting new ponies, but for anypony that I develop an attachment to.”
“Worried what Great Spell and Grand Charm will do if they see you willingly interacting with ponies they don't approve of?” The filly nodded, “don't worry, they don't have any jurisdiction here, and besides as my student you are under the full breadth of my protection.”
“They won't believe any of you are genuine alicorns, even if you prove everything they claim they believe wrong. Rhetoric and propaganda are very powerful in shaping the minds of others, or at least that's something I read a month ago while making preparations for our escape. I don't know why I suddenly started resisting all of it, especially considering how forcefully and often it was jammed down my throat.”
“That's an easy enough answer,” said Twilight with a smile, “you're an academic, you kept on saying you were before and during our first lessons. A true academic takes the facts and looks at things objectively, that's how you managed to free yourself from the claims that have kept your birth nation stuck in a mindset that is extremely outdated. You have the kind of mind that could become a great scholar, we just need to get your head, mind, heart and soul pointed in the right direction. I was a lot like you are now before I met my friends, and the majority of our first adventure together. Do you remember what I said about Pumpkin Cake?”
“She has twin brother, her parents run and operate the town bakery, her parents are earth ponies and she's only being tutored by you.”
“Well yes, but you missed some very important pieces of information.”
“What would those be?”
“Her twin brother is a pegasus, she's only having me tutor her in the use of magic, she and her brother need a good friend, and this town was founded by Earth ponies only a few hundred years ago.”
“But this castle must have been here as reminder of the imposing power of unicorns over the populace!”
“No, that's not what it symbolizes and it's only been here about seven years now. I used to live in the Golden Oaks library for my first year here. The new town library was finished just a couple of years ago, along with some extensions onto the Ponyville schoolhouse, I personally funded both as much as I could while also helping out in whatever way I could.”
“Learning all this feels like it would be easier with a mark of my own,” said Eclipse with despondent look at her flank.
“It could help,” said Twilight.
“Wait, you said you funded and aided the construction of the new town library and additions to the schoolhouse. You're royalty, you should think ponies seeing you work do manual labor should be beneath you.”
“That's your old culture talking,” said Twilight with a disapproving stare, which turned into a soft smile, “the higher your station, the greater your responsibilities. Some ponies think that means the greater their responsibilities to 'show superiority' over everypony else, that's not what it means. It means the higher your station is the greater your responsibilities to help ponies in any way you can. Somepony could see you and your siblings making an escape as running from your responsibilities, seeing as how high you keep saying your family stands politically in Bridelton.”
“But you think it's something else,” said Eclipse, “what exactly?”
“You all ran to responsibility, on some level you noticed how your family wasn't living up to its responsibilities. Even if you do end up going back there you will always want to live up to the responsibilities your station entails.”
“If only it were that easy,” said Eclipse as she pulled her ears back in shame, “anypony who's tried to change things has been executed, one of the responsibilities we've been told we have as nobles is to 'ensure all other ponies know their place, by any means we see fit', Great Spell and Great Seal have found ways to abuse the ponies under their jurisdiction. I have truly mean parents, and a despicable grandmare, I'm afraid of what it will mean for me to have family like that.”
“They were guided by rhetoric, you broke free of that when you decided to try looking at Bridleton as if an observer untouched by the rhetoric of the nation. Now, you need to follow three simple rules when you're in the kitchen.”
“But weren't you raised on something similar in Equestria? What are the rules for the kitchen?”
Twilight gave the black filly a smile before saying, “Equestria may have rhetoric of its own, but my friends and I never really took much stock in, mostly because some aspect of who we are. As for the rules of the kitchen, listen closely.”
Eclipse leaned so close her ear was up against the lavender mare, this caused Twilight to chuckle and say, “not that close,” the filly moved a few inches out, “better. The rules of the kitchen are always clean up after you are done, this includes putting everything away; talking about sad things in the kitchen, it ruins the kind of atmosphere the kitchen is supposed to have; and, as Pinkie would phrase it, 'no sad stuff, it ruins the food you made and are working on'. Those are the three rules of the kitchen I try to follow, and expect you to as well.”
“Sure thing, miss Mom... that's not what I meant say.”
Twilight gave another chuckle and said, “you call me mommy in your sleep, I don't mind if you refer to me like a mom.”
“I really don't know why, maybe if you look at my dream and memories it could help.”
“We need to know you have your magic under control before trying either of those spells, we've been fortunate you didn't have any magic surges.”
“My surges aren't like other unicorns, my canceling effect reaches out pretty far when I have surges, at least I think it does.”
“We'll look into that later, right now I would like to assist me in making lunch for tomorrow.”
“Why are we making it?”
“It's been a long time since my friends and I saw each other, I want as much as I can to be a bit more personal.”
“Oh, I don't really know what friends are. I've read the dictionary meaning, and even asked if I could try forming that kind of connection. I made two efforts both failed. Great Spell, Great Seal, and Grand Charm said that,” she made her mocking aristocratic voice again, “'friends are beneath one of our station'” she returned to her usual voice, “but I felt something was wrong when they said that the second time around.”
“Nopony is above having friends, just as nopony is above or beyond the law. Remember, your station never makes you better than anypony else, it just defines your responsibilities. You'll be making friends once you're in school, as much as I know and can teach I have to concede that there are just some things I'm not equipped to teach you. Well, that and you really need to socialize with more than the ponies in this castle, you need to meet and interact with as many ponies as possible, and having you go around town a few times a week is a good way to do that.”
“I'm more scared of what could happen if Great Spell sees me wandering about with ponies that she deems 'below my station',” she folded her ears back, “I don't want to endanger anypony if I have a choice.”
“That already makes you a better pony, and don't worry we will get to see just what your memories say in time, but for now let's focus on making you some happy memories to ward of the not so happy ones. I really do want you to meet all my friends.”
Eclipse took two slices of bread and started making an exacting slather of spread over the pieces, this caused Twilight giggle a bit, “What you want expect of me?” Said Eclipse as she placed some white flower petals with care on one of the spread slices and brought the other piece to it with utmost care before carefully moving to spot she believed it would be out of the way and started on the next one.
“Just for you to succeed,” said Twilight as she placed sandwich spread and a dissected crocus flower on a tortilla and rolled it all up in a neat a tidy fashion. “You know, nopony here has any expectations of you beyond seeing you discover your talents and passions then living your life according to what you think you need to do.”
“It's not that easy for ponies in Bridleton, a mess of archaic mindsets dictate how everypony is live their lives. Equestria is filled with a cornucopia of things that Bridelton's static approach wouldn't be able to fully process.”
“Well,” that's just horrible,” came Rarity's voice.
“We're in the kitchen, Rarity,” said Twilight, “I thought Spike was helping you today!”
“He is,” said the pearly unicorn as the sound of her ascending the steps reached the ears of the two, “it turns out Sweetie decided to turn my auxiliary storage was more a mess, I practically fainted, Spike's clearing out for me to see the full extent of the damage. Sweetie promised she'd check on that once a month, it looked like the place hadn't been touched since I left, I'm going to have a word with my sister about it next time I see her.”
“She doesn't sound too disappointed,” said Eclipse looking at Twilight just as the ivory unicorn appeared at the kitchen door.”
“That's because I'm not, she's family after all. You just can't feel mad them for long, I see you're preparing for tomorrow.”
It was at this moment that Eclipse was caught a bit off guard and dropped the spreading knife she had in her magic on her face, which left a little bit of the spread on her coat, “I'll go get a bath going,” said Eclipse, “I really haven't cleaned myself up in the past three days, it should be one of my daily routines at all times.”
The two mares chuckled before Twilight said, “You're actually more like me than most would think, I can sometimes get the same way when I'm absorbed in study or projects.”
“She's gotten a bit better about it,” said Rarity, “you two look so cute working together in the kitchen.”
“I like being able to adjust things,” said Eclipse, “when I diverge from the expressed formula nopony gets mad at me.”
“Why would anypony get get mad over something so trivial? That makes no sense,” said Twilight, “although to be fair, I do know some high ranking Canterlot families that are a bit like that.”
“You're lucky it's just some,” said Eclipse as she tried to divert her attention to the sandwiches.
“Care to elaborate, darling,” said Rarity.
Eclipse set the sandwich materials, which she was holding rather awkwardly in her magic, down before saying, “Every, single, family amongst the nobility in Bridelton I encountered was like that.”
“How many?” Inquired Twilight.
Taking a deep sigh Eclipse said, “Of the fifty-three noble houses of Bridleton,” her ears pulled back in shame, “Great Spell would invite representatives of all of them every three months without fail, every single representative would show displeasure at the slightest change if they were not notified of it before their arrival at the main gates of the manor.”
“Oh,” Twilight blinking a bit, “I read about this sort of thing, it's usually a sign of a stagnant culture that likes to play at its own importance because it doesn't want to realize the world around it is changing.”
“How long has it been going on?” Inquired Rarity.
“Well,” said Twilight, “according the the journals and Eclipse Bridleton...”