A month later, Twilight awoke to find a small stack of letters on the nightstand by her bed. She looked over to see Luminous' bed empty, for the filly had moved in with Twilight as, she had found out in an ancient scroll, befitted a squire. Twilight was amused by her squire's diligence in obeying traditional forms when it came to her duties as a squire, though her daily polishing of Twilight's armor felt a little excessive. She had tried to dissuade the white unicorn from doing so, but Luminous seemed to take such pride in her duties, she had eventually given up. The aforesaid armor gleamed on its stand in the corner of the wide room.
A soft snoring told her that while her squire was up and about, her number one assistant was intending to sleep the morning away. Twilight giggled softly, then took the stack of letters from the nightstand and read through them. Most of them were from her friends, who wrote to her regularly now, even though their schedules usually kept them away, they were often in touch. The last letter though was significantly thicker, and had a scent that was particularly familiar. She read the name on it, and stopped, as everything seemed to crystallize around her.
It was from her mother.
She flipped open the letter, which was several pages, and began to read,
Dear Twilight,
It's been some years since we've last contacted each other, and I know you've been very busy, but I thought since you were spending some time in Canterlot you might like to see us at some point.
Twilight felt a twinge of guilt at that, she had been avoiding seeing her parents, she was aware, afraid of their reactions to seeing their much-changed daughter.
I know court life is very demanding, and with you being a knight and all, I'm sure you have quite a bit on your plate. Still, we'd like to see you, your father and I, if you have some time during the afternoon.
Twilight smiled at that, her parents were astronomers and tended to work during the evenings. She had grown up looking at the stars. The next page or so was filled with details of their work, which most ponies would have found boring, but she was genuinely interested in the new comets they discovered and the distant stars they were studying. She caught a note of tension in the writing though, a certain shakiness in the writing that was uncharacteristic of her mother's usual calm. The last page though explained the tension and chilled Twilight through the bone.
I hope you do stop by soon, because the long and short of it is your father isn't doing very well. You may not have heard, but he was on the fringes of whatever spell your impersonator was using against the Guard. It was only a touch, but he can barely rise from his bed now. I took him to the Canterlot Hospital, but they could only say it wasn't good. He's still reviewing the reports his technicians send him rather than resting, the stubborn mule, but he's weakening. If you do come by Twilight, please do so soon. I'm worried he won't last the winter.
Your loving mother,
Starlight Twinkle
Trixie opened the door to Twilight's suite after a perfunctory knock, levitating a tray of breakfast ahead of her, “Surprise Twilight, I cooked-” She dropped the tray as Twilight vanished in a bright flash of light, leaving nothing behind but fluttering letters, which the blue unicorn smartly gathered with her telekinesis before they could blow out the window. “Well,” Trixie said, “I didn't know my cooking was that bad.” She shook her head, a little perplexed and irrationally hurt, but she figured it must have been something terrible to send Dame Twilight Sparkle off like that, with a flash and a bang.
Twilight approached her family home with more than a little trepidation. The house was big, but not imposing, with impressive architecture and designs of stars set in the windows and on the doors. Yet it radiated a sense of warmth and welcome, as it always had, and Twilight felt herself relaxing, despite her apprehension at seeing her parents again. The house was huge for one inhabited by a couple and their daughter, but Bright Shine and Starlight Twinkle had intended to have more foals than just Twilight. A cruel irony it had been then, that Twilight's birth had cost her mother her fertility, after they had lost one pregnancy already. They never said anything, but Twilight had always pushed herself partially because she felt she had to make up for the brother that was never born, as much as for her own personal ambitions. She swallowed hard, and set a hoof upon the front step, only to jump back as the door was flung open and Twilight's mother pulled her in magically into a tight hug.
“Twilight,” Starlight Twinkle said softly, clutching her taller daughter to herself like a pony clinging to flotsam in a storm, “It's so good to see you, I... I knew you'd...” Twilight was speechless as her mother pulled back, and tried to smile at her, “You've gotten so tall, your father won't be able to call you End-table anymore,”
Twilight continued to stare for a moment, unprepared for the signs of age that had streaked her mother's hair and lined her face, like the touch of some dreadful wraith from a story. She recovered after a moment and said softly, “I'm so sorry, Mom, I should've-” She was stopped by her mother's hoof pressing gently against her lips and the understanding in her eyes. Twilight bit her lip and nodded, feeling the tears come.
“Yes, Twilight, you should've,” Starlight said gently, “But you're here now, and that's what matters. Come on now, let's go see your father, he should just be waking up to try and read the star charts I can't seem to take away from him.” They both smiled a little, Twilight's father was much involved in discovering new planets, and had earned his cutie mark as a foal discovering a planet with two moons. It was his dedication that had so inspired Twilight while she was at the School for Gifted Unicorns.
The brief smile between mother and daughter faded as they heard a weak voice call from above, “Starlight, honey?” Starlight led Twilight swiftly up the stairs, around to the master bedroom, where the stench of blood assaulted Twilight's nose like a physical blow. The room was as magnificent as ever, richly appointed and filled with star charts and a large telescope pointing out the open window. The bed had been moved so the occupant could access the telescope without rising overmuch, but the occupant of the bed looked like he wouldn't be rising anytime soon.
Bright Shine was wrapped across the chest in tight, efficient bandages, which were deeply stained with fresh blood. He was wasted, gray in more than the blue fur about his muzzle, but his yellow eyes lit up in joy as he saw his daughter, “Twilight!” He broke off coughing as he tried to rise, which caused the troubling stains on the bandages to grow, but the stubborn stallion would only lay back once Twilight came over and embraced him. He nuzzled her affectionately, “It's been so long, my daughter, you look as wonderful as ever.” He smiled, and the creases around Bright Shine's eyes reminded Twilight painfully that she had been away from them for more than eight years, though for her she'd only been dodging them for a few months.
Still, she smiled for her father and said, “You too dad, you just get more refined with age, like a fine wine.” Her father laughed, which made him wince and flinch, causing Twilight to hover with concern until he waved her off.
“Speaking of whine,” Bright Shine said with a little smile at his daughter for his weak pun, while Starlight trotted about, levitating out a pair of scissors, “I don't mean to complain but this is about the time my bandages need a change. I'm sorry you had to see me like this,” he winced as the bandages were gently tugged off by Starlight's magic, taking little bits of fur despite the practiced care with which the unicorn mare removed the blood-soaked cloths, revealing a long, ragged slash across his torso that wept blood. As soon as they were gone, another cloth came in, soaked with some sort of disinfectant, to scrub the wound clean, rather painfully to judge by Bright Shine's expression. The wound looked fresh, and Twilight could feel the pulsing, magical force of the wound, keeping it from healing.
In a flash of insight, she realized what had been done, and the very core of her burned at the perversion her double had committed. “Wait,” she said softly, causing her mother to pause in her cleaning of the wound for a moment, “I think I might be able to help...” The look of doubt from her mother made Twilight wince inwardly, aware of how foalish her words sounded, like an errant daughter eager to come back into her parents' graces, but she continued, “However much my fake wasn't me, she still had some of my tendencies, and I think I can-... Um...” Twilight's mother had stopped looking at her, and seemed to be looking to Bright Shine, who was slowly bleeding out against the blankets.
He nodded to his wife, then to Twilight, “Twilight, honey, I love you, and I know you want to fix this. Nopony at the hospital could help though, and I don't want you to hurt yourself trying something like this,” Twilight seemed to deflate, but her father continued, “But you're an adult now, and honestly, it's not like things can get much worse for-” he broke off coughing for a moment, which accelerated the flow of blood from his wound, though he waved off the two anxious mares when they moved to help him, “Can't get much worse for me. So if you think it's safe, honey, then I trust you, but don't push it if it means it'll hurt you.”
Twilight bit her lip, then nodded, while her mother nuzzled her gently and then stepped back. Twilight leaned in close and began to cast. Her analysis spell reached out and investigated the deep gash across her father's chest, causing her to grimace as she appreciated the full power of the spellwork. She could see, now, why the usual healing spells had failed against the ghastly wound, which was using the body's own resources to attack the edges of itself and keep itself open. The fake Twilight had taken a healing spell, one which gently encourages the body to attack an invading parasite, and turned it into a vicious attack, probably combined with some sort of kinetic blade. What's worse is when she started to unravel the spell from her father's flesh, gently guiding the threads of magic away to dissipate harmlessly, she found that a sub-spell had been worked in that would accelerate the process, dissolving her father's skin and muscle like acid. She snarled at it unconsciously, causing her mother to step back a pace and her father grimaced at the renewed pain, though Twilight was far too caught up to notice.
She contained the spell with one burst of magic, and unraveled it with another, while taking time to numb the area and prevent further pain to her father. She entertained the idea briefly of reversing the spell, but realized her double had taken that into account as well, finding another sub-spell latched onto the main spell that, should the spell be reversed, would turn the site of the wound into a cancerous mess. She marveled that her fake had been able to do all of this repeatedly, as combat magic, and found herself having to run about mentally, trying to head off all the various nasty sub-clauses of the spell. At last, after what felt like hours of fighting, the spell unwound entirely with a soft snap.
Twilight didn't stop casting though, she used her own healing spell to knit the muscles and flesh that had been torn asunder by the perverted magic, until at last, closing the skin, the only thing left was a long, white scar across Bright Shine's chest, which moved gently with his breath as he slept. Twilight shook herself free of her casting trance and looked over at her mother, who was staring at Twilight, tears running freely from her eyes. Twilight looked back at her father, and realized she was starting to tear up herself. She felt her mother nuzzle up against her, then led her quietly from the room.
“Twilight,” Starlight said softly, once they were in the study next door, “I can't thank you enough, my daughter. I... When I invited you I thought... I'm sorry, you must be tired, after that dear,” Twilight wasn't, she was surprised to notice, but she accepted her mother's change of topic and accepted the chair she offered with a nod. The silence lengthened for an unbearable amount of time, then Starlight asked softly, “Did... Did you ever resent us, Twilight?”
“What?!” Twilight exclaimed incredulously, before lowering her voice at her mother's nod towards the other room, where Bright Shine still slept, “Why? I... I never, I mean... Why would I? You were the best parents I could have asked for.” She shook her head, “I mean, I always meant to visit, but there was always something to do. I was going to visit during the Gala but...” She trailed off, evoking the complications that had arisen during that night with her helpless look.
Starlight giggled softly, relaxing, “Oh Twilight, that's so good to hear, we thought you were upset with us, or didn't... Didn't need us anymore. And then, when they...” Starlight swallowed hard, “W-When they hanged... Hanged her, the imposter, I thought... We thought...” Twilight's mother wiped her eyes while Twilight just stared, in shock, until Starlight could continue, “Well we thought you were gone, and then the Guards came around, almost a year ago just... Asking if you'd come by, looking through the house, rooting around until Bright Shine shouted them out. But we knew then, knew you were back. Oh Twilight, why didn't you come home? We could have helped, could have... Could have done something, we were so afraid for you,” And now the tears flowed from Starlight's eyes, and Twilight rose and walked over to comfort her mother with a nuzzle, only to be pulled practically into her mother's lap in a tight hug.
“Mom,” Twilight said after a moment, tears in her eyes as she gently pulled back from her mother's embrace, “Mom I'm sorry, I didn't... I didn't want to come home because I...” Twilight hesitated, then blurted out, “I've been changed, I'm... When I was captured he, they...” Twilight looked down, forcing herself to stay calm through sheer will, “They changed me, into something else, I'm not...” Twilight looked down, unable to meet her mother's eyes, “I'm not totally a pony, anymore.” Twilight's mother blinked, and for a long while only the ticking of the clock broke the silence.
“Honey,” Starlight said surprisingly sternly, causing Twilight to look up in surprise, “No matter what happens, no matter what has been done to you, you're still my- our daughter,” She nodded to the other room, “Bright Shine would say the same, if he were here and not sleeping off the rest of that injury. But,” and now she looked puzzled, “You look a little taller honey, and your coat's a bit darker but... How changed did you mean?”
Twilight bit her lip again, then sighed, “Very changed, but... Most ponies can't see the changes. There's like...” She waved her hoof vaguely, “A don't-see-me spell constantly on, masking everything. It's... I don't really understand why, but if it ever fails, most ponies run, or hide. But I... I think I can make it so you can see... If you want to.” She bit her lip, tense. She had been studying the way contracts work, but this would be only the second time she had stretched that power consciously. She was hoping agreeing to see her as she was would work, but she had no way of knowing.
Twilight's heart was pounding as she waited for her mother to nod, looking concerned. “Of course, Twilight, but remember, no matter how you've changed, you're still our daughter and we still love you.”
Twilight took her mother's hoof with her own, feeling the tears well up again, and said in a declaratory tone, “Starlight Twinkle, my mother, you may see me as I am, if you swear to give me your honest judgment, on whether or not I am still your daughter, bound by our love together as mother and daughter. Do you agree?”
“Of course!” Starlight said sharply, “And of course you're my-” she was cut off as Twilight began to change before her eyes, which widened in sudden awe. She saw the fire burning across Twilight's mane, filled with whispers and words, while the shadows leapt up her legs like eager puppies looking for attention. Twilight's body was thinner and taller, much taller, she was like a wraith of purple fire that emanated smoke that smelled of burnt paper and formed words that disappeared, half-formed in the air. Her horn ended in a wicked point that sparked with orange letters and symbols of dire potency, while her coat looked almost soot-blackened, except for her cutie mark, which seemed to glow eerily. And yet, despite all the changes... The eyes were still Twilight's. She looked anxious and concerned, and full of the same vibrant spark that had so defined Starlight's daughter.
Starlight relaxed after a moment, then leaned up and nuzzled Twilight, who smiled in sudden delight and pulled her mother out of her chair into a hug, “Of course you're still my daughter, Twilight. You couldn't be anypony else. But,” Starlight frowned, “Who did this to you? And why?” Twilight swallowed hard, sat back down and began, slowly, to tell the story of how she had been captured, and what she remembered of her time with the Librarian.
Twilight had just finished telling about her escape, when a tremendous clatter arose from downstairs. In a flash, Twilight was out the door, looking over the railing of the entrance hall to see two ponies tangled up on the broken leaves of what had once been the front door. She was about to leap down and challenge them, when she heard the very familiar chiding voice of her squire, “I told you you were going too fast, Trixie, now we have to fix the door!”
The two ponies disentangled themselves, and Trixie said with deep concern, “But the way she vanished like that, it could have been anything, what if she needed help? I'm just glad I could trace her like that, ” Luminous only grunted in reply as she set about lifting the doors back into the frame, to which Trixie added her efforts after a moment of dithering. Twilight was torn between annoyance, laughter and being rather impressed. The two had not only traced her from nothing more than her magical signature left behind from the teleport, but Luminous was putting up the heavy leaves of the door by herself.
She sighed audibly, bringing the pair's attention up to her just as Luminous finished repairing the door hinges, “Twilight!” Luminous exclaimed, then reddened as she noticed her mentor's mother looking around curiously and saluted, “I mean, Dame Twilight Sparkle, I regret to inform you that we seem to have accidentally knocked in this door, due to an inaccuracy in our attempted speed.” Twilight very carefully kept herself from laughing at the filly's stilted delivery, well aware of how seriously she took something like this.
Starlight however, gave a delighted sound, “Oh isn't she precious, she isn't yours is she? I mean,” Twilight sputtered and Luminous goggled, while Trixie just stared at Twilight's mother, who continued down the steps to look Luminous over, who blushed and straightened at the sudden scrutiny, “She doesn't look much like you, but that vest she's wearing just perfectly mat-”
“Mom,” Twilight was finally able to say, causing Trixie and Luminous to stare at Starlight for a moment, “Mom that's Luminous, my squire. She's not...” Twilight shook her head, blushing despite herself, “She's not my... Anyway, Trixie!” Twilight called sharply to the blue unicorn changeling, who snapped to attention at least as quickly as Luminous, “Trixie I can appreciate you being concerned, and I'm frankly impressed by your skill and determination in finding me, but can you tell me why you decided to break down the door to my family's home?”
Trixie flushed a little, but maintained the salute, “I was concerned, Dame Twilight Sparkle, for your safety, when you suddenly teleported without taking breakfast. I felt it was important to figure out where you'd gone, and to give aid if it were needed. Your squire and I managed to track you to this house and, given our speed, I could not decelerate in time to avoid impact with the door, which gave way.” Trixie stood, saluting, until Twilight shook her head, smiling,
“Trixie, I appreciate the effort, I really do, but you don't have to go haring off after me every time I have to go somewhere in a hurry,” Twilight said, still smiling as Trixie dropped the salute, “Sometimes there's no time to explain, and sometimes-”
“But what if you're hurt?” Luminous burst out finally, startling Twilight and Trixie, “What if you need help? Your duties are to protect Equestria, but you don't have to do it all yourself. What if you had vanished because somepony had tied a teleportation spell to the letter?” Twilight blinked at her squire, who continued, her voice rising, “Or what if it had been a false lead? If you try to do everything alone, you're going to get hurt, and then you can't protect anypony!” Luminous huffed and puffed in the aftermath of her outburst, then saluted again, her posture stiffening as Twilight stared at her with an unreadable expression.
Twilight, for her part, was touched at Luminous' concern, and felt a little guilty about leaving her and Trixie out of the loop, when they were supposed to be her squire and aide, respectively. She was silent for a long moment then said, “Luminous, you're exactly right.” Luminous blinked in surprise, while Twilight walked over and nodded to her, “I should not have run off without telling you or Trixie where I went, it was unbecoming of somepony in my position. However,” Luminous stiffened again, expecting a rebuke, “You should be more careful before barging in on something like this. If I had been in danger, such an approach might have injured you or made the situation worse. Did you think to call for backup?” Luminous and Trixie reddened, and Twilight smiled, “I thought not, but you had the right idea, just don't charge off without making sure you have all the facts, alright? Oh!”
Twilight turned to her mother, who had walked up with her and waved a hoof to the pair, “Mom, this is my squire, Luminous,” Luminous bowed to Starlight, who smiled and nodded to her, “And Trixie, my aide.”
Trixie bowed to Starlight as well, and said with a deep reverence in her voice, though the flush hadn't left her cheeks, “It is an honor to meet you ma'am. Your daughter is an inspiration to us all.”
Starlight blinked at that, but recovered quickly, “She always has been, to my husband and I most of all. It's an honor to meet you as well, Trixie, Luminous. Now, if Twilight skipped breakfast, why don't we all go into the dining room for brunch?” With that, the trio were led into the large dining room, and nothing could stop Starlight from fixing them all a rather heavy, nutritious brunch. She started asking everything she could about Twilight, and whenever her daughter wouldn't answer she'd ask the other two, who, after a while of not saying much ended up trading stories with Twilight's mother.
They stayed until well past noon, at which point Bright Shine woke up, and was able to join the conversation, weary but otherwise in fine health he assured them, though he needed generous help from Twilight and Starlight to join the meal. He greeted Trixie and Luminous with warmth, and before Twilight knew it, they were all involved in a dinner conversation.
“So there she was, dancing around like an unwound spring,” Bright Shine was saying, after the conversation had turned to Twilight herself, much to her embarrassment, “Bouncing around and shouting 'yes' over and over, right there in front of the Princess, Princess Celestia that is,” he clarified, “Oh we all thought it was adorable, brought a smile to all our faces, even after she turned us into potted plants.” Luminous, sitting next to her mentor, had to try very hard not to giggle, but Trixie was less reserved, snickering into the rather delicious soup Twilight's mother had made.
“Oh yes,” Starlight continued, smiling while Dame Twilight Sparkle melted into her seat, her mane, to those who could see it, flickering pink and red with bright embarrassment, “And she was always the talk of the School. Top of every class she ever took part in, even if it confused her at first, she was always the apple of her teachers' eyes. We were so proud of her, and we still are,” Twilight was smiling now, and Luminous was looking at her with a little more awe than before, and certainly a large dollop of jealousy.
It wasn't that Luminous begrudged Twilight her sweet supportive family and fabulous scholastic career, but she began to realize that Twilight was, in a sense, everything she could have been had she had a proper start. She refused to let it bother her though, and tried her best to push the emotions away, but she found it hard to enjoy the soup after that revelation.
Twilight noticed, and frowned for a moment, her mane flickering back to purple slowly, but her mother, who was a little quicker on the uptake when it came to fillies and their emotions asked kindly, “How about you, Luminous, how do you like working with Twilight?”
Luminous relaxed a little and smiled, “She's a wonderful teacher, ma'am. I've been learning a lot from her.” Her little voice was firm and sincere as she continued with a smile for Twilight, “Before her, I didn't have a future... I was just another orphan, trying to stay ahead, and now she's given me, well... Everything.” The stunned silence after this made Luminous blush a little and sink into her seat, afraid she'd done wrong, but it only lasted for a moment before Twilight broke it with a misty smile.
“Luminous, I could have asked for no finer squire. I...” she broke off, not sure what to say after that, and the silence became awkward for a moment until Twilight's father smoothly shifted topics to more childhood stories. Twilight joined in with what she could remember, and was eventually joined even by Trixie, whose story of becoming acquainted with Twilight was significantly more harrowing than Luminous'.
For several months, Twilight balanced her time between catching up with her parents and keeping in touch with the Princesses and her friends. She was recovering from partying with Pinkie in Manehattan one night, celebrating the excitable baker's five hundred thousandth customer, when she started to get mail from Ponyville's mayor about the impending Winter Wrap-Up. Twilight decided to move back to Ponyville Library for the planning, only to find a very surprising welcome upon her arrival.
“SURPRISE!” Shouted what seemed to be the whole town as Twilight and Luminous stepped out of the chariot from Canterlot into the snowy square in front of the library, to find themselves suddenly surrounded by cheering, laughing ponies, with some changelings in there too. Twilight was suddenly the delighted center of many hugs, compliments and questions, which she did her best to answer, but her voice was lost in the general tumult of welcoming until Spike came charging out, dodging between ponies, to tackle Twilight in a fierce hug. She was entirely overwhelmed by the sheer pressure of the welcome from so many different quarters, and had to keep back tears as she thanked ponies left and right, and slowly made her way, with Luminous' help, towards the library. Finally, after what felt like an hour, she was standing on the step facing the whole crowd of ponies, her squire on one side and Spike on the other.
Twilight shook her head as the crowd quieted happily, and called out to them in a slightly magically amplified voice, “My most excellent and admirable friends and neighbors. This is... This is so much more than I ever could ever have asked for. It's wonderful to be back in Ponyville!” The cheer after that almost deafened the purple unicorn, but she laughed, “But how did you know I was going to be back today?”
At that question, the door to the library opened, and a familiar amused drawl called out from behind Twilight, “Ah reckon that's our doing.” Twilight spun to find herself nose-to-nose with Applejack and Pinkie Pie, who had somehow beaten her to Ponyville, despite setting out all the way from Manehattan. The farmer pulled Twilight into a tight hug, which she returned wholeheartedly, and then followed her friends back into the library, while the rest of the town went back to their business, chatting excitedly about the impending Wrap-Up.
Twilight took a moment to teleport the luggage inside, to the surprise of Spike and Luminous, who had been about to step back outside to grab them. Twilight winked at the both of them, then turned to her friends, smiling “Applejack, Pinkie, it's great to see you both!”
Pinkie Pie giggled, “Of course it's great to see us! We're your friends, silly-filly, and if it wasn't great to see us, that'd mean something was wrong, or we did something wrong, or,” Pinkie rambled for a few moments, bouncing in place until her eyes suddenly widened and she landed, “Oh, speaking of friends, I almost forgot!” Pinkie pulled a letter out of her bushy tail and trotted over to a rather surprised Luminous, who was in the middle of hauling the case with Twilight's armor in it up to the knight's bedroom. Pinkie put a party hat on the confused filly, and gave her the letter, which, when opened by a wary touch of Luminous' telekinesis erupted into sound, startling her with a sudden happy jingle. She fumbled the card in her surprise, which was picked out of the air by Twilight, who looked it over curiously.
“A birthday invitation for Luminous?” Twilight asked Pinkie curiously, passing the singing card back to Luminous, who started looking the card over herself, discreetly trying to find some way to make it stop making noise. “From who?”
“From Applebloom,” Applejack put in helpfully, nodding to the mouthwriting on the front, “She was so worried about gettin' the name right for Luminous and pickin' out the right song, Ah guess she plum forgot to say it was from her.” She and Twilight giggled a little at that, and the earth pony farmer smiled, “'course she also forgot to mention y'all are invited too, Twi, and you too Spike,”
Spike looked startled, but gratified, while Luminous just looked bewildered, “A birthday party? But... Why? I'm not family or anything.”
Twilight chuckled and set about telekinetically moving the luggages up to their various places in the library, “You DID spend every waking moment with her for however long I was gone, looking for her soul fragments. I think that rather counts as a friend.” Luminous tried to wrap her mind around that, while Twilight continued, her magic effortlessly lifting even the heavy case containing her armor, to her private surprise, “I think this will be a lovely way to start our return to Ponyville. But I'm afraid I can't go, I've got to start preparing for the Winter Wrap-up AND organizing all the work orders and shipments I'll need for rebuilding the Castle of the Pony Sisters.”
The purple unicorn shivered in administrative glee at the prospect and set about organizing her workspace, which Spike had kept scrupulously clean, while Applejack rolled her eyes, “Twi, one day ain't gonna make much difference, and you saved her life, she wants you there. It'd mean so much to her, too.”
Twilight hesitated, with a longing look towards her inkwell, then acquiesced, “Oh alright, it's not that I don't want to but... Wait, where's Pinkie?” She and Applejack looked around, unable to spot the vibrant pink earth pony anywhere.
Applejack shook her head after a moment, “She'll turn up, that silly pony always does, but ah can't help but wonder where she went off to.”
Pinkie greeted them at the Apple family home with a hearty cheer, where she had accelerated and enhanced the party preparations until it looked like the whole home had been made into one large Applebloom-themed party floor. “Surprise!” Pinkie shouted, dragging the three startled ponies and bemused dragon into the house, where the party was already in full swing, “That's, like, two surprises in a day for you Twilight!” She giggled, and promptly strapped party hats on the whole group, somehow managing to slip the gaily colored paper hat over Applejack's usual cranial accoutrement, giving the farmer an even more ridiculous appearance than the rest of the partygoers.
While Applejack attempted to sort out her appearance, Twilight looked around the party and was surprised to find several changelings in amongst the guests. They all bowed to her whenever she caught their eye, to her embarrassment and the confusion of the other guests. She turned to Applejack, who had finally managed to trade her usual hat for the party hat, and had hung up the former on a hook on the door, “Applejack, I didn't know you were hiring changelings,” she said, low enough to not be readily overheard, as she was unaware if the changelings here wanted to be revealed or not.
“Eh, what?” Applejack said, then her brain caught up to her ears and she smiled before saying softly, “Ah'm not, really, only one or two fer the harder months, but most of em made friends while they were here, keepin' those wolf things off us while you were out in th' Hedge.” She nodded to the changelings engaged in conversation, who seemed to be chatting naturally with the partygoers, normal pony and changeling alike.
Twilight was about to respond, when a yellow and red blur tackled her at top speed. Twilight went down like a sack of rocks, laughing as she felt Applebloom squeezing her about the chest in a hug, “You made it, you made it!” Applebloom squealed, “Ah was hopin' you would, an'- Luminous!” Luminous had trotted over when Twilight went down, and now got tackled herself by the exuberant filly, who immediately started dragging her off towards her group of friends. Luminous looked over at Twilight helplessly, who gave her a grin in return as she rose back to her hooves, and Luminous was pulled into introductions and conversation with the group of fillies known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and their associated friends.
Twilight chuckled as she watched her rather introverted squire begin to get drawn out and caught up in the Crusaders' enthusiasm. She moved on with Applejack to the rest of the conversations and soon she was discussing the financial aspects of her resurrection of the Castle of the Pony Sisters with Filthy Rich, the father of one of Applebloom's classmates. “Well there are no resources on record,” Twilight was saying to Filthy Rich, “but much was lost when the capitol moved to Canterlot, and the surveys are waiting until the spring for more in-depth knowledge.”
“But how are you intending to fund this restoration, Dame Twilight?” Filthy Rich asked seriously, “The bits won't come from thin air you know, and if-”
Twilight cut him off with a smile, “I've got plenty of bits for it, Mr. Rich, but yes, sustaining the land concerns me somewhat, especially since we'll have to clear the land we use for farming, and the Everfree can be somewhat fickle at the best of times.” Which was a vast understatement, but Filthy Rich seemed to accept it at face value while Twilight continued, “Besides, it's not as if-” Twilight was cut off by the abrupt sound of a triangle ringing through the room, signaling the summons for cake and presents.
A truly enormous cake was wheeled out, and Applebloom was soon buried beneath a vast pile of presents, which made Twilight feel a little guilty, as she hadn't had time to get anything for the filly. A thought occurred to her though, and she beckoned to Applebloom as soon as the tides of partygoers brought her close, then led her to outside, where a soft snow was falling, dusting Sweet Apple Acres with a fresh coat of snow.
Once they were outside, Applebloom asked Twilight curiously, “What'd you want, Twilight? It's kinda cold out here, is somethin' wrong?”
Twilight shook her head, smiling, “I just wanted to give you your present, is all, and it involves some spellwork, and that might make some ponies curious.” She gave Applebloom a grin, “Now I know you're not one for studying, but I thought I might give you something a little more practical.” With that she turned to the road, and selected with her telekinesis a small stone, about the size of a mouse, and began to whisper to it, her horn glowing with a flickering, fey light as she negotiated with Honesty to help with the enchantment. It took a good ten minutes, but finally she reached an accord with Honesty and the enchantment took hold, changing the stone to a diamond disk, edged with conjured gold, and hanging from a long, golden chain necklace. It was exceedingly difficult working all the spells at once: changing the stone to diamond, enchanting it, conjuring the gold in such a way that it was real gold, enchanting that with a spell that made it share the diamond's hardness without causing the gold to lose its luster, and then shaping it into a ring around the disk and the chain were all just barely within her abilities.
The end result however, was beautiful, and Applebloom goggled at the floating monocle on the chain. Twilight hung the enchanted crystal around the filly's neck, and said softly, “Through that crystal, neither illusion nor deception will penetrate. If you ever need to see the truth of a matter, look through that, and the lies and illusions will fall away.” As she predicted, the filly immediately looked at Twilight through it, and made a soft noise of astonishment.
“Twilight, you look just like you did when you saved me! Ah was wonderin' if ah'd just imagined you lookin' like that. This is really cool Twilight, thanks!” The filly was looking around the entirety of the farm, as if seeking secrets long hidden.
Twilight smiled at her enthusiasm, feeling tired, but noticing that her strength was returning far quicker than it usually did after a hard casting. “If you're going to be using that, you should be careful,” she warned, causing Applebloom to stop looking around immediately. Twilight smiled, “It's not going to bite, but some truths are going to be painful to see, and others might change your perception of the world, and sometimes...” Twilight shook her head, “Sometimes some things are better left unseen. But I leave such judgments to you, it is your gift after all, and I think you're old enough now for a little truth.” Applebloom nodded, gave Twilight a tight hug, and was about to say something when she was called by her friends from inside. She grinned, and immediately dashed inside to go about showing off her new present.
“What an uncharacteristically double-edged gift,” came a slightly amused voice from almost directly behind Twilight, causing her to jump with a yelp and whirl, finding herself facing nothing. “Down here,” came the same voice, still amused, and Twilight looked down to see a small, seven-tailed red fox grinning up at her with a very familiar expression.
“Blackboard?” Twilight asked after a moment of thought, “You're a-” she was silenced by a paw up against her lips, which was surprisingly warm, given that the fox had been sitting in the snow.
“Shh, shh, if you know what I am, you know what will happen if you name me.” He waited until Twilight had nodded mutely, then grinned his vulpine grin again, “But you gave that little filly quite the perilous gift, can you tell me why?”
Twilight waited a moment, looking back towards the house, which still glowed with merriment “Because she's ready, and it was a lie that brought her out to the forest in the first place, for the Beast to take.” Twilight had thought hard about that, despite the sudden decision to make and give the gift, but she remembered the terror and hardship the little filly had been through, and felt sure of her choice.
Blackboard laughed, the sound surprisingly warm and friendly despite his predatory appearance, “Good! You made a sound judgment on very little evidence, and gave a thoughtful gift that is both weapon and defense in one.” Twilight blinked at that, not thinking her gift had been particularly geared towards combat, but before she could ask, Blackboard continued, “And as such, I deem it time for me to take my leave. It has been a pleasure, madmoiselle,” Blackboard bowed as elegantly as a little fox could, but Twilight began to panic as she caught the note of finality in his tone,
“Wait you're leaving? Like... Leaving leaving?” Twilight asked, her distress causing her mane to flare more brightly, with anxious shadows dancing about her hooves, “This... This isn't because I...” She blushed and lowered her voice, “Because I asked you to dinner, is it?”
Blackboard sighed and shook his head, “No... Well partially,” before Twilight could start blaming himself he added, “I'm married, Twilight, I've got a wife and seven kids it... Wouldn't have worked, and I've been away from them too long. Not that it wouldn't have been fun,” he gave the crestfallen unicorn a sly wink, “But I don't think it would have made you happy. Besides, I was contracted to look after you until I felt you ready to deal with your new condition on your own,” Twilight looked up sharply at that, but the grinning fox face gave her no indication of truth or falsehood, “And I deem you ready to face what challenges remain to you on your own. Now now,” he said hurriedly, noticing tears beginning to form in Twilight's eyes, “You might see me again, you never know, but...” He leaned in and nuzzled Twilight's face, catching her tears on his muzzle. His eyes were sympathetic as he said softly, “Even if we don't see each other, we'll still be friends, Twilight. Here, let me give you something...”
He closed his eyes, and the world began to fade around Twilight, until all was darkness and silence except her and the little multi-tailed fox. Between them, a sphere of light began to form, which slowly grew until it enveloped the pair of them, and they were suddenly in a shining expanse of stars. Blackboard's eyes, when they opened, were pure white, and his voice, no longer sly and casual, rang with absolute truth in a way that sent shivers through Twilight's blood. “You walk the path of the warrior, Twilight Sparkle,” Blackboard intoned, his voice resonating through the purple unicorn like sound through a crystal, “Before your life is done, you will be soaked in violence,” the stars around Twilight began to wink out one by one, and a deep sadness seemed to leak from the dark void, “Your body, mind and soul will ache with your efforts but for every drop of blood you spill, life shall spring forth, so long as you keep your purpose clear,” and now the stars were back, multiplying and growing in number until the whole space around Twilight and Blackboard was pure white, ringing with a transcendent joy. The scene changed once more, and Twilight smelled burnt ashes, and beheld a vision of Ponyville, destroyed, then being rebuilt in a flurry of violet magic. Buildings regrew from dust, wooden beams un-charred and became whole, and soon what had been rubble became the town she had spent so much time learning to love, while the tree she called her home burst into vibrant bloom. It was still empty, but she knew that would end soon, and light burst overhead, pure and clean, that signaled the end of the scene.
Before the vision faded, Twilight heard Blackboard's familiar sly voice, “As you have given, so you have received. The truth is a perilous gift, Twilight Sparkle, Knight Protector of Equestria. Use it well.” Darkness folded around Twilight like a gentle wing: warm and gentle.
Twilight awoke, alone, on the front porch of the Apple family home. There was no sign of Blackboard: no prints, no scent, nothing but the memory of his passage. He was gone, she knew, the guide she'd had since being locked away by the Beast was gone, and he would not be returning, she knew. She wept, quietly, not wanting to disturb the merriment which still sounded behind her. By the sound of it, somepony had started a game of tag and Applejack was desperately trying to keep the game from punching holes in the wall. Twilight smiled, and breathed in, feeling the vitality of the place, and the warmth of her friends' presences, even at this distance, she knew they'd always be there for her, and while Blackboard's vision of the future scared her a little, she felt the warmth of his trust in her, and the lessons he had imparted, however indirectly. She let her tears dry on her face, recomposed herself, and walked back inside, where she joined in the festivities until she'd laughed herself sore.
The Winter Wrap-Up that year was particularly well-organized, and Ponyville, for once, was the first town done with wrapping up winter. This was due in part to the large number of changeling volunteers who had joined in the work, all working alongside the population without any kind of magic. Luminous and Trixie became well-known sights around town, always dashing about in their purple vests, running Twilight's messages as Twilight herself went about town with Spike making sure everything was running on-schedule.
Things became slightly complicated once Twilight's work orders started bringing in large shipments of stone, which had to be brought to the ruined Castle by changelings, who were the only ones who would dare the forest to finish the deliveries, but there were so many changelings joining in the work that even that failed to disrupt the Wrap-Up.
Then it was Spring, and Twilight found herself suddenly in the middle of going over the blueprints of the final structure with Princess Luna, who, much to her surprise, had insisted on moving in with her as well, saying that they'd be living together in the new castle soon anyway. She had arrived with an enormous amount of luggage, and her presence filled up the library rather overmuch, with Spike and Luminous also there, and so it wasn't long before Twilight was working day and night to get the dilapidated castle back into working order, with help from a truly impressive army of volunteers, both changeling and not.