Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria and princess of the sun and day, should have had another title added to her name- tea addict. Twilight came to this conclusion as she watched the princess start on her third cup of tea in ten minutes. They had decided to have their morning tea in the usual place, on the balcony jutting out from Celestia’s bedroom.
“So, Twilight, how have my former students been doing?” Celestia asked. “I trust that you have both been well?”
“Yes,” said Twilight with a nod. “Well, I have been, anyway.”
“Oh?” Celestia asked, inclining her head ever so slightly towards Twilight. “Does that mean that Sunset Shimmer has not been well as of late?”
“No,” Twilight admitted, sagging noticeably and staring into her teacup. “She’s been struggling to come to terms with everything. But at least she’s been talking to her friends about it, and that’s what friends are for.”
“You should tell her that,” Celestia suggested. “You are her teacher, and this would make a great lesson on friendship.”
“I understand now,” said Twilight with a smile as she sat up straight again. “Thank you, princess! You always know just what to say.”
Celestia smiled and said, “That is because I know you well, Twilight Sparkle. And while you are talking to Sunset, please tell her that she was not banished.”
“How did you know that she was thinking that?” Twilight asked. “She mentioned it to me but not to anybody else.”
“My sister paid her a visit last night,” said Celestia, and extended her wing to gesture to Princess Luna who stood in the doorway to the balcony.
“Indeed I did,” Luna confirmed as she stepped out into the sunlight. “Sunset Shimmer and I discussed a great manner of things, including her fears. She has been struggling so much with her personal demons, and it is only the presence of her friends that stops her from succumbing to the darkness completely.”
“Was she also taken over by the nightmare like you were?” Twilight asked. She looked guiltily to Celestia, who only smiled and nodded to her that it was okay to speak to her sister during their meeting.
“A version of it, yes,” Luna confirmed with a nod. “The darkness has been purged now, but Sunset has-“ She suddenly stopped and looked at her sister, unsure if she should continue.
“I am aware of Sunset’s crimes,” said Celestia. “Yet, because the crime was committed in another world, she will not be subject to imprisonment here. Should she choose to come back, however, I cannot let her escape punishment.”
“That’s what she’s afraid of,” said Twilight, and sighed. “I can’t lie to her, I have to tell her that she’ll be punished if she comes back. I’ll be confirming her worst fears.”
“Doesn’t your friend Applejack know a thing or two about painful truths?” Celestia prompted. “Ask her for advice on how to proceed.
“I will,” said Twilight with a nod. “Thanks for the advice, princess.”
“May I stay, sister?” Luna asked. “I would also like to continue aiding Sunset through her dreams. The nightmares are the worst of it.”
“Yes to both,” Celestia allowed.
“I also wanted to ask, Celestia, if it was alright if I compiled notes on the mirror world and published a book or paper on my findings?” Twilight asked.
“Starswirl would have done so eventually, so yes,” Celestia allowed. “If we were ever to open travel between the worlds to the rest of the population, it would be crucial for them to know what they were in for.”
“Thank you,” said Twilight with a smile. “Of course I’ll have to do princess duties on top of that, I understand, but it can be my passion project.”
“I thought that Sunset Shimmer was your passion project,” said Luna with a teasing grin.
“They’re connected,” Twilight said, fidgeting her wings. “Learning about humans is a side project to teaching Sunset. And I have my friends involved in my little project too, each of them learning about an area relevant to both their and their double’s interests. Rainbow Dash is studying sport, Fluttershy animal care, Rarity fashion and how clothes are made, Applejack farming, and Pinkie Pie… well, I actually don’t know. But I’m sure that I’ll figure out something. Maybe human socialisation or parties. ”
“Ah, I have taught you well,” said Celestia with a giggle. “You are good at defending yourself using your words and steering the conversation away from topics you’d rather not broach. And I am so pleased that you decided to involve your friends in this.”
“It is an important skill to learn for a career in politics,” Luna declared. “Sometimes, a skilled tongue is more powerful and important than all the political power in the world.”
“Oh, and speaking of humans,” said Twilight, “Sunset met my human double. She’s really interested in science but she’s also kind of a loner.”
“Interesting,” said Celestia, and took a long sip of her tea. Twilight knew exactly what that meant, and eagerly awaited Celestia’s conclusion.
“Do you think that she is a threat?” Luna asked Twilight in the interim. “If she is like you, she will stop at nothing to learn about everything.”
“I think that she’s a concern,” said Twilight. “What if she found out about magic?”
“My advice,” said Celestia at last, “is to have Sunset keep an eye on your double, Twilight. Have her watch her and report to you anything suspicious that she does. Sunset will know what is suspicious and what is not. Tell her that I have asked her to do so, it might make her feel more welcomed by me.”
“I will,” said Twilight with a nod. “Thank you for the advice, princess. And thank you for your help, Luna. It’s nice to know that she has a friend in her dreams.”
“I am glad to be of help,” said Luna. “Nothing makes me happier than helping my little ponies through their dreams. Even if they are in another dimension, and they were born before I returned.”
“I’m sure my friends over there were happy to meet you too,” said Twilight. “Probably a little in awe too.”
“My attire probably garnered more awe,” said Luna with a chuckle. “It is a dress made of moonlight. I can only imagine what my sister’s attire would be.”
“Simple white robes that glow with the power of the sun,” said Celestia quickly. “I visited there once, many hundreds of years ago. I believe I was in the human equivalent of Roam.”
Twilight gaped at her. “No way. So you’re Apollo? Or one of the sun gods?”
“I am all of them,” said Celestia. “I do not know why I was made male when the humans wrote about me and created art of me, but I just put it down to a human strangeness.”
“From what information I managed to gather before I left, the human world is male-dominated despite the even split between male and female in their world,” said Twilight. “I suppose that it would be different if they had women who could control the cosmic bodies, though.”
“Whoever does control them, their night sky is filthy,” said Luna. “It is horrible and alien and I detest it. Yet I shall endure it to aid Sunset Shimmer.”
“In their world, nobody controls them,” said Twilight. “There are several religions that disagree on the subject, but the science there says that the sun, moon, and planets all have their own little system with the sun at its centre.”
“You picked up on much when you were there for just a few days,” Celestia remarked. “I am proud of you, Twilight.”
“Thank you,” said Twilight, smiling at her mentor’s praise. “And Pinkie Pie over there taught me how to use the internet, so now I can learn everything next time I’m there.” Twilight’s eyes glimmered with excitement.
“I am sensing a desire to travel there again,” said Luna with a grin. “Perhaps you would like to accompany me there one night, Twilight?”
“Oh, yes please,” Twilight nodded enthusiastically. “I can’t go during the day anymore now that my double is there, but surely it’ll be safe to go at night.”
“I shall provide myself as a distraction,” Luna offered. “My moonlight dress should be enough of a distraction.”
“I can imagine,” said Twilight, chuckling.
“Do you have any other concerns, Twilight?” Celestia asked. “You can ask me or confide in me anything.”
“I’m just worried about my double,” said Twilight. “She transferred to Canterlot High, and I’m just wondering why she did that. It almost reminds me of when I transferred to Ponyville to study friendship. She must want to study something there, something non-academic. I’ll have Sunset ask her, maybe try to befriend her.”
“Befriend her, gain her trust…” Celestia sighed. “I hate that we have to treat this stranger as a potential threat.”
“But until we know her better, we have to do that,” said Luna. “Sunset Shimmer was a friendless loner once, and Twilight was too. It is up to the circumstances as to how the pony, or person, reacts. Surrounding the human Twilight with friends will possibly lead to the outcome that it did with our Twilight.”
“Let us hope so,” said Celestia. “But in the meantime, we shall monitor her. Does that put your mind at ease, Twilight?”
“Yes,” said Twilight with a nod. “It does. I’ll tell Sunset all about it later this afternoon, just in case she wants to spend the day with her friends. Oh, and Celestia, do you have anything that could tell me the time in the human dimension compared to the time here?”
“Next time you are there, obtain a watch with the local time on it,” said Celestia. “When you bring it back, it will always be able to tell you the time in that dimension. Just be sure to take it back with you, and have Sunset tell you if the time ever changes for some reason.”
“I don’t know why I didn’t think of that,” said Twilight, and chuckled. “It seems so obvious. I mean, the school had clocks and quite a few people walked around wearing watches.”
“Sometimes even the very intelligent can overlook what is blindingly obvious to others,” said Celestia. “Just look at me.” She sighed heavily and then sadly finished off her tea.