Chapter 4 - The Second Night
Under the bright moonlight’s gaze, the two sisters debated about what Twilight should prepare for the evening meal. Although grass was a handy food at times, it was still rather bland for a pony’s taste. Twilight herself had to admit that she was getting sick of it. But after what seemed like hours of constant arguing, the unicorn doubted if it was the right decision to let the fillies choose the meal.
“I tell you, sis. We should have some mushroom stew,” Selene said, licking her lips as she wistfully looked at at the sky. The mere mention of the dish triggered some pleasant memories of a village hut in Trote; a time where they were confident enough to leave a bowl of steaming mushroom stew unguarded.
Celeste sighed in annoyance. “For the hundredth time, we just had mushrooms this morning.” Suddenly, a large grin split her muzzle. “I still think we should try salad, with extra tomatoes!”
“Eeew. Tomatoes taste funny, and not the good kind of funny. Mushrooms are better.”
“Tomatoes.”
“Mushrooms.”
“Tomatoes!”
“MUSHR—”
“Why don’t we compromise?” Twilight hastily interjected, not wanting to see where this argument could lead.
The two fillies blinked at her suggestion, doubt filling their eyes. Celeste was the first to speak up. “How?”
Twilight combed her mind for a good solution. “I can cook two dishes for dinner, if you want. That would take time, but it should be worth the trouble.”
Selene’s ears began to perk. “Can we really have two meals tonight?”
“Of course,” Twilight replied gleefully.
Holding back a squeal, the young filly looked at her sister conspiratorially. Leaning close enough to her ear, once Twilight was out of earshot, she whispered, “If you give me your share of mushroom soup, you can have my salad.”
Celeste gave her a similar look of interest. More tomatoes means more happiness. It was her sister’s loss, after all. “It’s a deal.”
They both silently giggled at their contract, earning Twilight’s attention. Choosing to ignore this adorable display, she called the fillies with a tap on the forest floor.
“Okay, girls. While I’m away, you can both play a game both of you can enjoy.”
Surprisingly, Celeste and Selene frowned at the idea. “Why don’t we practice magic instead?” the white unicorn asked.
This baffled Twilight a bit. She expected them to be ecstatic at the chance to play and have fun. Well, maybe they’re really dedicated to learning magic. With her brow furrowing in thought, she contrived another activity to take up their time as she foraged for food.
Using her magic, she carefully picked four gems from their hoard and waved them in the air. Three of them were diamonds with a purple hue, slightly varying in size. The last one was an emerald as big as a hoof. She gave the three violet diamonds to Celeste, and the lone emerald to Selene.
“I’d like you to practice what you learned yesterday with the gems,” she explained while preparing her saddlebag. “I’ll be away to get ingredients, so you take care of yourselves now.”
They both nodded in approval. Twilight noticed a hint of sadness in their face, so she hugged them as tight as she could. “Don’t worry. It’ll only take me a few minutes.” She didn’t know if it worked, but they were returning the gesture. After a few seconds, she released herself from the hugs and went off to her search.
“Take care, Twilight!” Selene called out as Twilight threaded through the thick trees of the forest.
Celeste, however, couldn’t say anything else. Her mind was occupied with a wish she knew Twilight could grant. A simple wish best left unsaid.
Please, Twilight. Please don’t leave us too.
---
When Twilight came back from her search, the sight of the two fillies struggling with their gems greeted her. Celeste’s purple diamonds were visibly wobbling in the air, the yellow aura that surrounded it fading at times. Selene’s emerald could only stay floating for seconds until it fell. For Twilight, these were major improvements from last night, when they couldn’t even make the stones do what they want.
“I’m back!” she announced, dumping vegetables and mushrooms from her saddlebag to a wooden bowl. Happiness quickly washed out their frustrations, leaving the gems behind to move to Twilight’s side.
“You’re back!” Celeste exclaimed with joy. After a small hug, the filly stared at the stack of vegetables. “Did you find any tomatoes?”
Twilight nodded in confirmation. “I found some along the way.”
Grouping the vegetables in an organized manner, she gave her wards an encouraging smile, mostly directed to herself rather than the fillies. “Now let’s do some cooking!”
---
With Celeste’s help, Twilight was able to prepare both the mushroom stew and salad faster than the mushroom soup she cooked in the morning. Selene wanted to add some mushrooms that she found growing on a tree, only to discover from Twilight that they were highly poisonous and could kill them easily. Since then, she busied herself with staring at the stars, connecting those little dots to form shapes.
“Dinner’s served!” Twilight called out to Selene, who immediately stopped her stargazing and went to the two. True to their word, they both swapped their share of mushroom stew and salad with each other, filling up their small tummies to the brim. It has been silent the whole time, for the two fillies couldn’t do anything but enjoy their meals.
“That was great! It has been a long time since I ate that much,” said Celeste as she gave her now-empty bowl to Twilight. Selene contentedly wiped the stray piece of lettuce from her muzzle, still puzzled at the thought of just how she was able to finish her food. They both sat there unmoving, thanks to the extra weight, while Twilight used a basic cleaning spell on their bowls. Satisfied with her work, she prepared their beddings using similar leaves from last night.
“Come on, girls. Time to go to sleep.”
The words Twilight said made the fillies’ ears drop.
“But I don’t wanna sleep yet!” complained Selene.
“Yes, Twilight. It’s still early,” added Celeste.
Those two pleading sets of eyes, an irresistible technique well-practiced by foals everywhere, almost forced Twilight to flinch. What now? Two sleepless fillies is a recipe for disaster! What would Fluttershy do? “What about a bedtime story?”
That brought the life back in their eyes. “The one with your friends back where you came from?” the blue filly asked excitedly.
“I was thinking about the three little pigs, but that works fine too.”
Tucking them both on the leafy beds, she randomly searched her memories about the little adventures she had with her friends in Ponyville. Most of them may not be about the fate of Equestria’s future, but they were still precious nonetheless.
“This story is about how Pinkie, a friend of mine, showed me something that both science and magic are unable to explain.”
Their full attention was now on Twilight, without any clear signs of fatigue written on their faces. This was the first time somepony would tell them a bedtime story, and they wanted to treasure every second of it.
“It was a bright and beautiful day in the land of Equestria…”
---
“… After that, I learned that there are things in this world we just can’t explain, and that sometimes, it takes a friend to show you the way.”
The two fillies managed to stay awake the whole time, even when their eyelids seemed to grow heavier with each passing word. Stifling a yawn, Celeste tugged Twilight’s mane to grab her attention. “Did you discover what pinkie sense was, later on?”
“Sadly, I didn’t. But it is, as I said, impossible to explain Pinkie as a whole. I learned that the hard way.”
Selene let out a small laugh. She never failed to crack up in the parts where Twilight was hit by something falling from the sky every time Pinkie’s tail twitched.
“It’s just like magic,” she said in a whisper, closing her eyes. “We don’t understand it, but we just accept it.”
Twilight wanted to argue about that; she understood almost everything there is to know about the study of magic. “You don’t understand it? But it’s written in every kindergarten-level magic textbook around! How could you even—
You’re in a time before professional magic practitioners, Twilight. Everypony here treats magic as a grab-bag of arcane curses.
“Yes, just like magic,” Twilight finally said, ending it with a heavy sigh.
In a few seconds, the silent air of the forest night was filled with the peaceful snores of the fillies. Left alone without any distractions, Twilight could not help but take her time thinking about just how much she had become attached to these unicorns she had just met yesterday. Leaving them behind in this world was becoming very close to something that she would not even dare to consider. Then what would happen if I finish the spell? What if I can’t find them a suitable place to live? Will I leave them? Pain gripped Twilight’s heart, unable to bear the thought of choosing between her life in Equestria and her life with her foster children. She thought she had resolved this fear already, but her doubts got the better of her. It’s not like I just waltz around this place, tell the world to love them, and then be happy back at the future. It just… doesn’t work that way.
Family will never be easy, but it’s something we must fight for.
She felt the words form inside her head, cool as a breeze in a summer night. Even so, her mind simply couldn’t sweep the harsh truths under a convenient rag. How do I fight for it when I could risk the world itself? What’s the use of fighting for something when I know it will not end well?
Silence filled the air again, and she sensed the maddening embrace of sadness. Looking at the sleeping fillies, she could see a small smile on their muzzles, probably dreaming something nice for a change. With that image, she felt the hollow voice again.
You know, a mother would do many impossible things just to protect her precious little daughters. For the two of you, I would do anything, just to see those happy smiles.
Her eyes widened at the realization, as the memory of those words echoed inside her. For reasons unknown, she defeated fifty Gem Hounds armed only with a threat and a dozen dozen gems. She remembered that spark of love, how it felt so right at that moment. Yes, I will risk my own future just to give them a place where they can live in love and kindness. I will fight for this because they are my family.
For the second time in their relationship, she felt that she was truly their true mother. Succumbing to the sweet call of sleep, she smiled at the last thought that hung in her mind.
Friendship is magic, yet family even more so.
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2669343
Here you go
I have but one question:
Will there be any jump cuts to the future/present or will the entire story take place in the past/present?
Ugh, I can't decide whether the "future" would be considered the present or if the past would be considered the present. 'Cause I can think of arguments for both. To all of Twi's friends (and family... and adopted family) Twi is now in the past. BUT, to Twi at least, where she is could be considered both the past AND the present. It's all very confusing.
2697627
sciencefiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/River-Song-Spoilers.png
Twilight is in the past, for she still yearns to return unto the future.
This chapter was short but i like it it was cute
hope to see more chapters soon ^_^
is twilight going to end up going back to her time eventually
Awesome chapter, I love this premise. Yay!
Dawwww.... I love it!
I swear, if this goes like Que Sera Sera and we get a bad ending.
Other than that, I friggin love this.
Unique, but it brutally annihilates my head-canon. Oh well, still a good story
2697755
Agreed
2697875
Ever tried to treat separate fanfictions as separate universes? It eases that feeling a bit (I recall a story doing the same thing to me-- took me a few weeks to admit that it was a great story and that I was being unreasonable xD.) The only problem is when you're following hundreds of stories and can't keep up with all of them...
Liking the story so far.
Don't rush too much, quality's still a bit more important than speed. But don't make us wait months for a new chapter!
...
Luna damn it I've reached the end of the chapter!!! 
My heart needs more feels 
I hope that Twillight return to her own time at the end of the story. I would love to see a scene where Twillight greet Celestia next to a panicked Spike just to be interrupted by her saying "Please call me Céleste , Mother."
Good
I keep forgetting to post this but this is just as beautiful of a story as Que, Sera Sera
This chapter is so cute!
2698125 That would be frikken adorible! X3
How the hell are ponies starving when all Twilight has to do is walk out for a couple minutes and BAM, two dinners?
I wonder when Twilight will figure out who her daughters are (because it is definitely very obvious)
2698357 Probably due to Twilight having better environmental and agricultural knowledge, and a decent grasp of botany... at this point in pony history the poison mushrooms would have been eaten due to lack of knowledge.
They are also in a place ponies dared not go because of the dogs, which Twilight evicted, might be decent with wild foods already scoured in this time periods "civilization".
2698403
Pretty sure they would know about the mushrooms growing on the tree. Just walking out into a forest does not grant such foods, lettuce and tomatos are highly domesticated. You don't see that stuff growing wild, and if you did, it wouldn't be for long. There is a reason people hate deer getting into their garden.
2698412
You just had to post while I was responding. It's also not like you find lettuce, tomatos, and edible mushrooms right next to each other.
2698425 Not only that, but back then, due to people eating with LEAD bowls and plates, they all thought that Tomatoes were poisonous due to the acid in the tomatoes bringing out the stuff that causes lead poisoning. So it's rather curious how Celeste's favourite food is a tomato...
2698425 The dogs may have overrun established settlements and eaten off the game that would have consumed any crops. These plants do grow wild when not tended or eaten...
Then again... its Twilight Sparkle.
She could have teleported, stolen it from the Unicornia contingent to feed her daughters and returned. Morality is on her side, so the "theft" wouldn't be overly OOC.
Magic the cause of, and solution to, all Equestria's problems.
2698659
Well, we don't know if they use lead bowls or not. We just have those wooden ones to go off of. If we suppose they use lead bowls, that would probably only be the unicorns and ranking officials, the earth ponies
Celestia and LunaCeleste and Selene have been staying with would not have such issues.2698661
I suppose that having the dogs scaring off or eating all the other herbivores and some how decimating the insect population would make it far easier for lettuce and tomatos to grow, though she also found these while under the light of the moon.
2698773 I know, I know. Just saying, since I thought they had stayed with unicorns for some period of time, I thought, then they'd have eaten from metal plates and bowls, which might include lead, so... Just sayin.
I didn't really have a problem with it, I was just contributing to the conversation is all.
good to see this is still coming along
2698791
If they even would use lead. Just from that their currency is, I get the feeling gold isn't really in short supply.
nice story... when did you plan on a update ???
2697642 But remember Master Oogway
24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_maln83FrNn1rfwy4uo1_1280.jpg
You cannot say that the time that Twilight is in right now does not feel like a gift to her.
And now for some Oogway quotes in the form of pictures (would be awesome if Twi used some of them at a random point to teach Celeste and Selene a lesson)
fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/p480x480/312004_10150386948094461_1355935852_n.jpg
2.bp.blogspot.com/-z13k7R-Vg9I/UEH8QEMJnrI/AAAAAAAAA78/S-4oKHfoYLo/s640/quote+master+oogway.jpg
3.bp.blogspot.com/-qQggaIhzoTo/UYQJhhcSvUI/AAAAAAAAFDQ/dXtJvBf-bZY/s640/masterOogway_destiny1.jpg
fc05.deviantart.net/fs38/f/2009/001/7/1/Oogway_2009_by_Kobb.jpg
What a beautiful, beautiful story!
2698880 ... Umm, their currency is gold... As it should be... Gold is what every currency is based from. Just because we use dollars and Yen and Euros instead of insanely tiny gold pieces doesn't change that. On top of that, we don't know how much metal they do or don't have back then, because that was never addressed in Hearth's Warming, so
Hmm, did you get this straight from the show? I remember it ending with something like this.
2699164
The world has moved off the gold standard a while back. They are not insanely small, look about an inch and a half diameter and about a quarter inch thick (3.8 x .63 cm).
2699164
The greedy unicorns liked the gems so much that it actually can serve as money!
2699582
Of course.
2699819 ... Are you talking about their bits, or what we'd have to carry to have 5 dollar's worth of gold? (Because I'm talking about the latter.)
2699857 Orite. Derp.
I hope the updates are more rapid, this looks like a great story.
2699900
I am talking about there bits, and 5 dollars worth of gold is .0036 ounces of gold, and quarter weighs .2 ounces for comparison.
2698357
Like another age old question.
Where did anyone get food if there was winter for a hundred years? (The Chronicles of Narnia:The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe)
It could be pointed out as a plot hole, but I think the best explanation is...
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw1791-1322427921.png
Plot holes. schmot holes. I don't care about little things like "where did the food come from?" and "If Twilight could find food so easily, why couldn't
anyoneanypony else?" It's a good story, and I appreciate the effort, and skill put into it.Keep up the great work, I'll be watching.
Short but sweet. Thanks for the update!
Man, it already feels so short :( Hopefully the next one is soon to come.
2700112
Damn you magic and your cheating ways!
derpicdn.net/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMTMvMDUvMTMvMDRfMDBfMzBfOTE5XzMyMzU4N19fVU5PUFRfX3NhZmVfdHdpbGlnaHRfc3BhcmtsZV9odW1hbml6ZWRfc3Bpa2VfY2FwdGlvbl9lcXVlc3RyaWFfZ2lybHNfNTEzZDMyNjM3ZjEyM2IwNThiMDAwN2M5X3NjcmVhbWluZy5qcGciXV0/323587__safe_twilight-sparkle_humanized_spike_caption_equestria-girls_513d32637f123b058b0007c9_screaming_gi-joe_cobra-commander.JPG
Each chapter just keeps getting shorter... why?
Um, ahem, anyways, this chapters main reason from what I understand is to show twilight tackling the issue of staying wth these two, and getting back home. And so, she then decides to stick with Celeste and Selene.
The first section of the fic was a good vessel to reach the above part smoothly and so I'm pleased.
And tired, it's fucking 10:31 pm
2698125
You know... this actually would explain why Twilight and her friends are sent off on all these random adventures even though Celestia and Luna could more than likely handle it. Because they already know that it'll work out if the girls take care of it.
im lovin this story. i read que sera sera and liked the idea and story, this is not only promising to be longer(hint hint) but also hopefully wont crush my heart.......please?
so in conclusion THERE MUST BE MORE OF THIS. ALSO FASTER! (cracks whip) i DEMAND my free entertainment on a more speedy schedule!
2700760
The chapter lengths are more of a coincidence than anything else.
The next chapters should be longer.
The ending felt cheesy. I tried coming up with a better word for it and reasoning out why it broke my immersion in the story but I'm not really sure what exactly I'm getting hung up on. Best I can guess, it felt like her logic was being forced a certain way. The (seemingly) bold declarations and proverb-ish thoughts didn't seem to fit well with the intermingling uncertainty and sadness, in fact they somewhat contradicted each other in emotion.
I'm a bit disappointed in the lack of things happening in this chapter. I understand it, but it still felt a bit too short and had too little happening to be a chapter by itself.
All that being said, I'm eager to see Twilight become a bit more involved with the world. It's far more harsh and unforgiving than her homeland of Equestria yet it's inhabitants still eventually found Equestria and the seeds of her home may well be hidden throughout the lands. The little moments of redemption overshadowed by the darker side that is currently prevalent. It will also be fun to see what religions and beliefs the three nations each hold in greater detail, and how they react with each other. Then, of course, there is the whole tale of how Celeste and Selene play into things. (are they the goddesses themselves or merely the catalyst for their incarnation? How would this discovery effect Twilight? Considering the lack of Twilight's mention in history, under what name would her part be told or would she even be recognized as one of the key ponies this tale revolves around?)
2701636
by reading your post i just though something: what if twilight was starwirl the bearded? after all, i don't remember having ever heard in canon from wich age he is from, and the fact that he is a stalion could only be an asumption.