Student and Teacher, Servant and Mistress, Citizen and Ruler, Friend and...Lover?
by Fuzzyfurvert
***
Celestia rested quietly by herself as she watched her young shadow explore the ruined library. Bright light from her Sun lit the cavernous room through the open, broken windows and the holes where the ceiling had collapsed during the long years since the Everfree had been her home. Only secrets remained here. Memories were the only things that still called the ruin home.
Most of them were good memories, truth be told. Some however, were decidedly less so.
The enchanted books that still survived the onslaught of the elements and time still held the physical remains of those memories. Her shadow hoped to find them and breath life into those old legends. Twilight wanted to free her from their ghosts. It was noble sentiment, Celestia supposed. Twilight only wanted the best for her. Ever since she’d taken the chance to let love into her heart and mind once more, her student had become increasingly protective and almost worryingly perceptive of Celestia’s inner most thoughts.
Twilight’s constant doting was almost like being worshipped again. Almost.
Celestia shifted her weight, leaning against a wall she was fairly certain would support her attention for a little while yet and sighed. She wasn’t bored, or tired, but Twilight was getting close to a section of the library Celestia didn’t think she was quite ready for yet. The effect was immediate.
Twilight’s head snapped up and honed in on her. “Princess? I’m not boring you am I?”
No. Celestia shook her head. “Just thinking old thoughts. Pay this old mare no mind.”
“Nonsense! If you’re uncomfortable…”
Celestia chuckled gently. “Don’t worry Twilight, I’m not sinking into some mire of dispair and sadness from guilt of my old crimes. I was simply recalling that the last time I was here, the windows were intact stained glass, much like my current home. You would have enjoyed studying them, I think.”
She watched Twilight’s face as tiny expressions flit across it like clouds in the sky on a blustery day or some similar metaphor. As she had come more to grips with regrading Twilight as a mare and a lovely one at that, Celestia found that she just enjoyed watching and studying her face. Twilight was reading her back, doing the same thing to glean the meaning of her statement about the windows. She watched Twilight turn it over in her mind, pulling it apart and torturing the words and sentence structure to tease out deeper meaning.
She hadn’t lied that time. The windows used to be lovely and intricate. Twilight would have loved them.
“Perhaps, Twilight, if you told me what you are really looking for in these old tomes, I could help. I like to imagine that I remember what they are all about.” Celestia smiled. “Or at least how Lulu and I used to organize them.”
“Well,” Twilight shrugged, her voice grew quiet, “I don’t know really. I think...that I want to find something to help me...know you.”
Celestia kept her face carefully neutral. It wasn’t fair that she should live to see the rise and fall of civilizations and the passing of gods, that she should hear and give advice and wisdom on every topic, and still be thrown by a purple filly that asked all the right questions. It was Clover all over again, but on steroids this time.
“Know me? Twilight, you’ve known me your entire life. You are my Faithful Student and Evening Star. You see me with the crown and crest set aside.”
Twilight nodded slowly. “Yeah, but I want to know Celestia. What makes you...you. I want to read about your past, but I don’t want to read a history book.” Twilight nudged a loose stone with her hoof. “Does that make sense?”
Yep, Clover the Clever all over again. Celestia smiled again and nodded her head. “Yes. It makes the kind of sense that I don’t deserve. Promise you won’t run away when you find me?”
Twilight Sparkle looked her goddess incarnate in the eye unflinchingly and shook her head.
Sort of a continuation of my Taking Off the Masks fic. Expect more in that story line to pop up in my later prompts.
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...Wouldn't her shaking her head mean that she won't promise to not run away?
4087394
Agreed. Other than that, wonderful snippet.
Is that a mistake at the end, or is Twilight just flat out refusing to promise?
4087394
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4088382
Apparently, this last line isn't as strong or obvious as I thought. It's supposed to convey that Twilight is resolute and unflinching, i.ie.: not shying away. She shakes her head to mean 'No, I will not run away.'
I'll just need to make sure I'm clearer next time.
4088452
No, I definitely understood the point. It just didn't seem worded correctly is all.
u wont write ani more of ur other fic? seemed like a nice script to write... still celestias interest in twyligth seems a bit phisical there , not thats a bad thing but maybe some sentimental buildup is needed ( ? ) anihow this bit is great !
4088452
That might work, except for the way Celestia phrased it. “Promise you won’t run away when you find me?” *head shake* comes across as "I refuse to promise that I won't run away". An emphatic nod would be more appropriate. A head shake would be appropriate in response to "You won't run away when you find me, will you?" or even just "You won't run away when you find me?", but the "promise" up front changes the whole thing. I don't quite have the words to describe the exact way it changes it, but including the word "promise" changes the sentence so that an affirmative response means <yes, I will stay with you> while a negative response means <I can't/won't commit to that>. English is a silly thing.
i SO hope there will be more of this storyline later!^^