The Sun and the Stars: A Twilestia Prompt Collab

by Fuzzyfurvert

466. Escape by Jonesly

by Jonesly

***

“More tea Your Majesty?” The small brown unicorn mare asked politely. Treasured Tome had no idea how she’d ended up in this situation. She was a librarian! Not a noble or anyone of importance! Yet here she was, sitting at a table, using her chipped tea set to serve tea to a purple alicorn.

The day had started off so well. She’d woken up full of determination to finally sort the new arrivals. Hours had flown by as, lost in her work, she’d made books fly around the library, finding their very own spots on the shelves. Interruptions were few, it being summer in a small town, most of the populace was busy out on the farms, without time to stop at the library. The few customers who had shown up had quickly been covered and she’d gone back to her work with a smile. By late afternoon, she’d finally finished the task and, wiping her brow, looked about her with satisfaction.

That was when it had all gone south. As she’d stood there surveying her work and feeling imminently satisfied with herself, she’d heard a throat cleared behind her. “Excuse me, do you have a moment?”

“One moment please,” She’d said, as she ran down her list, quickly assuring herself that she’d gotten everything sorted. “Ok, how can...I… help you?” Her voice trailed off into a squeak as she looked up into the large purple eyes of an alicorn, watching her with an air of amusement.

“You’re a Princess!” Tome had blurted.

“Am I?” Princess Twilight Sparkle had asked mildly. She flared her wings and looked at them. “Why, I suppose I am. What do you know?”

Treasured Tome blushed and dropped into a bow. “I’m so sorry, Princess. I meant no disrespect. Please forgive me.”

Luckily, Twilight Sparkle hadn’t been offended by Tome’s lack of refinement in dealing with Royalty. She’d laughed and asked her if she could help her with something. Obviously Treasured Tome had agreed instantly and that had lead to this situation, the two of them sipping tea in the late afternoon.

“Princess,” Tome started hesitantly, “You asked if I could help you with something… if it isn’t too bold, may I ask what?”

“Just wait, please.” Twilight responded. “It’s almost time for the sun to go down.”

Twilight stared intensely at Tome as the sun dropped below the horizon. Nothing happened. Twilight’s face fell with a sigh. “You’re not her,” She murmured, “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but I was hoping… I’d hoped so much…”

“Excuse me? I’m not who?” Treasured Tome asked nervously. “I suppose I can be this mare, if you need me to be, anything for a princess right?”

Twilight smiled wanly. “I don’t think so. I’m looking for Celestia.”

Tome gasped. “Princess Celestia? She’s gone? But… but, the sun…”

Twilight made a calming gesture. “The sun still rises every morning and sets every night. Wherever Celestia has gone, she is still raising the sun. I know it’s her because I forced a Pinkie Promise out of Luna to not touch the sun until I can find her.”

Tome’’s eyes widened. ‘What? You thought? Me? Her? Why? What’s a Pinkie? HOW? I don’t understand, where did the Princess go?”

“I don’t know. She left without telling me anything. I just assumed she’d be back, but after two years… I had to go looking for her myself.”

“Princess, if you don’t mind my asking, if Princess Celestia doesn’t want to be found, how can you find her? What led you here?”

“I’m here following one of my few leads. A couple of months ago was Celestia’s birthday. Luna had some type of gift sent to this province.” Twilight answered.

“This province? That’s an awfully large area to search Princess.”

“I know, but it’s what I have.” Twilight looked tired. “I can feel the surges as the sun goes up and down. When she raises the sun, she uses such a large burst of magic that I can feel it, if I’m within ten miles or so. I’ve been close, so close. Three times in the last seven years I’ve almost found her. I was hoping… well, it doesn’t matter. I will find her if I have to search all of Equestria. Thank you for the tea and your time Miss Tome”

Tome watched as Twilight Sparkle got up with a grace born of practice, bowed her head slightly and turned to leave. Twilight walked out the door with her head held up, but her wings drooping slightly in a position of defeat.

The door closed behind the purple princess and Treasured Tome slumped down. When she rose up, her eyes held a different look in them. Gone was the meek submissive librarian, instead they held a look of steel and determination. “You were close Twilight, hopefully you will never know how close.”

As she set about cleaning up the tea, thinking about the encounter and wording a thank you note to Cadance, she began to feel cold. It welled up from the depths of her heart. A voice sounded in the back of her mind, sinuous and proud, full of hate and desire, a beloved voice but one she could never listen to. “So once again, she came so close to finding you. You cannot keep her away from me forever. One of these days you will slip and she will be mine.”

Anger flared, pure and bright. “Never. You will not have her. She will escape from you.”

Comments

[Oddboy]

...Nightmare Sun? Not entirely sure what happened here, but I enjoyed it anyway.

[Brony Soprano]

7438042 Could be Molly too. Either way, rather cold and cruel of Celestia and Luna to just keep her in the dark and hunting in vain for her friend like this. Her friendship with Luna is also likely to suffer, as time passes.

Not to mention Cadance is apparently in on it too. Twilight will be furious with her if she ever learn of it.

[Jonesly]

7438042 It's not Celestia's Nightmare.

[Oddboy]

7439968 Nightmare Moon, then? Or... Hell, I don't know. It can't be Twilight's Nightmare, can it...?

[Jonesly]

7440652 I think I'd call this Nightmare 'Gloaming Torment'

[Oddboy]

7441771 Gloaming Torment...? Gloaming..? That's a new word for me.

* checks the Dictionary

Oh, I see. So that's what it means.

Huh. So Celestia-in-disguise is forcibly hosting/jailing Twilight's Nightmare in her mind in order to save Twilight from it?

[Jonesly]

7443037 You got it boss.

[Misplaced Mage]

7443721
Hmm… If Celestia is hiding to sequester Twilight's Nightmare, it makes me wonder if the resulting emotional distress Twilight is now enduring is strengthening it, or resulting in the creation of a second Nightmare?

[Misplaced Mage]

7443721
You know, I just thought of something. Is it possible to a make two contradictory or mutually exclusive Pinkie Promises? Say for Luna, "I Pinkie Promise not to help Twilight find Celestia," and, "I Pinkie Promise to neither raise nor lower the sun." Assume Cadance and Flurry Heart can't manage the sun for the purpose of discussion. And we've seen just how hard it is for Pinkie to keep a secret for a few hours, let alone a few years.

[Jonesly]

7450581 I'm working under the assumption that Pinkie arbitrates these promises and wouldn't allow contradictory promises to be made.

As for the other... For this bit and any that I write that are related, the Nightmare is a highly individualized dark spirit from another plane that attaches to powerful alicorns. Kinda like how Equestria Girls gave us human versions, these are dark versions that need to latch on to their counterparts to exist in Equestria. Celestia defeated hers, Luna lost to hers, Cadence wasn't powerful enough to fully manifest hers... and Twilight's was intercepted and sealed. That's as far as I've gone though. I'm still thinking about whether or not I'm going to try and follow this one up.