For the first time since returning from her thousand-year banishment, Princess Luna was beginning to wonder if soundproofing her chambers had been a wise idea. Of course, with all the noise made in Canterlot during the day it would be impossible for the alicorn to get any sleep otherwise. But it was rather alarming waking up for the night shift to discover that the entire city had been overrun with an invading force, and she had slept right through it. No guard was able to activate the alarm she had installed to warn her of such a thing due to the threat materializing seemingly out of nowhere.
Indeed, from what details the Princess of the Stars could gather, only Twilight Sparkle had seen through the Changeling Queen’s disguise. She had overheard some of the guards talking about Princess Cadence’s unusually short and cold attitude, but every one of them had dismissed it as pre-wedding stress. Now, those same guards were kicking themselves for not noticing what was clear in hindsight.
As the reception started up, Celestia took Luna aside and explained the situation to her. She listened intently to the story, never interrupting once. Finally, once she finished wrapping everything up, Luna spoke.
“Dear sister, I thought you put the Elements of Harmony behind a door only you could open. How did you expect Twilight Sparkle and her friends to get them without you?”
“They wouldn’t need to open the door,” the Princess of the Sun explained. “If they just got close enough, the Elements would have activated themselves and traveled to them.”
Luna nodded in understanding. “You know, before I flew down here, I went on my early evening patrol. I passed by the tower where Twilight Sparkle’s suite is located. I overheard them apologizing for not believing her, and she was quick to forgive them.”
Celestia put on a relieved expression. “At least that’s settled. We can still count on them to wield the Elements.”
“Indeed,” her younger sister agreed. “Now I must ask, I do not know Princess Cadence very well. She has been busy outside of Canterlot for most of the time I’ve been free.”
“Yes,” Celestia said slowly, wondering what point her sister was trying to make was.
“I was merely wondering, what about our niece’s behavior got Twilight Sparkle suspicious and not you?”
Celestia bowed her head, looking away from her sister. “I guess...I was distracted,” she sighed. “Luna, could you watch the reception for me? I have to...I’m just tired after today.”
The younger sister blinked. “Of course. I’d imagine you are weary after the day’s events. Take your leave and rest up.”
Celestia needed no second bidding. She flew off towards the castle.
Instantly Luna’s mind began racing. Something was bothering her sister. She contemplated following her, but realized the folly of that plan. As she was now, any attempts to try and talk with her would likely result in her resistance, which would likely mean that the conversation they needed to have would be unlikely to take place until long after it would be effective. She would wait an hour, maybe two, for her sister’s anger to subside, then she would attempt to speak with her. For now, it appeared to be her duty to oversee the Royal Wedding.
Two hours passed, with Vinyl Scratch having gone through half of her playlist. Currently the dance floor was filled with couples slow-dancing, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor right in the center. Seeing that everything was in order, Luna silently slipped away, heading to her sister’s bedchambers. As she neared the giant double doors, a pair of Celestia’s personal guards blocked her way.
“The Princess has requested to remain undisturbed, even from you.”
Luna’s horn glowed, and suddenly the guards found they could make an exception. They pushed the doors opened, allowing the dark alicorn to trot in.
Celestia lay on her bed, her head down and her eyes closed. Upon hearing her sister’s entrance, she looked up. Her usually beautiful eyes were puffy and bloodshot, her cheeks moist with tears.
As the doors closed, the Princess of the Sun spoke first. “How did you get in?”
Luna shook her head. “Please, dear sister, do you really have such little faith in my magic? If the Queen of the Changelings could brainwash the captain of the Royal Guard, surely I can plant a quick suggestion into somepony’s mind.” She walked over to her sister, lying at her side. “Now, tell me, what is troubling you?”
“Do you really have to ask?” the older sister asked sadly. “I let my kingdom down. I let a plot to harm my subjects be brewed right under my nose, and as a result two ponies who I care deeply about were hurt in the process.”
“You blame yourself for the changelings?”
“I blame myself for allowing their queen to fool me for so long,” she sighed, lowering her head back onto her pillow. “She did a poor job mimicking the real Cadence. She was so cold, so distant…nothing like my darling niece.”
“The guards are all talking about the same thing,” Luna tried to assure, “a bride is under much stress and…”
“No!” Celestia snapped. “Cadence is a princess, and unlike Blueblood, she does more than just lounge around the palace all day, drinking in the celebrity lifestyle. I’ve seen her take on any number of stressful duties, and never lose her warmth and kindness. I should have suspected something was wrong. If you would have seen the preparations made directly after we chased the changelings off, you would understand. We had only three hours to get everything ready, and she took it all with grace…as did Twilight.”
“Dear sister, she is a member of the Royal Family,” Luna calmed her. “Not blood-related, of course, none of your so-called nieces and nephews truly are, but it is understandable you would not wish to think ill of them.”
“Luna, the last time I thought that way, it was with you. I noticed your jealousy and assumed it was nothing, that it would pass in due time. It cost me and you for a millennium. One thousand painful years separated from you. Apparently that wasn’t punishment enough, because I made the same foalish mistake, only this time it would have cost me every one of my subjects. And even though we won, Cadence was trapped for days in those horrible caves, and Twilight got her heart broken, all due to my neglect.”
“Dear sister, you must remember that Nightmare Moon is my sin, my burden to bear, you should not concern yourself with it. As for today, Twilight Sparkle acknowledges she acted foalishly as well. She harbors no ill will to the other Bearers, and I’m sure she bears none to you.”
“She should,” Celestia answered weakly. “Honestly, I’ve always referred to Twilight as my most faithful student, but when she needed my faith the most, I didn’t give it to her.”
“You had faith in her that she could free me from the taint of Nightmare Moon and bring me home. You had faith she could face Discord and resist his sadistic games…”
“Yes, I have faith in Twilight to be my loyal little attack dog,” the alicorn answered in a bitter tone. “To put her life on the line for my kingdom and my subjects. To face Discord without the benefits of the Elements to heal her afterward.” She sighed, regretting that those wielding the Elements of Harmony couldn’t share in their touch, the one that made every other pony who felt it to suddenly remember Discord’s cruel actions as nothing more than a nightmare, something they could easily forget. It still burdened Twilight and her friends, a burden they carried without complaint or ill will to their princess, and which nearly had disastrous consequences on the sanity of her beloved student.
“I trust Twilight to do as I say. But I proved today that I have no faith in her intelligence and compassion.”
“Enough of this!” Luna ordered sternly, slipping close to her Royal Canterlot Voice. “I know that to be a fallacy. If you had no faith in her compassion, you would not have sent her after the Elements of Harmony to begin with, and had you no faith in her intelligence, you would not have trusted her to overcome Discord’s tricks. You have plenty faith in her.”
“I didn’t today,” Celestia silently whispered.
“That is merely because she sounded like a foal while making the accusation. You had good reason to believe she was being selfish.”
“Would you have believed her?”
Luna was silenced. She was hoping that question would not be brought up.
“…Perhaps,” the Princess of the Stars admitted. “She was the one who never feared me on Nightmare Night, so willing to approach me and give me a second chance. Several of the ponies did respect her enough to listen. She did not strike me as the type to judge somepony.”
Celestia merely sighed. “Another example of her worth that I had forgot today.”
“I may be biased,” Luna tried to assure. “Twilight Sparkle is the first friend I have made in a thousand years…”
“And that’s because she’s so wonderful,” Celestia said. “You know, I’ve always envied Twilight’s parents. Because no matter how much Twilight might love me, adore me, and strive for my approval, they will always hold the place in her heart that I want.”
“You love her that much?”
“Like a daughter,” she admitted. However, at this her head dropped down again. “But I had forgotten that today, apparently.”
“No mother expects her child to be perfect...”
“Luna, quit trying to justify my actions!” Celestia yelled. Luna stopped. Even angry, Celestia rarely raised her voice. “I’m a princess! I’m supposed to care for my subjects! To keep them safe and free of harm! I was supposed to be on my guard! I noticed the signs. Cadence’s magic was off, I sensed it. I noticed her cold and distant attitude toward everypony except Shining Armor. And honestly, I taught Twilight personally! I should have known she’d know the difference between a brainwashing spell and one to cure headaches! Even as hysterical as she was, I should have at least checked. But no, I tore her heart out and left her alone, then went off planning a wedding and left her once again with the burden of keeping my kingdom safe.”
She sighed once more. “I’m unworthy of my crown, or the love of my subjects.”
Luna shook her head. “Dear sister, you are making the same mistake that many of our subjects make.”
“And what’s that?” Celestia challenged.
“Forgetting that we are not gods,” Luna answered simply. “We are powerful, yes, but not omnipotent. We have our failings, our shortcomings, though ponies tend to forget. A mistake makes you no more unworthy than any other pony.”
“But...all those signs I missed...”
“Seem obvious now,” Luna said simply. “Everything appears obvious after it has happened. You are forgetting that.”
Celestia looked into her sister’s eyes for a moment, her expression unreadable. Then, she looked away with a mournful look. “Everything you say has logic to it...but it does little to soothe me.”
Luna gave a small smile. “The burden that comes with love, I suppose. Perhaps I should summon Twilight Sparkle here. You two could...”
“No!” Celestia said. It wasn’t angry, it was pleading. “Please, I don’t think I could face Twilight right now. I don’t think I have the right.”
Luna looked surprised, but bowed her head with sad resignation. “If that is your decision,” she said, rising to her hooves, “I will do what is best. I’m sorry to leave you like this, dear sister, but the night is my domain to guard. I must return to my duty. Please, try and sleep. I will see you come the morn.”
Celestia nodded, resting her head back on the pillow. She closed her eyes, praying her exhaustion won out over her guilt.
Twilight and her friends laughed at Spike’s antics as Princess Cadence and Shining Armor’s carriage became a mere dot on the horizon. After such a harrowing day, a fairy tale ending seemed quite the appropriate reward for the loving pair.
“Well, now that that’s over,” Twilight began, “I think I’ll head back to my suite.”
“You’re turning in this early?” Rainbow Dash said in disbelief.
“I nearly lost all my friends, got trapped in some forgotten caves, fought off a bunch of changelings, and put together a wedding all in one day. I’m exhausted. I’m surprised you guys are still going.”
“Oh come on, this is a wedding, the ultimate party!” Pinkie exclaimed.
“Thanks, but no thanks,” Twilight yawned. “I need some rest.”
“Well, if you’re sure...” Applejack said.
“I’m positive. Nothing is going to stop me from just...”
At that point, something did stop her, namely, Princess Luna flying in and landing directly in her path.
“Twilight Sparkle, I have something I must discuss with you.”
Celestia had managed to drift off into sleep, but it was uneasy, and wrought with nightmares. Terrifying images filled her mind. First, of her sister, once again transformed into the terrifying figure of Nightmare Moon, sneering at her older sibling, telling her that her incompetence had hurt the kingdom once too often, and that she was taking over, no longer wanting the embarrassment of having to share her rule. At her side was Sunset, clad in black regalia, happy she had finally found a teacher that wouldn't fail her.
Then a cocoon of slime, similar to the one she had been trapped in hours before. It split open, and out emerged Cadence, though she was a twisted parody of her former self, holes in her legs, sharp fangs and insect like wings, a black and twisted horn, and a dirty and matted coat and mane. She looked at her aunt, tears in her eyes, and begged her to give her the reason why she had failed to stop this, why she had let this happen, all while the Changeling Queen stood behind her, laughing that Cadence was now her princess.
Then Discord appeared, giving his malicious smirk. At his side was Twilight, her coat now a darker shade of purple, her eyes wide and wild, and her mouth twisted into an insane grin. The draconequus laughed, thanking her for sending her beloved student through so many horrors, which twisted her mind so effectively. She was his now, his own little Queen of Chaos.
The five figures advanced on her, with angry ridicule, desperate pleading, and insane laughter filling the air as Celestia shrunk down, desperately trying to drown out the sounds of her failures.
The Princess awoke with a start, her nightmare shaking her to her core. She was sure she wasn’t crying only because her tear ducts had long since been run dry.
“Princess?” a voice said in the darkness.
Celestia lifted her head up in surprise. Out of the shadows of her room, Twilight emerged, looking in concern at her princess.
“Twilight? How did you get in here?”
“Princess Luna got me in,” she said calmly, walking over to the centuries old mare.
“What? But, she promised not to tell you...”
Twilight shook her head. “She promised to do what was best,” she reminded. She was now in front of the bed.
“I suppose you’re here to try and convince me that I wasn’t at fault, right?”
Twilight sighed. “I don’t think that’s possible. I can tell my friends still feel guilty about what happened today, no matter how much I tried to calm them down.”
“Then...why have you come in here?”
“To be here for you.”
The answer was so simple, so blunt, that for a moment Celestia wasn’t sure she had heard it. After a moment, she spoke. “Could you stay with me tonight?” she asked softly.
Twilight smiled. “I was expecting you to ask,” she said.
Minutes later, Twilight was curled at Celestia’s side. It reminded them both of when Twilight was a filly, after completing some particularly exhausting magic exercises, she would fall asleep at her side, clutching her Smarty Pants doll. She became a soothing presence while the Princess went over paperwork and did any number of small, boring things to keep the kingdom running. It was a nostalgic feeling, one both of them were grateful to feel again.
“I’m sorry, Twilight,” the alicorn whispered softly. “I promise, I won’t doubt you again.”
“Please don’t feel guilty,” Twilight pleaded, “I already told my friends, I understand why you wouldn’t believe me.”
“I still should have been more understanding,” Celestia sighed. “But I suppose it’s as Luna said, it seems obvious now. I’ve accepted that what has happened cannot be changed, I had to when I was forced to banish Nightmare Moon.” She lowered her head back onto her pillow, though it was less out of depression. “Let’s not worry about right now. Just get some sleep.”
The unicorn obeyed, setting her head on her own pillow and closing her eyes.
“You know,” Twilight said softly, not even opening her eyes, “the night before I came to live in the castle, my parents joked that they were worried you’d like me so much, you’d snatch me up and keep me all to yourself.” She smiled. “Guess they were right to be worried.”
Celestia did something she could not remember doing in centuries: she blushed. But she smiled just the same.
“I love you very much, my most faithful student.” And that was the last thing either of them said before they drifted off to sleep.
this story....
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*Le GASP!*
Inb4 Twilestia comment! xD
537047 No. Celestia loves Twilight like a mother loves her daughter, and Twilight vice-versa. I'm not shipping them together at all.
537129 XD I know, that's why I added the '/shot'. Guess I wasn't clear enough, sorry. I suppose I should have said, instead, 'inb4 Twilestia comment'. My bad.
The Royal Guard are worryingly susceptible to Jedi mind tricks.
537138 Ah, my bad.
Truth be told, I was worried people would interpret this chapter that way, so I kind of freaked when I heard it being mentioned. Sorry bought that.
nice chapter. Keep up the good work
Agreed. Nice chapter.
Mildly amusing typo:
Luna immediately regretted asking, because her sister shot him a cold look that looked so out of place on her. (Emphasis mine)
ohhhh Luna aren't you just an adorable and clever jedi
I swear though everyone gives Discord such a sinister mindset. I mean sure he fucked with the Mane 6 but would you just quietly sit there as the greatest threat to your freedom, after over 1000 year imprisoned in stone, attempted to imprison you again; I should think not. He didn't kill um and sure its a kids show so that wouldn't happen but realistically he has near limitless power, fangs, claws, and talons he could of easily just killed them after having his fun but he didn't. Even all the changes he made once he escaped were relatively harmless chocolate rain, cotton candy clouds, long legged bunnies, screwing with the sun and moon, and all the rest of his antics were relatively harmless. He could of burned everything to the ground, sent tornadoes, famine, and other dangerous forms of chaos but he was just having a few laughs at others expense almost entirely extremely elaborate pranks; I mean hell the only people he Discorded were the mane 6 and that was necessary to his freedom its not like he went around fucking with everyone minds and personalities.
I started ranting, hmmmm, to bad. Good read though can't wait to see how the rest of the mane 6 and Spike spend the night although i do have a few hopes in the matter
“Dear sister, she is a member of the Royal Family,” Luna calmed her. “Not blood-related, of course, none of your so-called nieces and nephews truly are, but it is understandable you would not wish to think ill of them.”
You're assuming they had no brothers, sisters, parents, aunts, uncles or cousins prior to their ascension to the throne..... They're not older than Equestria (Hearthwarming Day), which means they had to have been born at some point, so they obviously DID have parents, so nieces and nephews of their bloodline are HARDLY out of the question.
Furthermore....
Dawwwwwwwwwww.
539988 I'm not quite saying that.
My personal headcannon with the Alicorns is a bit complicated, especially where Celesia and Luna are concerned. But there's a reason why they have no blood relatives left, which I'm going to reveal later.
For right now, all that I'm saying is that Alicorns are very rare and there's a reason that Celestia and Luna have no blood relatives left.
Well, I'm glad you thought it was cute. That was the main point of it after all.
537154
Please note that everyone pulling "mind tricks" on them has been a god. Not in the modern western sense, but in the phenomenal cosmic power sense.
To be fair, Celly, you've a heck of a point.
And weirdly, I was quite taken by the 'Queen of Chaos' dream.
554351
I'm glad you liked that part, it was one of my favorite things to write.
537169 I did interpret this chapter that way, but I blame that completely on my heavily-tinted Twilestia shipping goggles. If I look at it without them (very difficult), it seems quite familial. But there's a little voice inside my head that says, "They are in luuuuuuuurve."
537129 THANK YOU
Another great chapter!
539748 Same thing can be said about NNM and Chrysalis. All the villains were taken down by their own hubris.
NNM played games instead of just killing the Elements or at least sending the elements to the moon/sun.
Chrysalis should have paid more attention to her prisoners. Sure she took care of Celestia (and not Luna) but should have take out Cadance and the elements and keep SA hypnotized for energy.
Discord should have eliminated the one thing that can defeat him immediately instead of playing with them to torture Celestia.
Sincerely they are terrible at the whole villain thing. I mean, Chrysalis announced her attack on Canterlot!
ANOTHER "Praise Twilight" chapter.
and had you no faith in her intelligence would have trusted her to overcome Discord’s tricks.
-would not
559673 I really like these kindof stories where the arrogant admit their faults and want desperately to make amends. I always have the philosophy of "Never Asume Anything" to avoid this kind of misunderstanding or broken trust.
This totally was Twilight/Celestia shipping.Any relationship can be called shipping. It can be friendshipping or the mother/daughter relationship shipping. Or any other shipping. Some people just automatically assign the soon to be sex shipping tag without caring about any others. Awesome chapter.
537034 This man... he is good.
I will reward his awesome with something fitting.
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In other news... this chapter left me wanting to hug Celestia so much... but then she'd probably buck me to the moon.
So much d'aaawww. *sniff* Me gusta mucho.
537129 THANK GOD.
Someone with a fucking brain.
You just went up like fifty points in my book.
537034 638875
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537129 THANK YOU. Seriously. It's a weird ship.
614111 Nightmare Moon didn't count on The Elements of Harmony being activated again, if Twilight's friends hadn't come in right after Nightmare Moon crushed the stone elements she would have won.
Discord is the spirit (or god if you perfer) of chaos, he actually managed to steal The Elements of Harmony before Celestia could react, he admitted to Twilight that he dosen't play fair, and he said he does what he does just because dosen't make sense, if Twilight hadn't received the friendship reports he would've still ruled Equestria.
Chrysalis didn't foolishly unhypnotize Shining Armor the real Cadence did that, and she obviously thought that after being stuck in the caves below Canterlot for who knows how long that Cadence wouldn't have enough magic alongside Shining Armor to defeat her.
All of them were defeated when they thought they were actually going to win.
“If they just got close enough, the Elements would have activated themselves and traveled to them." I did wonder how Celestia planned for them to get past enchantments not even Luna could break.
This is a very interesting retrospective take on the wedding episodes.
539748
Yeah, seriously, I don't know where all that is coming from, especially when the first gen MLP is full of those kinds of baddies. Discord is just the genie from Aladdin but with no restraints.
If he were that kind of 'consuming darkness for all' evil I think the EoH would do a lot more than simply turn him to stone, he'd get 'dispelled' and blasted into moon dust or something. I think this is an instance of authors bringing too much of their personal junk into fanon, like all those stories where Scootaloo's parents are Joker-murdered or killed in a war, even in the "lighthearted" Scootorphan stories. Like, really? Huh? It's right up there with Tyrant Celestia.
If anything Discord at his worst should be 'that guy who always thinks it's funny to snap your jock strap even after you've had surgery down there." He made ponies' lives hell by being a jerko troll, not being Draconequus Nero!
Speaking of Joker, I hope in season 3 Twilight knocks him flat on his ass the way Terry in Batman Beyond did by going all "You. Are. Not. Funny. Your 'chaos' is even more childish than Dash's pranks! " and he's all "NO, STOP SAYING THAT!" "Your chaos is embarrassing! Predictable! ORDERLY" "NOOOOOUOUUUUAAAAGH" and Celestia is all
Why didn't I think of using this tactic before?!?
782804
Ironically for Chrysalis when she thought she was gonna lose she actually won! (the power battle vs Celestia) Perhaps she should have remained overly cautious and paranoid the entire time like a certain purple unicorn!
Cool story bro keep it up
781793
Twilestia can be so much more than "and then they became pone lesbians". Also, in this particular chapter, it is clearly a mother-daughter relationship. You are not reading properly. It doesn't get more explicit than that.
Also, it is my belief that we are not in any position to judge what is right or wrong when it comes to immortal beings. The only reason there is an impasse between them is precisely why it's so endearing to read about (ie teacher-student, mother-daughter, etc). They have so much going against them that when you do make it work, it's the most beautiful and pure pair around. Granted, it has to be done right. I recommend you give Varanus' "Composure" a shot. You might be surprised.
...
TWILESTIA OTP AHHHHRGH
842683 781793
But Composure is incomplete. I don't know about Emerald Flight, but I try to avoid incomplete stories.
Perhaps try "Eternal" by devide heretic. It actually isn't shipping, but it touches on the the many ways that Celestia could feel for Twilight.
Immortality(or incredibly long life) is indeed a difficult subject to cover. Celestia and Luna are thousands of years old, so every one of their subjects is a foal in comparison. That doesn't change the fact that a pony can get lonely. And as I have heard it pointed out before, if an immortal is going to choose a suitor from her populace, why not the most powerful magician, the wielder of the Element of Magic, and a pony who's maturity (in some aspects) is far ahead of her time? dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/shrug_Twilight_Sparkle.png
BLAM, major plot point neutralized in the first sentence. This is gonna be good.
HAHA, and Luna spots the door problem as well! Nicely done!
Shit that's creepy. Mind magic is not something the good guys take lightly, Luna!
Enter serious and in-depth discussion of the royal wedding, the royal family, the royal Chains of Commanding, and... well, Celestia's big royal screw-up. I personally favor the idea that Celestia knew about Chrysalis but wanted to expose her before taking her down, and trusted Twilight to handle things once she conveniently left her alone with the impostor... but then, this version is much more emotionally engaging. I like that Celestia refers to Twilight's status as her "fixer" of sorts (Dragonshy, anyone?) and recalls parallels between Cadence's replacement and the first rise of Nightmare Moon. Bonus points for working in some backstory for Cadence and explaining away the idea of Celestia's "nieces and nephews".
This does not say "If that is your decision, I will do as you say."
... Damn, Celestia's nightmares are serious business. Also why does the thought of changeling!Cadence turn me on? Probably because I have a thing for evil sidekicks.
No points for seeing that coming.
Holy mother of d'awww. Dat ending. It's like you're trying to kill me with adorable.
Good to see Celestia be more Pony like.
So much love and understanding...
I love your ability to find these discreet gaps in logic.
"And honestly, I taught Twilight personally! I should have known she’d know the difference between a brainwashing spell and one to cure headaches!"
Cool, nice to see that Celestia admit her mistakes, she had faint in Twilight as to follow her orders and be her attack dog, alwais ready to be send into dangers but when Twilight needs Celestia help and trust, than nooooooo, I think this story resolve it perfectly.
Though I wonder why Celestia did not tryed to help Twilight on her mission, I mean, NMM just tryed to scare Twilight and her friends even though they were a banishment/death theat to her ( many would call nightmare Moon bad villan, but I think she is not evil but just lonely Alicorn desperate for love, she though that enternal night will help her gain love and respect of her subjects and had no idea that it can kill everypony, if she would want to kill everypony, than she would not hessitate for an open attack again Twilight and her friends, NMM is to kind villan to kill her enemys ).
DId Celestia realy gamble in it, or she knew that both Nightmare Moon and Discord would never try to kill her student, and this let me wonder, did Celestia was banished or she was just hidding only to show up when Nightmare Moon was healed, and did Celestia watched Twilight when Discord finaly broke her, so she knew that she need to send letters.
Well anyway I was enjoying watching Celestia felling guilty for sending her student on suicude missions without any assistance from the army or from her own powers.
20 people are not true bronies
in other news this is a great story so have some moustaches
man right in the feels...
1656977I have combated that thumbs down on your comment with a thumbs up! Let us join in battle!
That's just beautiful.
The old Jedi Mind Trick?
ICWhatUDidThere...
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG-
MAH HEART! Gosh darn you and your amazing writing skills... this made me cry D:/ :'D
I'm liking this....im liking this a lot
Let me just say, Daaaaawwww, the feels
Celestia's nightmare gave me goosebumps. It was legitamently one of the scarier things I've read. Well done. You played on her deepest fears very well. The cocoon thing with Cadance, holy scrap. If I ever decide to write Dark, (well dark-er) I just might try to borrow that.
781793
It's more of a mother-daughter relationship, Celestia says that she loves Twi like a mother, not in a romantic way. As for Twi, I'm guessing that's more what she's thinking as well.
This one touched me a lot more than the last chapter. I devotedly believe that Luna is the superior princess, but while I regularly criticize Celestia (the word 'incompetence' frequently comes to mind) I don't necessarily feel she is a bad ruler (Twilight's Kingdom excepted). Simply put, this chapter more or less follows my headcanon pretty closely in terms of their relationship and joint rule. It also interests me that this is coming to feel like a 'Praise Twilight for She is Perfect" story, and I wonder where you're going to take it in the end.
That being said, I feel that some of this could use a little work. There was nothing wrong with the dialogue, not really, but without some interspersed body language it lost a good deal of the emotion for me. There are two big emotional investments for me here, one being a total love and respect for Celestia and Luna and the other being a very real fear of the concept of changelings. Without those things, I probably wouldn't have been very moved.
781793 I hate Twilestia too, but this isn't it. This is Momlestia.