Burning Bridges (Twilight Sparkle)
“Twilight?!”
The sudden interruption caught me off guard. With my concentration broken, all the complex workings of my most recent spell, deconstructing the intricacies of the mirror portal magic, fizzled away to nothing. Ten spongy fingers fused together bringing back the familiar stockiness of two sturdy hooves. I turned, once again on four legs, to face my assistant.
“What’re you doing?” Spike asked, a hint of fear for my well-being not altogether concealed in his question. My half pony, half human form obviously gave him pause to wonder about my mental state.
“Research,” I replied in a direct but casual tone. I had asked to be left alone. This project required my complete concentration, not to mention the potential for collateral damage. “It’s very dangerous, but I need to understand all I can so that I can help my friend.”
“I don’t like where this is going, Twilight.” Spike gave me one of those looks, a smirk with a raised eyebrow and disapproving glare. “Are you sure she needs our help? I thought we left her in good hands?”
“Heh,” I blushed and pulled up a forehoof to validate there were no residual spell effects. “Funny you should say that.” As always, Spike had a way of pointing out the obvious flaws in my logic. “That’s actually a big part of the problem. Sunset gave up her tail, hooves, and even her horn—she’s human now, and that’s just… not right. I need to help her, Spike. I have to know why she wants to remain a human.”
“Well, she does have her other friends...” Spike’s disapproving glare softened to a more puzzled expression. “The two of you keep in touch with that journal of hers. Did she say she needed help?”
“Not exactly… I’m just having trouble comprehending how she could be happy being something she’s not. After all, she’s a pony, at least on the inside. I thought maybe it would help to try and see things from her point of view—that’s all.” Thinking over the past few weeks of back and forth conversation mediated by a magical diary, happiness was not the term I would use to describe Sunset Shimmer’s condition. “She has her friends, and she’s making progress on paying back her debt to the school, but I know there’s something else, something she’s not telling me. There’s a reason she refuses to come back to Equestria.”
Spike folded his arms and rolled his eyes. “Isn’t there a reason she left in the first place? Maybe Celestia knows?”
“That’s just it, Spike,” I said as I began to pace the floor. “I’ve spoken to the Princess, and she’s totally fine with letting her come back. But when I told Sunset, she immediately tried to change the subject; she kept talking about her hands and feet and how much she enjoyed being human. Why would she say that? It doesn’t make any sense. Why would she give up her magic just so she could walk upright?”
Spike shook his head. “I think you’re over-thinking it.”
“You don’t understand,” I replied. “Sunset Shimmer spent her whole life studying magic, just like me. Something must have happened to drive her away from her destiny, and now she’s making excuses not to talk about it. The human world may be nice and all, but she’s hiding from her past. As her friend, I feel I should help, but it’s been a week since she’s written to me, and I don’t know what else to do.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t do anything,” Spike said.
I returned a glare.
Spike let out a sigh. “Alright, but I don’t think experimenting like this is going to help. Why don’t you talk to the Princess and see what she has to say?”
“To be honest,” I said, my tail and ears drooping with my mood, “I’ve been avoiding that. Whenever the topic of Sunset leaving home comes up, Celestia doesn’t seem too happy about it. Although, when I asked about bringing her back to Equestria, she seemed very happy. I had hoped to avoid the questions about why Sunset left and skip right to the happy reunion of teacher and student.”
“I’m sure if you ask, she’ll give you an answer. Even if she doesn’t know, what’s the harm in asking?”
“I guess you’re right, Spike,” I said bowing my head. The steady buzz from my equipment overshadowed the heavy silence. I turned it all off with a flick of my horn.
“There’s one big thing that’s been bothering me,” I added, “I don’t ever recall seeing Sunset around Canterlot growing up. Celestia told me she was her old student, but that doesn’t make any sense—I was her personal student, for like, the last fifteen years. I’d never met Sunset Shimmer before I went through the mirror. Nothing about her really makes any sense. If Celestia is hiding something, I’m not sure I want to know. What if it hurts our new friendship?”
“Beats me,” Spike said. “But you’re not going to get an answer if you never ask the question.”
With a defeated sigh, I turned and headed for my room. “I guess there’s no avoiding it. Better fly to Canterlot so I can talk to the Princess.”
“Couldn’t you just write her a letter, like right now?” Spike asked.
“I have a feeling this is something too important for a letter.” Nearly out the door myself, I stopped and craned my neck around. “Thank you for helping me sort things out, Spike. I really appreciate how you keep me grounded.”
“No problem, Twilight. I’m always here to help.” Spike’s smile warmed my heart. I don’t know what I would do without him.
Even with her new friends helping her out, I had to wonder if Sunset really felt alone in that other place. Why wouldn’t she choose to come home, even for a visit? What drove her away in the first place? Having hands sure felt different, but I certainly wouldn’t give up everything I was just to be human. Vacations were one thing, but a whole new life? Hopefully Celestia could shed some light on the situation. Hopefully I wouldn’t regret finding the answers.
The afternoon flight to Canterlot helped to clear my head. Alone, soaring above the clouds, I felt like I was in my own private world. The sense of freedom buoyed me up, but not for long. Clinging tight to my flank, my saddle bag carried Celestia’s half of Sunset’s journal, a small reminder of my mission and the pony I was struggling to help. I imagined being like this forever, alone in a strange world without my pony friends, never seeing another equine face as long as I lived. The thought of leaving my own body behind in the process brought chills to my wings. With the mountain castle swiftly approaching, I focused my thoughts on getting to the root of the issue.
The guards were quick to greet me. I wanted to keep things low key, but my meager protest fell on deaf ears. Before I knew it, I found myself being presented to Celestia with all the fanfare of an official royal visit.
“The Princess, Twilight Sparkle!” one of the them shouted, followed by a blast of trumpets. Anxious and a little afraid to confront the truth, I stepped forward.
I peered across the royal hall, feeling small and insignificant in the light of such an introduction right in the middle of Day Court proceedings. The warm glow of Celestia’s smile helped to loosen my legs as I broke into a canter to reach her throne. She watched my approach and took a few steps down from her seat, meeting me at the foot of the dais. We embraced as family might after a prolonged absence.
“Twilight, it’s so wonderful to see you,” she said, her hoof gently wrapping around my mane. “But… why are you trembling? Is something wrong?”
The chills spread further than my wings, it would seem. I fell back from our hug. “It’s… Sunset. We… We need to talk.”
Celestia’s smile faded to a worried slant. She motioned to the side. “Perhaps we should speak in private.”
I gave a nod and moved toward the small doors on the west side of the hall. A guard rushed ahead and opened the way, giving a salute as we passed. With a thud from the door closing behind, I found myself in a cozy room with a pair of high backed chairs and a small table the perfect size for a tea tray.
Celestia stepped forward and took up position on the far chair. “Please, have a seat. I hope everything is alright, but I gather that is not the case. Is Sunset in trouble?”
I slid into the opposite chair and tried to raise my head to meet my mentor’s gaze. I knew what I had to say wasn’t the end of the world, but it wouldn’t be cause for celebration either. The last thing I wanted to do was bring up a painful memory. “Sunset Shimmer doesn’t want to come home.” I ventured a peak at her reaction.
“Is that… all?” Celestia asked. Her mane seemed to freeze awaiting my response.
“I don’t know why she wants to stay in the human world,” I replied, my heart pounding in my chest. “I told her she could come home, that all was forgiven, but she won’t even talk to me about it.”
I waited, in silence, staring into the eyes of the Princess. If I looked really hard, I could just make out the smallest of tears forming in the corners of those eyes. I didn’t want to look. I couldn’t turn away. The pain her memories brought shone through her generous attempt at a smile.
I had tried in the past to get an answer, but she would never open up. Now, I gathered up all the courage I could muster, the question rising to the tip of my tongue. It might break her heart, but I had to know. “Be honest with me, Princess. What happened to make her leave?”
Celestia took a deep breath. “I did.”
Nothing could have prepared me for that.
Crestfallen, Celestia slumped back into her chair. “I am to blame. It was my fault she left.”
I sat and let the idea settle in my head. Following what seemed like an eternity of second guessing myself, I continued.
“I don’t understand,” I said. “What did you do that caused her to leave?”
“She believes that I lied to her, and she hasn’t forgiven me for it.” Celestia adjusted her posture, sitting tall once again. “I am old, Twilight Sparkle, and I have kept many secrets. Forgive me for having kept this from you—it is time you knew the truth. Sunset Shimmer, the golden mare of Canterlot, is my daughter.”
My mouth hung ajar. Words tried to escape, but my own shock contained any possible outburst.
“Adopted, of course,” Celestia added, much to my relief and continued surprise. “She came to me as a foal, tightly wrapped in a hoofstitched blanket along with a note carrying a simple request that she be taken care of, carefully deposited on the steps of the castle. I tried for many years to track down her parents, to no avail. I suspect they realized the spark she carried within and felt inadequate to fulfill the role of raising such a gifted unicorn.”
“So, she was special? And her parents abandoned her?” I toyed with the notion of my own parents leaving me in a similar fashion. The very idea strained at the foundation of everything I held dear in my relationship with my own mother and father.
“I raised her as my own, in light of the circumstances.” Celestia lifted her head and smiled with her most encouraging smile. “She brought a ray of sunshine into my life that I had not felt since the loss of my sister, Princess Luna. I loved my daughter with all my heart, as a real mother should. Many years passed, and she blossomed into a beautiful young filly, the time swiftly approaching where she would gain her cutie mark.” Celestia paused and looked me square in the face. “And that is where you come in.”
“What do you mean?“ I said, quickly trying to piece together the information being presented. “Sunset and I are about the same age. Wouldn’t that mean she got her cutie mark about the same time I did?”
“Not exactly,” Celestia replied. “Hers came in a much different light than yours. While it remained a beautiful and fulfilling experience for the both of you, I am sorry to say, Sunset’s marking blossomed as much out of jealousy and rage as it did from a realization of her destiny. My love for her remained as true as it always had, but she didn’t see it that way. You see, Sunset valued one thing above all else, my total love and affection. She made it her goal to become just like me, which included the desire to become an alicorn. I tried to temper her expectations, tried to steer her in another direction, but I only succeeded in fueling her desire. Her mark made that evident. She was a daughter of the sun.”
“But I don’t remember her at all. How is it possible that we never met growing up?”
“From the moment I met you, Twilight, I knew you were special. I wanted to teach you everything that I knew, but I realized that wasn’t what needed to happen. Ever since Sunset realized her mark, I knew things would never be the same between us, and I couldn’t let that happen again with you. With the help of Cadance, I taught you what you needed to know to fulfill the prophesy, something I failed to do with my own daughter. As much as I loved her, she was not to be the key to redeeming my sister as she was mistakenly led to believe.”
Looking over at the window with bright shafts of the late evening sun streaming down across the small table and reflecting up into my eyes, I magically drew in the curtain. Given the small interruption, I felt obligated to restart the discussion. “So you kept us apart because Sunset saw me as her competition?”
“Not at all,” Celestia replied. “My daughter left long before you were even born.”
“What? How?” I had more questions with each passing minute.
“The magic of the mirror world can be difficult to understand, Starswirl liked to complicate everything. Sunset had no idea what she was getting herself into. I understood only slightly more than she. In the time since she left, I have been able to go back over all the history of Starswirl and the mirror that we have available. Some of it I found buried deep in the restricted section of the Canterlot Library. What I learned helped me realize that where she went was probably the best place she could go. She needed time, and that’s exactly what she received. Suffice it to say, it has been seventy-five long years since I last held my daughter.”
“But that means… I—I don’t understand.” I failed to grasp how any of what I was hearing made sense. If Celestia was telling the truth, Sunset would have been nearly a hundred years old.
“It’s probably best if I let her tell you why she left in her own words.” Celestia rose from the chair. “Come with me, there is something I need to show you.”
I thought for a moment that I should mention the journal tucked under my wing, perhaps let Sunset weigh in on the discussion, but instead, I quietly nodded and followed Celestia’s lead. Her magic opened the doors, and we strode through the royal hall. A number of guard ponies stood at attention, merely saluting as we trotted past. Out the main doors and down the corridor we went. Up the great staircase and finally spilling out on one of the upper floors, I always remained one step behind. The tapping of our hooves echoed through the hallway as we drove by half a dozen similar rooms—sleeping quarters on this level—coming to a stop in front of an archway containing a mural of the sun.
“Please forgive me for having kept this from you for so long, Twilight,” Celestia said as she ignited her horn. “I tried to seal away her memory, and I am ashamed to have done so with such impeccable execution. Not even my own sister is aware of the full extent of Sunset’s past.”
Celestia’s magic met with the wall. The glow from the painting grew to the point of melting. Slowly, a door, much like the others along the hallway, materialized within the arch. Golden embellishments along the grain marked the room as one belonging to royalty. In the center of the door sat Sunset Shimmer’s cutie mark. With a final twist of the magic, the handle turned and the doorway opened.
A bright red and sun-kissed swirl of yellow met my gaze. Between the red rug and the yellow drapes, the four-post bed with the gently hanging orange canopy above, there could be little doubt. Owing to the unmistakable decor, I knew instantly that this was Sunset’s former bedroom.
Celestia crossed the threshold and motioned for me to follow. “Everything is as it was when she left. I sealed it off the same night that she broke my heart.”
I stepped inside.
Even with the bright colors and warm palate, I felt a chill in the air. The curtains drew back in Celestia’s hold, and the last rays of the evening sun flooded the room. I took another few steps forward and arranged myself in the light, trying to fight off the pallor of the space left frozen in time.
“Please excuse me a moment.” Celestia turned back toward the sun and quickly brought it down past the horizon. Moments later, the moon rose into the sky, another exchange of power with her sister complete.
Celestia drew up next to the bed and lifted a mirror from the nightstand. “I must remind you, Twilight, this message comes from many years ago. As I can infer from your dealings with her, she is not the same today as she once was, but this may help you to see why she left.”
The mirror floated over the bed and transfered into my field of influence. I brought it in close examining the sunburst pattern that rimmed the edge. My own reflection covered the glass surface, but it faded away just as quickly as I took notice. In it’s place, the flowing mane and bright yellow-orange horn of a slightly younger Sunset Shimmer came into focus. I concentrated on holding the mirror aloft while the framed image began to speak.
“Finally, I know the truth. Everything I ever wanted to be, my destiny, you stole it from me. How could you betray me? How could you let me believe this humongous lie? You told me I was special, that I was destined for greatness. You did this; you lied to me all these years. You were never my mother, and I was a fool to believe in the prophesy. You were only using me to get what you wanted.” An eerie smile spread across Sunset’s face. “I’ll show you! I’ll do everything in my power to deny your happy reunion. By the time you find this, there won’t be anything you can do to stop me. Just you wait and see! I’ll see you in thirty moons—mother.”
The image faded out against the echo of a sinister laugh. I gently laid the mirror on the bed. Looking up into Celestia’s face, she tried, but failed to hold back her tears. Her horn alight, a flash tore into the mirror, glass splintering in the assault.
“I never want to hear those hurtful words spoken again.” She fell back on her haunches and dabbled at her eyes with a foreleg. “Sunset left because she discovered I was not her natural mother, and she felt that I abandoned her in favor of somepony else fulfilling the prophesy of Nightmare Moon, just like her real mother did when she was born. I pushed her too hard, and in so doing, pushed her away.”
I turned my gaze toward the moon, hanging in the sky overhead. “I still don’t understand. What does the prophecy of Nightmare Moon have to do with her leaving?”
“Perhaps it would help if you read it in full.” Celestia motioned over toward Sunset’s study desk, and a large tome opened to a middle page. “Your copy was altered, but Sunset had the original script. The prophecy clearly spoke of a daughter of the stars, and not, as Sunset realized, a daughter of the sun. Go ahead, have a look.”
I moved over to the desk and gazed down at the page. It looked quite similar to the book Predictions and Prophesies from my own collection. The topic sat open on “Mare in the Moon”, and I read the passage aloud:
”On the longest day of the thousandth year,
The stars shall aid in her escape.
Take care lest the night, with the moon beaming bright,
Make the sun in the sky disappear.
Best to prepare and raise up a light,
For darkness seeks e’er to destroy.
Like the rise of the sun, a new day begun;
The moon with twilight before.
A princess is born, a spark of new life,
Magic in all that she brings.
A glimmer of hope to set the past right;
Friendship alight on her wings.
The sun and the moon shall return to the sky,
Crowned by the stars in a ring.
Ponies will cheer, when all is made clear;
Harmony, once again, King!”
Crouched down in my huddled pose, I squeaked out a weak response. “I-I don’t know what to say. My cutie mark… My friends… The stars in a ring bound by the magic of friendship… I had no idea.”
“The past is in the past, Twilight. We must move forward.” With the tears removed, Celestia stood once again. “I never truly lied to my daughter. Adopted or not, I love her and always will. As with you, she has a spark within her that may one day reveal amazing things. She needs to know that. She needs to know I still believe in her potential, her destiny. Even if she was not able to play a part in my sister’s return, that doesn’t change what she means to me.”
“Maybe if you were to tell her yourself, perhaps in a letter?” I retrieved the journal from my bag and laid it out on the bed.
A dourness returned to Celestia’s face. “I remember that night years ago, returning from my duties with both lowering the sun and raising the moon. I meant to tuck Sunset into bed and found her message waiting for me. It took me a while to realize what she had done. I didn’t have time to react before the mirror closed. The only hope I had of reaching out to her then was that journal. I had enchanted a copy for myself to communicate with her whenever we were apart, but I wasn’t sure she had taken her copy with her when she went through the portal. Out of everything in this room, that was the one item I never found. I took it on faith that she had.
“I tried writing many times, and by studying the magic signature on the portal I knew the message went through. It was my hope that she would write to me and we could work out our differences when she was ready. Even though I kept trying, I never got a response. Whenever the portal was scheduled to open, I kept a close watch in the hopes that my daughter would return. I never had the courage to go through myself. I’m actually quite glad to see you both using it now. Perhaps, after all this time, she would hear what I have to say…”
In the glow of Celestia’s magic, the book opened to a blank page. A golden quill materialized and she reached out to begin writing.
Before she could lay quill to paper, another’s words began to fill the page. We both paused to read the message.
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Okay, this is awesome. I need more!
6282961
I've got a lot more coming your way. Tune in each Tuesday leading up to the new movie.
Lower case.
So Celestia might not know it is a prison since she doesn't know all of what Star Swirl did. However, she must know something fishy is going on because oh how young Sunset remains. Though, great timing Sunset, amazingly good timing. Luckily Twilight will have not told Celestia since the princess will just read it herself.
Though my questions from the last chapter have yet to be answered. Why didn't Celestia bring up the age issue with Twilight; is she scared? And what are the human counterparts of Twilight's friends; are they constructs or ponies?
Oh I knew that was going to happen as soon as Twilight visited Celestia. Now she's going to see the words, "I'm coming home, don't tell Celestia," and it's going to break Celestia's heart... oh how cruel life can be at times.
6283377
Correct - Celestia doesn't have a perfect understanding of how everything works, but she has studied up on the magic and knows the basics, pretty much the same as what the Dazzlings have to work with.
This is something that goes into base detail that probably won't get a proper explanation in the story due to lengthy exposition issues, so I'll cover it here. Spoiler for those that don't want the background info and potential for upcoming info.
Celestia is old. She has no family except Luna, and Sunset by adoption. When she's working with Twilight, it's like she has a second chance at raising a child. She isn't perfect, and the problems that plagued her relationship with Sunset don't exactly apply in Twilight's case due to the simple facts of their (Celestia and Twilight) relationship and having learned from past experiences. Celestia also recognizes that Twilight and Sunset have a good relationship — something that has helped Sunset tremendously and may lead to a potential reunion with her daughter. To be fair, she wrote in the diary and never got a response due to Sunset's state of mind. In two and a half years before the portal opened again for the first time after Sunset went through, Celestia had plenty of time to read up on things and become as much of an expert as she could on the magic crafted world.
Double Spoiler warning:
Seeing as the mirror world preserves the state of the being entering, true age isn't really a factor when returning to Equestria, even after a long absence. So in the end, it doesn't really matter as a point to exhaustively explain or dwell on.
What do you think, given that they were directly impacted by the magic of the Elements of Harmony? Could they be one thing, and maybe now something else? Are there stronger ties to Equestria than Starswirl intended? Does the mirror flow both ways? Perhaps we'll find out.
6284951
The age issue I was talking about was how Sunset should be near 100 but she appears much younger. Why did Celestia not tell Twilight this and explain that the mirror is a looping reality or, if Celestia doesn't know, question the reason why Sunset appears so young.
75 years, huh? That's quite a time. I thought it'd be longer, but that's still a very long time for a mother to miss her daughter, adopted or not, immortal or not.
I'll avoid the spoilers in the comments, and wait for the proper unveiling of the truth.
Can't wait!
In one IDW comic with Sunset Shimmer we can se in one panel Sunset Shimmer studying in a park and behind her is little Twilight still without cutie mark, Cadance and Shining Armour playing on the grass.
Good grief, the suspense!
Can't wait for the update. This is really interesting. Keep it up.
How very interesting. I nearly had a heart attack when you said Sunset was Celestia's daughter . . . before you said she was her adopted one. You sly dog, you. You had me going there for a second.
still counts right?6366950