The Princess that Equestria Always Had

by rillegas08

02: Under Star Swirl

Princess Celestia smiled at the simultaneous reactions, stifling a giggle. Spike was the first to break the silence.

“Wow, Twilight. Who would have thought you’d get to meet your idol face to face? He lived a thousand years ago!”

“I’ll get to meet Star Swirl? But… how?”

“With a very powerful time travel spell, created by Star Swirl himself,” replied Princess Luna.

Twilight was flabbergasted, and tried to figure out how such a thing was possible. “I know Star Swirl created hundreds of spells and created and perfected many time travel and cross-dimensional spells.” She turned to her friends. “The crystal mirror that I followed Sunset Shimmer through is one of those cross-dimensional spells. And the last time Pinkie, Spike, and I were here I cast a spell that allowed me to go in the past only for a few moments. None of the spells he developed were capable of sending somepony a thousand years in the past."

"I was able to change one of his spells to be cast more than once," said Starlight, "and to send its caster years in the past rather than just a week by connecting it to the map in Twilight's castle. Maybe he just didn't have the resources we do today."

"Did somepony else make a more powerful spell than Star Swirl himself?”

“Nopony in the history of Equestria was able to replicate what Star Swirl accomplished with time travel, although Starlight was able to come closer than most. None of them came to me for help.”

“That’s right. In your and Luna’s journal you mentioned that you and he worked together on them.”

“Indeed, few ponies have developed spells as powerful as Star Swirl did. The spell that you completed and became an alicorn was his unfinished masterpiece, but there were other spells that were so powerful that no unicorn could cast them, and had the potential to be so dangerous that he chose never to make them public. He was wise for doing so.”

Princess Celestia’s horn started glowing, and the giant hourglass lifted off its pedestal, setting it aside. Princess Luna’s horn glowed, and a compartment lifted from the pedestal, opening up to reveal an ancient but well-preserved book. Pinkie Pie ran up to the pedestal and picked up the book. Celestia’s magic pulled the book over to the others, Pinkie’s back hooves dragging along the floor as she hung off it.

“This book contains the spells Star Swirl deemed too powerful and too dangerous. There is even one capable of sending somepony to any period of time for any duration of time. And it can be used more than once. No limitations.”

Twilight gasped. “That was his ultimate goal for time travel spells. The history books say nothing about him actually accomplishing such a spell. Are you saying he did?”

“Yes, Twilight.”

“That spell sounds way too powerful to have such low security measures,” said Rainbow Dash. "I mean, come on! Twilight told us what Starlight did with one of Star Swirl's less powerful spells." Starlight sighed, knowing how the blue pegasus tended to speak her mind without thinking, but nodded. "What if somepony worse got his most powerful spell into their hooves?"

“Didn’t you see all the guards we passed to get here?” Applejack asked her. “Clearly it’s protected.”

“Even if somepony were to get past all the guards and the locked door,” said Princess Luna, “they wouldn’t be able to lift the hourglass even if they knew where to find this book. Perhaps Rarity would like to try lifting it?”

Rarity’s horn glowed, and her aura wrapped around the hourglass, but it wouldn’t budge. She tried harder, groaning, but then stopped.

“I can’t lift it. It’s too heavy.”

“Alicorn magic is much stronger than unicorn magic. It must be so heavy only an alicorn can lift it.”

“Indeed, Twilight. It was built and enchanted by Star Swirl himself to be very heavy for that very reason. When he had gotten quite old, he had it built and then enchanted with a weight spell. All that time he had kept it on him wherever he went. He asked me to keep it, knowing it would be safest with me when he was gone and to prevent anypony from using the spell for evil. For many centuries, I was the only one able to move it. Occasionally I would remove the hourglass, wondering whether I could go back, talk with him or Luna some more after they were both gone.”

“So why didn’t you?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Come now, Rainbow Dash,” said Rarity immediately, annoyed at the blue pegasus’s brashness. “I’m curious myself, but please be decent enough to not ask more of somepony else than they want to reveal.”

“That’s quite all right, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. I was just about to tell you. I never cast the spell because I knew I would be casting it out of regret, something I haven’t done since the day I banished Nightmare Moon.”

Celestia wasn’t showing it, but Twilight knew how the princess must have felt that fateful day. She’d seen it when she drank Zecora’s potion after they’d gone missing once; she’d watched as Luna descended into the visage of Nightmare Moon; she’d flown with the sisters during their aerial battle; she’d seen Celestia banish her sister with the Elements of Harmony. Twilight had been nearly heartbroken when Shining Armor had disowned her after she accused his bride-to-be of being evil; how much more heartbroken must Celestia have been, who had to banish her sister to the moon after spending decades so close to each other. Maybe more; she didn’t actually know how old the alicorn sisters were. Something in the princess’s words made her think she hadn’t intended her sister to be sent with Nightmare Moon, just separated. Perhaps it was just coincidence, but if it wasn’t Celestia wouldn’t want to take the chance.

“We understand that this choice is an important one, and so will require plenty of time to weigh the pros and cons,” said Princess Luna. “Take as long as you’d like.”

“Are you kidding?” said the purple dragon. “She’ll only be studying under the smartest and most powerful unicorn in Equestrian history! Of course she’ll do it!”

“Twilight, are you sure this is wise?” Starlight interrupted. “You and I both know what happened when we kept casting the spell I modified. We changed the course of Equestria's fate for the worse several times.”

"That's true, but eventually everything happened the way it was supposed to. After several time loops, Rainbow finished the race without being interrupted by us, performed a sonic rainboom, and the rest is history."

“And what about the map?” inquired Rainbow Dash. “If you’re in the past, what are we gonna do if it calls you someplace and you’re not there to go?”

“That doesn’t seem to be an issue for the map,” the alicorn answered. “When we went to Starlight Glimmer's town in the east, she’d obviously been leading those ponies long before the map sent us there. When it sent you and Pinkie to Griffonstone, the kingdom had been in disarray for a really long time, and Gilda had lived there since she visited Ponyville last year. Rarity and Applejack were sent to help Coco Pommel when she needed the most help, not when she started asking for help from the ponies of Manehattan. And when it sent Fluttershy and me to the Smoky Mountains, the Hooffields and the McColts had been feuding for decades. I can’t be positive, but I’m pretty sure the map is somewhat intelligent, sending only the ponies necessary and only when it’s most important.”

“Besides, darling, this is the rarest of opportunities!” exclaimed the white unicorn. “The kind of opportunity where it’s hard to say no regardless of the risks, like Fashion Week, famous celebrities coming to town, or unexpectedly receiving tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala.” Twilight couldn’t help notice that all the events she mentioned were focused around Rarity’s dreams, yet she couldn’t fault her friend. Out of all her friends, Rarity had had access to the most celebrities and unique events, even though Twilight was the whole reason any of them had gone to the Gala in the first place.

“That is true. I’d be the first pony in a thousand years to ever meet Star Swirl face to face. Uh, Rarity? Can I ask you something?”

“You just did, silly!” bounced the pink earth pony.

“What is it, Twilight?”

“How have you gotten over the nervousness of meeting somepony you’ve admired for a long time?”

“Hey, that’s right,” said Applejack. “We all admire Princess Celestia, but you’d known her for years before we even met her. I’d reckon you’d never had to deal with butterflies in your stomach.”

“When Sapphire Shores and Trenderhoof came to Ponyville, I was ecstatic, but I kept my mind off being nervous by focusing on what needed to be done.”

“Don’t worry, Twi. You’re gonna be fine.”

“Do you have your saddlebags?” asked Princess Celestia, suddenly interrupting the friends’ conversation.

“Yup. I’ve got some food, scrolls, quills, and ink. Everything I’d need for studying.”

“You’ll need this, too,” said Princess Luna as she pulled a cloak out from behind a bookshelf. It was made of a brown cloth, very plain, and a hood. Twilight cocked her eyebrow, thinking back to the racks of plain cloaks they’d seen in the first town the Cutie Map sent them to. Rarity must have had the same thought, because she gave a little cough and turned her gaze.

“Why would I need a cloak?”

“To cover your wings. Do not forget, Twilight Sparkle, that my sister and I were the only alicorns until Princess Cadance became one, and very few had been seen before we showed up.”

“Right. Having both wings and a horn would draw unnecessary attention to myself, and wings are much easier to hide.” Twilight removed her saddlebags, put on the cloak, and replaced her bags.

Celestia watched as Twilight put on the cloak. “You might want to tie your wings to your body once you get there. I doubt you’ll have much time at all to stretch them, and you know well how unpredictable wings can sometimes be.”

Spike’s gaze shifted downward, his claws folded. “Uh, you don’t think I could come along, do you?”

Twilight smiled at the thought, but then wisely looked to the Princesses. “You two are more familiar with that era than anypony else. What do you think?”

“Unfortunately, Spike won’t be able to go with you,” replied Princess Celestia. “You’ve seen how dragons are these days, and it wasn’t so different a thousand years ago. Spike’s behavior is exceptional for dragons even today.”

“Yeah, she’s right,” said Spike, his head lowered. Fluttershy put her hoof on his back.

“I must ask all of you to return to your rooms after bidding your friend good bye,” said Princess Celestia to the others. “With a spell this powerful, we cannot take the chance that we send the wrong pony. Starlight, I'd like you to wait outside the door. I've heard you're trying to find somepony.”

Twilight’s friends all agreed, and each spent a moment saying good bye and left the Star Swirl wing. Once they were alone in the wing, Twilight faced the princess sisters.

“Have you ever cast a spell like this?”

“No, but I worked with Star Swirl until it was completed. I won’t say it’s perfect, as there are many variables, but you’ll be as close to his location as we can possibly get you that far into the past.”

Twilight nodded and closed her eyes. Suddenly feeling a spell like this required a regal recipient, she raised her head and tried spreading her wings, momentarily forgetting they were covered by her cloak and saddlebags. She smiled sheepishly, and stood plainly. The Princesses of the Day and of the Night pointed their horns at Twilight as they started to glow yellow and cyan. The two colors hit her chest, wrapping around Twilight’s body, slowly enveloping her body until it was completely covered in their auras. The colors moved faster, getting brighter until there was a bright flash of white light, and the young alicorn had disappeared. Celestia and Luna stood silent for a moment until Princess Luna broke the silence.

“Do you think she will figure it out?”

“I know she will. She’s very smart. My concern is how she will react when she learns just how much Equestria depends on her.”

The two sisters stepped into the hallway where Starlight was waiting. "She already knows how much Equestria needs her. She learned that when we kept preventing Rainbow Dash from performing the sonic rainboom that connected all of them."

"She learned how much Equestria has depended on her friendship with her friends. This time, she learns how vital she alone is to Equestria. After all, friendship connects all of Equestria."

Author's Note:

I could have combined the first and second chapter, but I didn't want to inadvertently push readers away by having a first chapter that was over 5000 words long. Heck, I tend to put off reading fics that have 4000+ words on the first chapter.

Fun fact: The title of this chapter was the working title of this fic. It was the working title pretty much since I started writing the outline way back in the spring.

Comments

[sakuralovelight]

Love it hope to read more soon.

[TwilightXLuna]

Another great chapter can't wait for the next keep up the great work

[rillegas08]

6704478
6704422

Thank you both!

[Celestial Pony]

This story is really interesting. I can't wait to see more.

[David Johnston]

OK so there never was a Clover the Clever. Doesn't that mean that in the world where Twilight never existed, Equestria should have never been formed and Twilight should have woken up in an Ice Age world?

[rillegas08]

7217809 Yeah, partway through writing this I realized that particular issue with setting both Never Had and Always Had in the same universe. I'll figure out something more concrete for a rewrite of Never Had, but for now I'm going with the idea that in Never Had's alternate universe, a different pony was Clover the Clever.