Embers of The Past

by zeroxwolfx

Forbidden Knowledge

In a single moment, the cheerful demeanor of the princess disappeared as she suddenly became sullen, “...Perhaps… that is something you should not ask me about, Twilight Sparkle,” she said looking towards a bookshelf, as if to distract herself from the miserable thought.

Twilight Sparkle was not so easily dissuaded, she took a deep breath before continuing, in a softer tone, “I do realize that given what’s happened in the past, this may be an uncomfortable subject… but…” she was interrupted.

“But what has happened has happened, it is in the past now, it does not need to be further discussed, Twilight…” she said, doing her best not sound too coarse. At that, Princess Celestia began to slowly trot back away from the bookshelf and down the hall.

Showing a bit more determination, Twilight stepped in front of Celestia, blocking her path. She looked at her firmly, “I love your sister, and so do you, don’t we owe it to her to learn everything we can about what happened? Imagine what we could learn, the ponies we could help?”

Almost casually, Princess Celestia stepped aside from her, continuing walking down the hall, “There is nothing you can learn from that, my dear student. You should heed my advice and perhaps find a different area of study,” she said calmly.

This time, Princess Twilight teleported herself in front of Celestia, looking very confident, “I am no longer your student, I am a Princess of Equestria,” she took a stride forward, “It is my duty to protect it, and to do that, I need to know what threatens it,” she said with a firm nod.

Princess Celestia finally furrowed her brow, at this point she looked upset, “You don’t know what sort of knowledge you’re delving into, Twilight. It is already too much for me to bear, I do not wish for you to bear such a burden!” she said, clearly holding back her emotions.

Twilight did not change her gaze, “I accepted that burden when I became a princess, when I became a leader of Equestria.”

Celestia closed her eyes, shaking her head, “I don’t want to see my sister like that again… I won’t… I will NOT go back there!” a tear came from her eye as she opened her wings, taking off in the air and darting past Twilight down the hall. Twilight called after her, but it was in vain, for the princess had already dashed into her quarters, the heavy metal doors slamming behind her.

This had shocked Twilight. In all her years of knowing Princess Celestia, she had never seen her have such an outburst of her emotions. At least not since the vision she had had of her, when the Kingdom was under threat from the plunderseeds. She knew that it would be uncomfortable to discuss… but it was so long ago, and her and her sister had already shared so many good memories since Princess Luna had returned. Did the memory of that time still haunt the back of her mind? Perhaps she could prod more, but she could not, she would not. She loved her teacher too much to dare upset her like that again. She would have to get answers to the mystery of Nightmare Moon elsewhere.

Princess Twilight walked onto the balcony of her old study just as the moon began to rise, the light of it shining over the city of Canterlot. She sighed as she gazed out at it, lost in her thoughts, trying to solve and unknowable puzzle. Coming down from high in the night sky, Princess Luna lowered herself to the balcony, gently landing next to Twilight.

The princess had a calm look on her face as she spoke, “It seems that you had a bit of a confrontation with my sister, Princess Twilight. Before my duty, I went to her side to console her. Know that she is not upset with you, she will be fine in the morning,” she said with a sage nod.

Twilight looked over to Luna, giving her a thankful smile, “Thank you, Princess Luna. I didn’t mean to upset her, I suppose I just…” she let out a sigh, not finishing her sentence.

Princess Luna sat down gently as she looked up to the stars, before turning to Twilight, “I must ask though, why did you not come to me first on such a matter?” she asked curiously.

Twilight looked to her in surprise, before turning her head to the ground, “Given… all that you’ve been through, and what happened with the tantalus… I didn’t want to upset you more,” she looked at Princess Luna with concern, “You’ve been through so much, I guess I thought it would be more painful to talk to you about it, than it would have talking to Princess Celestia.”

Princess Luna gave Twilight a small smile as she rested a hoof on her shoulder, “I am pleased that you would think of my feelings Twilight. If you would have asked me this just a few months ago, I would probably have to agree with you,” she let out a deep breath, “It has been very difficult for me in these days since that… incident, but,” she looked over to Twilight again with a caring smile, “I have had the help of friends to help me through this time, and I could not be more grateful for that,” she leaned down giving a gentle nuzzle on the smaller, Princess Twilight, “I have since learned… that since other ponies were so loving, and willing to forgive me… that I must forgive myself as well.”

She smiled, leaning over and hugging Princess Luna, “I’m happy that you are able to let that burden go, but Princess Celestia..?” she asked curiously.

Luna sighed as she let go of Twilight, “My sister has largely kept her feelings about that to herself. She has not let out how she truly feels to most. While I did think of all the ponies that I hurt through my actions, I did not hurt more than my own sister. Sometimes I imagined… just how painful it would have been to have to banish her sister, the only family she’s ever known. It must have been horrible for her…” she said with a sullen expression.

A moment of silence was held between the two Alicorns before eventually, Princess Luna spoke again, “What is it you wish to know about Nightmare Moon?” she asked ominously.

Twilight gulped as she ran through her mind to find exactly the right question, “I suppose, the most obviously question I should ask how did it happen? I mean… I know the story… the story that…” she looked at Luna with concern, but she beckoned her to continue, “... that Princess Luna, you, grew sad because the ponies of Equestria played and enjoyed Celestia’s days, but slept through, and didn’t enjoy your beautiful nights,” she brought a hoof to her chin, looking into the stars quizzically, “But… HOW did it happen, exactly? I told you about when I took the magic potion from Zecora and saw it for myself, but even then I couldn’t see how it happened. Is there some outside force that caused you to do it, is it simply the way jealousy can manifest itself in a powerful Alicorn, is it some kind of illness?” she asked as she ran through the possibilities. This was one of the great mysteries that still plagued her mind. There was worry behind her expression, and Luna could sense it.

“Perhaps, it could be any of those. But it DID happen long ago, why do you concern yourself with it?” Luna asked, trying to pry her true worry out of her.

Twilight took a deep breath as she looked to the ground, taking a few steps away from Princess Luna, “It wasn’t so long ago that I became an Alicorn. I won’t lie, it’s something that even after all this time, I STILL haven’t really gotten used to. After my battle with Tirek, I realized that there are truly awesome powers within Alicorns, within myself,” she turned to look at Princess Luna with worry, “If turning into a nightmare is something that can just… just happen in any Alicorn, what if it happends to me? What if I end up hurting my friends? Or Equestria, or you or…” she was cut off.

Princess Luna raised a hoof to interrupt her, a calm smile coming across her face, “Something like that cannot happen to you, Twilight Sparkle,” she trotted forward and place a hoof on her shoulder, “You have something that I did not, when I came to my time of struggle. You have your friends! They have all taught you, and even me about friendship. When I was feeling disheartened from my subjects, I did not have the friendship that you have to help me along the way,” she leaned down, giving Twilight another gentle hug, “That is why, neither you, nor I ever have to worry about such a fate.”

Twilight Sparkle smiled, returning the hug to the elder princess, “I really have learned a lot from them… even in times when I wasn’t sure, when I was lost, or scared…” she continued.

“And I know that your friends would never stand idly by while something like that happened to you, they would be there to listen to you, to love you, and to offer you guidance, and support every step of the way,” interjected Luna.

Twilight gave the princess another hug, her wings furrowing out with joy, “I really am blessed to have such friends. And to have two great mentors as well… Do you think Princess Celestia would mind if I… joined her in raising the sun?” asked Twilight.

Princess Luna chucked, giving her a nod, “I think she’d like that very much. But… if you’re going to get up early, you’d best get to bed right away!” she said with a giggle.

While Princess Twilight didn’t truly get a straight answer, she felt that her fear of the nightmare was put to rest. She was simply far too happy now to think of such a thing. Her mind was only full of the thoughts of the two loving sisters and of the friends she was so fortunate to have. Her dreams would be soft and sweet knowing that neither herself, nor Princess Luna was threatened with becoming a nightmare, blissfully unaware that her worries were placed on the wrong ponies.

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Chapter 3: The Burned Ones

Comments

[Xanderfox]

Pretty clear in this reality Celestia was the first Alicorn and literally had to make all the first mistakes herself. That being said I doubt the subjects of Solar Flare would even believe Celestia was the same pony, it's clear she's much different from being a Primordial Goddess demanding obedience.