Teatime - A Novel Of Twilight & Celestia

by bigbear

Chapter 25 - The Magic Inside

Meditation always came hard for Twilight. Not only was she a nervous pony by nature, but her head was always buzzing with thoughts, ideas, and concerns. Checklists were Twilight’s friends. They helped her enforce organization on her galloping brain.

But checklists didn’t always help. At the School For Gifted Unicorns, Twilight studied meditation to improve her spell casting. She’d been more than a little jealous of her peers like Minuette for whom serenity came easily. Twilight tried to learn to meditate by studying harder than anypony else. For some reason, it didn’t seem to help.

Of course, it was Celestia who’d helped Twilight redefine the problem. Achieving serenity may have been beyond her. But achieving a state of flow, of energized focus and full involvement, worked just as well. And becoming completely absorbed in spellcasting came easily.

Twilight waited until Spike and Starlight were out of the castle on an errand. She went to her study, the place she was most comfortable casting. This was her first choice whenever it was time to use important magic. Although to Twilight all magic was important.

She locked the door and pulled her most recent thaumatic field map out of secure storage. The map hung in the air before her. Twilight knew more about the magic inside ponies than almost any other practitioner alive. In Celestia’s school, she’d first mapped her own fields for an assignment. Overachieving, Twilight had created the most detailed map of unicornis magicis made in modern times. It was the first piece of original scholarship she ever published.

Twilight had examined the maps made by her fellow students. She realized most unicorns only recognized the surface interactions in magic. She could observe interactions dozens of layers deep. It was an important part of how she could learn some spells after only seeing them cast once.

Twilight’s enhanced magical senses were a result of her special talent being for magic itself. Such sensitivity was common. For example, Octavia and Vinyl, who had musical marks, described interactions in their symphony that Twilight couldn’t pick out.

After becoming an alicorn princess, Twilight mapped the new magic in her body and compared it to the old. She’d first identified the nascent pegasus magic that would help her fly. Deeper still, she found the earth pony magic that would strengthen her body and help her sense the living world.

After reviewing the new map with Celestia they decided not to publish it. Twilight sent copies to all the princesses. She expected them to add it to their medical files in case it could be of diagnostic use in the future. But given the limited number of alicorns, there wasn’t much call for a map of alicornis magicis. Besides, Twilight didn’t want anypony with bad intent conjuring up mischief with it.

Becoming an alicorn had been like going through puberty a second time. Twilight had grown a hoof height overnight and was clumsy until her brain caught up to her new body. And don’t get her started on learning to fly! With an adult’s body, only a foal’s amount of pegasus magic, and no experience, her first year in the air alternated between ludicrous and disastrous.

Twilight had created this latest map a few months ago. She noted that the pegasus and earth pony magics were much stronger now. Her initial transformation had been sudden. But Twilight’s body and magic had continued to adjust to the changes for years afterward.

Twilight settled into her favorite chair, fluffed her wings to get comfortable, and closed her eyes. “Let’s see what I look like inside now,” she thought.

Thaumatic mapping was a solitary experience. For Twilight, it started with triggering the scanning spells. Then she entered a state of flow and scanned her field, level by level. She projected the results as glowing lines in the air. “Magical naval gazing,” Spike called it.

The results surprised Twilight from the first level she scanned. On the surface, her current field resembled the map she’d created a few months ago. But overlaying that field was the shadow of a much larger and more complex one. It reminded her of the the shadow of Future Twilight that overlaid the photo.

Under close observation elements of her current field had changed. They’d begun to resemble the greater shadowy one. She couldn't examine the shadowy field in any depth, the details faded away when she tried to scan them. But this proved that accepting Future Twilight had begun to transform her. It would likely keep on changing her - how much and how soon would depend on time and circumstances.

Being a good scientist, Twilight completed the full thaumatic scan. She didn’t leap to judgment based on the first few pieces of information. But nothing else she found changed her conclusions.

When she was done, Twilight opened her eyes and reviewed the new scan that hung in the air before her. She floated the previous map back into storage and unrolled a wide scroll onto her desk. Twilight magically transferred the glowing image into precise lines and shades on the paper. With a quill and ink, Twilight annotated the scroll with the date, time, and other circumstances. She noted the places where she observed changes. In a separate section, Twilight added her hypothesis on what those changes might mean. When the ink was dry she rolled up the new scroll, placed it into secure storage with the others, and sealed it away.

Twilight unlocked the office door in case Spike or Starlight came back early. She wouldn’t want to worry them.

Mechanical activities completed, Twilight had to determine what to do with this new information. “I have to tell Celestia everything,” she decided. “And inform Luna and Cadance as well. I don’t know what this change might mean for my ability to discharge my new responsibilities.” She’d figure out what to tell everypony else after talking to her fellow princesses.

Teatime was the day after tomorrow. Now Twilight had to figure out what she was going to say.

---

“When you said we’d spend more time together, this is not what I expected,” Starlight said.

“We’ve spent the last two days going over the issues you raised. We met with the girls, visited Zecora, studied magic, and worked on better ways to handle anger,“ Twilight replied. “You said my actions as Princess of the Day were incompatible with my role as Princess of Friendship. I take your critique seriously. So you’re going to shadow me tomorrow when I’m ruling and note times when the roles are in conflict.”

The two stood in an anteroom of Canterlot Castle. Twilight had teleported herself, Starlight, and Spike to the castle in the afternoon before her next turn as Princess of the Day.

“If you see anything time critical, catch my eye and we can talk about it then,” Twilight continued. “But, if the issue isn’t time critical, save it and we’ll review it later in private.”

“I can do that,” Starlight nodded. She made a deep sigh. “I’m not sure you want everypony to see me standing up there next to you in court. What if they know what I did?”

Twilight put a wing over Starlight’s back. “I’m proud you’re my student. It’s not a secret. This just means a few more ponies will be reminded of what’s already public knowledge.”

Starlight smiled but shuffled her hooves nervously.

Twilight felt for the location of the sun and noted the time. “I’m scheduled for a private meeting with Princess Celestia in a few minutes,” she said.

“You mean teatime in the garden,” Starlight retorted.

“Yes, that’s where we’ll be meeting. And we’ll be having tea,” Twilight replied with a smile. “You’ll find a lot of business in Canterlot is done over tea.”

“When the immortal rulers of the land drink tea, everypony drinks tea,” Starlight snarked.

Twilight glared at her. “Remember, this castle is Celestia’s home and many ponies here love her. I wouldn’t say anything in public that you wouldn’t want to be repeated in the press or to one of the other princesses.

“Spike’s meeting Raven right now to get a copy of tomorrow’s schedule and the background materials on the issues of the day. Please review the material with the two of them so you’ll be up to speed when the day starts. When my meeting with Celestia is over we can get back together and have dinner.”

Looking chastened, Starlight left in search of Spike and Raven. Twilight headed for the garden.

---

Teatime in the garden with Celestia was normally one of Twilight's favorite times of the week. Today, however, she was nervous and Celestia could tell.

Nuzzles and pleasantries were exchanged and the tea was poured. Twilight opened up first. “When you helped me heal the other day, I had a choice to make. I could feel the presence of Future Twilight. I had one moment to either reject her or accept her into my life. There was no time to talk about the choice or research the implications.

“I decided to accept becoming Future Twilight. I think that’s why there was the big light show. I’ve done a thaumatic map. My body and magic are changing to match Future Twilight’s. But I don’t know how long the transformation will take.”

“I know it was reckless of me to accept the influence of foreign magic. If that makes me unfit to rule until we know more, I understand. But it didn’t feel foreign; it felt like me, I mean future me. It felt like the right thing to do so I did it.”

Celestia set down her teacup. “Do you have any reason to believe you’re under outside influence?”

Twilight put her cup down as well. “No, none of my scans for mental influence have shown anything. Which they wouldn’t if the thing influencing me is my future self.”

“Do you feel unfit to rule?” Celestia asked.

“No, I feel fine,” Twilight answered. “Better than fine. Good. Great even.”

Celestia reached out and touched Twilight hoof to hoof. “I’m sorry if you’ve been worried about this since the change.”

Twilight grinned. “Actually, I’ve been so busy with Starlight that I haven’t had a chance to dwell on it much until now.“

“I’m glad you haven’t been focusing too much on it,” Celestia said. “I don’t think it’s a problem and I do think you’re fit to rule.”

Twilight blew out a huge sigh of relief. She didn’t want to stop doing her duty as Princess of the Day, and it was comforting to have Celestia’s seal of approval.

But her approval did seem kind of sudden. Celestia hadn’t asked for any proof. She didn’t even ask to see the thaumatic map. Celestia was always especially careful when it came to the safety of Equestria. Which must mean…

“You already knew,” Twilight accused.

Celestia picked up her cup and took a sip of tea. Twilight recognized it as a maneuver Celestia used when she didn’t want to answer right away. Then she saw the ‘only for Twilight’ smile on her lips and a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Twilight barely held back bouncing on her chair. She couldn’t wait for an answer. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“When you didn’t say what had happened immediately, I assumed you had a reason and would tell me later or not as the circumstances dictated.” Celestia took another sip and her smile widened into a grin. “While I’m a busy-body at heart, what happens inside your body is your affair.”

Twilight didn’t let Celestia’s smile distract her from dealing with what was bothering her. “Unless it impacts the safety of the realm, then it’s everypony's affair. You must have seen something that made you believe I won’t be a danger to Equestria.”

“I saw you,” Celestia said. “Or, more specifically, who you can become.”

“Future me,” Twilight whispered.

“You’ll be quite… impressive.” Celestia smiled to herself and rolled her eyes as if remembering. She sighed gently.

Twilight was silent for a long time. She wasn’t exactly sure what to say about that. “Just seeing my future self wouldn’t be enough to convince you. You must have seen something else.” Her eyes bore into Celestia. “But you haven’t said anything, so you must not want to tell me what.”

“I know we agreed to have no secrets from each other.” Celestia’s face was pained. “But, I would rather not say at this time.”

“Because it would be hard to tell me?” Twilight asked. “Or because it would be better for me to learn about it some other way?”

“Can it be… both?”

Twilight released a held breath. “It can. I know time travel can be tricky. If you think it’s better not to tell me now, I trust you.” She broke into a cocky grin. “But it’ll be hard for me to avoid thinking about it.”

Celestia nodded, relieved. “I understand.”

Twilight stepped over to Celestia and gave her a gentle nuzzle. “Thank you for letting me make my own decision. And thank you for reassuring me I’m not doing anything to endanger Equestria.”

“Thank you for being responsible with your powers as a ruler.” Celestia wrapped her great wings around Twilight and held her tight. “And thank you for your trust,” she whispered.

---

Starlight, Raven, and Spike joined Twilight in the sitting room after court. Spike and Raven worked with Twilight to sort the papers and decrees from the session. Starlight talked about what she’d witnessed.

“Is it always like that?” Starlight asked with a bit of awe in her voice.

Twilight looked over to Raven. “You’ve been to court more times than I have…”

“Today was pretty typical,” Raven replied.

“But some of those decisions can affect millions of ponies,” Starlight countered. “I’ve been through towns that boomed or were abandoned depending on where the railroad ended up. I’ll bet the telegraph plan you approved today will have as much impact.”

“Provisionally approved. They still have a lot of details to finalize. I’m glad the railroad found working with the Diamond Dogs would allow them to complete the work in half the time.”

Twilight shuffled through her briefs and held one up. “I also thought there was some promise in the Baron’s idea for crown funded schools so older ponies can retrain and try something new with their lives.”

“It’s a scam,” Starlight said before thinking about it. She glanced around sheepishly. Twilight, Raven, and Spike were looking at her.

“Go on,” Twilight said encouragingly.

“I’ve dealt with lots of ponies who were unhappy with their lives,” Starlight said. “It can be very hard to get a job in a new field when you’ve no experience and don’t have a mark or special talent for it. A piece of paper from a school nopony has ever heard of isn’t going to help that. But whoever runs the school will make a pile of bits from the crown anyway.”

“What could help?” Twilight asked. Her eyes sparkled with interest.

“Ponies get experience on the job,” Starlight replied.

“Like an apprenticeship?” Twilight said.

“It’s tough for an older pony to live on apprentice wages,” Starlight countered.

“But, if we’re talking about the crown kicking in some bits in any case…” Twilight said. “Thank you Starlight, it’s an interesting idea. Raven, could you ask the Minister for Education if they know of any programs like that?” Raven nodded and made a note.

Encouraged by the praise, Starlight continued. “And I can’t believe the nerve of those unicorns. To walk into court like they owned the place and make demands.”

“You do remember you’re a unicorn?” Spike observed. “And so’s Raven.”

“I meant the unicorn nobles,” Starlight countered. “All they wanted was bits for this and privileges for that. I’ll bet they don’t treat Princess Celestia that way.”

Twilight looked to Raven again. She sighed. “It’s true, most nobles are more deferential to Princess Celestia.”

“I’m still pretty new at this,” Twilight said.

“It’s the principal of the thing,” Starlight countered. She was on a roll now. “The Princess of the Day deserves deference no matter who’s sitting on the throne.” She turned to Raven. “What do nobles value, anyway?”

“Power…” Raven started.

“Raises the sun and is supreme ruler of the day. Check,” Starlight said.

“Ceremony…” Raven continued.

“Holds court, sits in the big chair, Check,” Starlight said.

“Symbols of office and authority?” Raven was reaching now.

Starlight looked Twilight up and down. “We may need to work on that. Princess Celestia has her big crown and torc. Your crown is hardly bigger than Diamond Tiara's.”

“Hey, I like my crown.” Twilight touched it with a hoof.

“It’s not about the crown,” Starlight said. “Ponies should respect my princess.” She shook her head to try and dissipate her anger but failed, so she turned the energy toward mockery. Starlight struck an arrogant pose with her nose in the air. “Subsidize my foundation and I’ll put more bits into helping the ‘common ponies’,” she singsonged. It was a passable imitation of Countess Damask Rose, who’d come before Twilight that morning.

Starlight dropped her pose and frowned. “I knew some ponies that left the Rose holdings. They said the Countess never dealt with an earth pony that wasn’t a gardener or a pegasus that wasn’t a courier. I’m glad you turned down her request.”

Twilight cocked her head and glared at Starlight. “And where did you meet these ponies?”

“They were unhappy with their lives so I recruited them for…” Starlight’s voice trailed off. “Our Town,” she whispered. Her anger dissipated like smoke. “I’m sorry teacher, I’m the last pony who should be judging others. I’ll work harder to control my anger.”

“Very good.” Twilight nodded and touched Starlight on the back with a wingtip. “You did well to keep your composure in court today. Sometimes it can be very frustrating.”

“I’ll take Ponyville over Canterlot any day.” Starlight took in a deep breath to steel herself for a confession. “What I said the other day was wrong. What you do here’s important and totally in keeping with being the Princess of Friendship. Please accept my apology.”

“Of course!” Twilight stepped up and gave Starlight a hug with her wing. The tension between them melted away.

Twilight’s tummy rumbled and everypony and dragon grinned. “Raising the sun makes me hungry. Come on, let’s go get some lunch.”

Comments

[Stahlseele]

“It’s not about the crown,” Starlight said. “Ponies should respect my princess.”

insert "slow and steady rising eyebrow" here

[Archlyn]

Is anyone else angry with Celestia like me?

[kingofchaos00]

Oh she's YOUR princess Starlight?

Also, I wouldn't worry about the whole changing magic thing. After all, that is Future Twilights problem right...

Yeah, I thought so.

[purple pegasus]

This story is an absolute delight! I hope that you will keep it going, full speed ahead!

[Venlinelle]

Starlight, you’re going to make Trixie jealous.

Well, more jealous than usual.