Teatime - A Novel Of Twilight & Celestia

by bigbear

Chapter 29 - A Talk Long Overdue

When her tears finally stopped, Celestia drew her wings back. She stroked Twilight with her wingtips as she withdrew their embrace. “Are you ready?” Twilight wiped her tears away and sniffled once. She nodded.

“Luna and I shared the furnace in this smithy,” Celestia said. “The window in the ceiling is enhanced. During the day the light of the sun shines into the furnace no matter the hour or the season of the year. During the night the light of the moon does the same.

“Luna would help me use the furnace to forge meteoric iron into solar steel using the magic of the sun. I would help her forge lunar steel using the magic of the moon. From those metals, we created mighty weapons and invulnerable armor with which to defend ponykind.”

“I’ve read stories about such things,” Twilight said. “But never seen them.”

“Luna took hers when she left during our schism,” Celestia replied. “I don’t know what happened to them and neither does Luna. I haven't seen them since the civil war.” She wrinkled her face as if she would spit. “Nightmare Moon’s armor was a pale mockery of Luna’s own.”

“As you saw in my memories, I was not wearing my armor when Nightmare Moon attacked.” Celestia’s face was impassive now, but the cords in her neck still stood out. “After our battle, I left my armor here when we made the move to Canterlot.”

“Is that the gift?” Twilight said hesitantly. Twilight would never want to be rude to Celestia, but she wasn’t sure she wanted armor or weapons. While she’d sometimes battled fearsome enemies, she was the Princess of Friendship, not the Princess of War.

“Come, I’ll show you.” Celestia crossed the room to an iron-bound door opposite where she’d pushed open the stone. The iron strapping was embossed with the symbols of Luna’s half moon, as well as Celestia’s sun. She touched a pedal on the floor near the door and opened it. Inside was the armory, with racks for weapons on the walls, and alicorn sized ponyquins for armor in the center of the room.

There was a layer of dust on the floor and the racks were all empty. The ponyquins were naked, save for a dirty burlap cloth over the neck of one. “Just because I left my equipment behind, didn’t keep others from seeking it out. Thieves and treasure hunters stripped away everything they could carry centuries ago.”

Celestia removed the cloth. She revealed a gleaming golden torc embellished with elaborate scrollwork and Celestia’s sun symbol. “Over the centuries a torc has come to mean a decorative neck-piece. Originally mine was a piece of armor to protect the neck and chest. This is the torc from my solar armor. However, I did not craft it of solar steel. It was a gift from the sun itself and is made of solidified solar magic.

“This piece is bonded to me. Nopony else can lift it. A team of a thousand earth ponies could not carry it from this place. That’s why it remains even though everything else was taken. After the war, I was so disgusted by the horrors of what Luna and I had done, I no longer wished to wear this or any part of my armor.”

Celestia approached Twilight and put a wing across her back. “I want you to have it. You’ve made the sun your friend and support the cycling of day and night. You’ve battled fearsome enemies but have maintained harmony with your friends and even with reformed foes. You rule and deserve to have regalia commensurate with your station and your responsibilities.”

Twilight looked up at Celestia. Her eyes glistened. “But won’t seeing me wearing a part of your armor be a reminder of the bad times?” She lowered her head. “Wouldn’t you come to resent me?” Twilight whispered.

Celestia lifted Twilight’s chin with the tip of one wing until they looked eye to eye. “When you and the torc bond you will make it your own. It will not be a reminder of ill times, but of my joy in the dedication and accomplishments of one I hold dear.” Celestia stood very straight. “And it will do my heart good to know the gift of the sun does not languish but is borne by a worthy bearer.”

Over their recent time together, Twilight felt that she was beginning to be able to read Celestia better. Twilight was convinced she was sincere. But there was another party involved as well. “I wouldn't want to take something you gave to Celestia as a gift if you would think it inappropriate,” she thought to the sun. The happy way the warmth inside her bubbled gave her the sun’s answer.

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight said as she bobbed her head. “I humbly accept your most generous gift.” The way Celestia beamed told Twilight she’d made the correct decision.

“Princess Twilight, please follow me,” Celestia replied. She wrapped the torc in her golden magic and levitated it off the ponyquin, but did not touch it. Celestia led Twilight back into the smithy and up the brick stairs on the side of the furnace. They stood face to face on the platform below the enchanted window to the sun. The torc floated between them.

“I will release my bond,” Celestia said. “Take the torc in your field and accept the bond to yourself.”

“How should I do that?” Twilight asked. This had never been in any of her books.

“The bonding process was not the same for Luna and me, so I suspect yours will be different as well,” Celestia replied. “I believe you will understand when the moment arrives.”

Twilight took a deep breath to steel herself, then nodded assent.

Celestia stared at the floating torc. A look of great effort and concentration came across her face. Her horn blazed golden as bright as Twilight had ever seen it. The glow around the torc intensified. Wisps of magic circled faster and faster around the torc, adding to the brilliance.

The torc was not the only thing glowing. Celestia herself was incandescent. Her billowing mane and tail seemed to be literal flames. A sound like the roar of a furnace rose around them.

Twilight raised a hoof to shield her eyes. Through the glare, she could see that the orbiting wisps were acting like erasers. As they passed over the torc, strips of Celestia’s solar mark and rococo scrollwork were replaced with flat gleaming surfaces. When the last remaining identifiers were gone the torc was a blank golden band with a broad front.

“Now is your time, Twilight,” Celestia said. Her entire body seemed to be flame now. Twilight could no longer tell where pony ended and sun-fire began.

She exhaled a held breath and lit her horn. Magenta magic enveloped the floating torc. As soon as it was fully supported, Celestia withdrew her golden magic.

The torc was a conundrum to Twilight’s magical senses. At once it felt like the most massive object she’d ever wrapped her magic around. She was sure Celestia’s “team of a thousand earth ponies” would be ineffectual if they attempted to move its impossible mass. At the same time the torc felt light; as if it weighed nothing in her field and it took no energy to keep it floating.

“What should I do now?” Twilight wondered.

“We should get to know each other better,” a great slow deep voice within her mind replied. “Hello again, little one.”

“The sun!” Twilight thought. “Should I bow to you? How would I even do that?”

The deep voice laughed. “Such is not necessary between friends. You did say you wanted to be friends.”

“Of course! Being your friend has been amazing.” Though part of her wanted to keep talking about friendship, the analytical part of Twilight’s brain wouldn’t be silent. “How are we communicating now? And why can’t we do it other times?”

“Through this object, I am more present in your world,” the sun said. “And in your current state, you are closer to my form.”

“My current state?” Twilight adjusted her attention from within her mind to examine her body. It was on fire, as Celestia’s had been. Twilight probed deeper. Her body was not just on fire, it was fire! Not solid, not liquid, not even gas, but a fourth state. “I should be freaking out!” Twilight thought. “Why am I not freaking out?”

“Are you in distress?” the sun inquired.

“No…” Her state felt strangely natural. She seemed to be both immensely massive and impossibly light just like the torc. The flames that licked along her legs and barrel caused her no pain. They were, in fact, very pretty.

“Little one, there is much that I wish we had time to discuss,” the sun said. “And much I suspect we will cover in the fullness of our relationship. But for now, our time is limited.”

“To important matters then,” Twilight replied.

“So we may discuss any issues that come up, I have initiated this conversation in only a portion of your mind,” the sun said. “When we are done, you will have the choice to keep this memory, or have it locked away.”

“I don’t like having my mind tampered with,” Twilight snapped. “We are the sum of our experiences. Manipulating somepony's memories without consent is changing who they are.” She slowed down and thought for a moment. “But I suspect we’re going to talk about marks, and destinies, and future selves. If so, I can see how my memories could get us into trouble.”

“I enjoy talking with the quick-witted ones,” The sun said. Twilight felt it smile. “And I would never change anything without your consent.”

“Thank you,” Twilight replied. “What do we need to talk about? The bonding?”

“We must speak of her!” The sun flared, and in her mind, Twilight saw her future self for the first time in all her glory. And glory was the operative word. Tall, beautiful, powerful, contented, Future Twilight embodied every dream Twilight had ever imagined. This was an alicorn that could stand next to Celestia as an equal or even more.

But it was Future Twilight’s eyes that caught her attention. They looked at her with joy and kindness, but also with infinite depths of experience.

“I transformed you into flame so we could converse and bond,” the sun said. “You have this pattern within you. When I transform you back to flesh, I could remake you in this image.”

Twilight felt her heart of flame race. Being Future Twilight would open up many possibilities. There was a lot of good she could do with that power. A lot of things, like certain relationships, could be so much easier. And it’s not like it would be cheating. Future Twilight was her, just… better.

This was the result of her decision to accept the Future Twilight pattern in the first place. But it wasn’t a vague promise to accelerate her progress. This was going all in, like speed-reading a story to know the ending.

But that’s not why Twilight read novels. Her joy came from the insights she gleaned from following the plot unfold, not in knowing “who done it.” And that fast, Twilight made her decision.

“I’ve grown a lot lately, my body, my relationships, my responsibilities,” Twilight thought. “And growing fast is hard. You get clumsy. You make mistakes. Even if I looked like her when this was over, I wouldn't have the same experiences she’s had to learn from.

“The other princesses didn’t become who they are now all at once. A thousand years ago, Celestia was much colder and less observant than she is now. And Luna got so frustrated by being unable to defeat Celestia that she accelerated her rise to power. It drove her to become Nightmare Moon.

“I need to get more experiences in the here and now before I jump anymore into the future. So, thank you for the offer. But no, I don’t wish to come back as Future Twilight.”

She could have sworn Future Twilight’s smile got even wider before she faded away like smoke.

“Is there nothing I can do for you, little one?” the sun said.

“You’ve already given me so much,” Twilight said. “What can I do for you?”

“The boon I ask is that you be true to the love you feel in your heart,” the sun said.

It seemed even a heart of fire could skip a beat. “Even if what my heart wants seems impossible?” Twilight asked.

“The fact we are conversing shows nothing is impossible,” the sun replied. “Our time is nearly at an end. You’ve one last decision to make before we bond.”

“I’ve already made it,” Twilight said. “I want you to lock away my memory of this conversation. The image I have of Future Twilight is too strong. I don’t want to try and live up to that vision of myself. I need to be who I am now, not who I might be someday.”

“It shall be as you request,” the sun said. Twilight could tell the sun approved. “Concentrate on the torc and imagine it being yours and yours alone.”

Twilight visualized the blank front of the torc emblazoned with the simplest of Rarity’s designs: her mark, the large six-pointed magenta star with five smaller stars. This presentation was simpler than Celestia's; it had no rococo scrollwork. Twilight’s crown was simple. Her boots were simple. Her torc would be simple as well.

“You’ll have no memory of the words I speak here today,” the sun said. “And it may be a long while before we can speak like this again. If you recall nothing else, retain the certainty that I love all who I shine upon. I consider you a dear friend for what you’ve done for me, for my friend Celestia, and what you do for all on your world.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said. “I won’t say goodbye because we’ll still be together. Rather I’ll say until we speak again…”

The wisps of magic orbiting the torc flared. As they passed over the face, their trail uncovered piece after piece of Twilight’s mark on the surface.

Twilight looked up at Celestia and saw they were both still beings of fire. Celestia was staring back at her. Their eyes locked, and Twilight felt a heat warmer than the sun blossom in her barrel.

The last bit of Twilight’s mark were emblazoned on the torc. The wisps of magic faded away. Twilight, Celestia, and the torc all flared so brightly that Twilight could sense nothing through the glare. When the brightness receded, she and Celestia were flesh again. The torc bearing her star mark was around Twilight's neck.

Comments

[Stahlseele]

Aaand she forgets about the actual faust damned sun telling her to make a move on the mare . .

also:

This presentation was simpler that Celestia's

than, not that.

[njits23]

Hah! I called it! Twilight gets a torc! One literally made of starstuff even.

[bigbear]

8191047 Good call on the torc!

8190952 Memory is tricky!

Thanks for the heads up. I fixed the typo.

[Spamotron]

So if Luna and the Moon give Twilight a complimentary gift what would it be? Moonstone earrings for formal occasions maybe.

[PonyFan4927]

Love this story. I downloaded a copy and read the whole thing in one sitting. A couple minor nitpicks in this chapter, though.

You use born when I think you mean borne ergo, to carry or bear.

A minor grammar fix would be change the "too" in

too important matters

into "to" as in for [on]to. I'm not sure if it's truly inaccurate but something about that sentence seems off.

This story is so well written minor flaws like this just jump out at me. Keep up the good work!

[Mister Morden]

So I just binged this entire story today. Really liking it so far!

I look forward to more chapters.

[bigbear]

8191550 Thanks for the suggestions. I've made the updates.

[Calliter]

Just discovered this story and read it all in one go. I'm loving it!! Thanks for writing and sharing it :3
Till next time!

[silvadel]

So she didn't take the easy way out by taking the easy way out. She should have retained the memory -- that is the strong position with trust in oneself.

[Totally Not A Pony]

Twilight took a deep breath to steel herself, then nodded ascent.

Should probably be "assent".

[Sunshyne]

I'm really enjoying how... Esoteric this fic is getting. It somehow manages to balance the mundane slice of life of ruling and living not just as a person, but also living as a demigod. It's slice of life that really emphasizes that this is a magical world, full of magical beings, and the Alicorn Princess of Magic is one of the most magical of them all.

[Venlinelle]

If I could talk to a star I would never shut up.

What’s your mass in the MLP universe? It has to be much less than that of our sun. What’s the coolest comet you’ve seen? Where is your consciousness stored? Does your light have a magical component, and is it part of the radiation spectrum or a separate thing? So many questions!