The Cosmos Calamity

by 42Zombies

Student-Teacher Conflicts

It had been only a few hours since the meeting in the library. The night sky (with noticeably fewer stars) was hanging above Equestria, as per usual. To the ponies of Equestria, it must have seemed like an ordinary night. But for Twilight and her friends, recent discoveries were weighing heavily on them.

They shouldn’t have been resting; that was Twilight’s opinion. They needed to chase after Cosmos before he could head into the Undergrowth and drain the Heart of Equestria. But the princesses had both claimed that a trek through the Undergrowth would take three days. They’d insisted that everypony rest before anyone went after Cosmos.

Try as Twilight might, however, sleep wouldn’t come. The comfortable guest bed she’d been provided went to waste as Twilight lay awake, staring up at the ceiling. While Spike snoozed on a cot in the corner, Twilight struggled to rest her busy mind.

It was a no go, unfortunately. Twilight still had too many questions and doubts floating around inside of her head. Today had been insane, and Twilight had a feeling that the coming days would only be crazier.

Since sleep was so far-off, Twilight climbed out of bed, trotted out of the room, and wandered into the halls of Canterlot Castle.

The castle was still and silent, the only sounds being the far-off noises of the night cleaning staff. Twilight walked through the dimly lit halls, on towards Princess Celestia’s chambers. She had no idea if her mentor would be awake; Twilight seriously doubted it, given how hectic the day must have been for her. Still, Twilight needed someone to talk to, and Celestia was the first pony to come to mind.

Thankfully, when Twilight reached Celestia’s bed chambers, she saw that she wasn’t the only one having a restless night. Light was pouring out from beneath the bedroom door. Twilight supposed it was possible Princess Celestia was just sleeping with the light on, but she was fairly certain that wasn’t the case. With that in mind, Twilight knocked on the door.

“You may enter.”

Twilight gently pushed the door open with her hoof and trotted into the room. Princess Celestia wasn’t in bed; instead, she was stretched out on a couch in the corner, looking over a collection of books. The princess looked up from her studies and gave Twilight a small, tired smile as she closed the door.

“Excuse me for intruding, Princess,” Twilight said, but Celestia cut her off by raising a hoof.

“This is no intrusion, Twilight Sparkle. It seems we are both having trouble sleeping.”

Twilight let loose a sigh, and all the regal formality she’d been carrying left her. She trotted tiredly to Celestia’s side and sat down, resting on her haunches. Celestia sighed as well and closed the book she was inspecting, carefully marking her place as she did so.

“What is it that’s troubling you, Twilight?” Celestia asked, concerned.

Twilight looked off to the side. She wasn’t exactly sure how to put what she wanted to say; it was a bit silly, after all. Still, keeping secrets from Princess Celestia was no way to do things.

“It’s just…” Twilight sighed and turned back to Celestia. “You’ve never talked about Cosmos before. There’s no mention of him anywhere in Equestria’s history. I know that’s because he ran away when you were young, but… Princess, I feel like you’ve been keeping this from me—from all of us, for years.”

Celestia listened as Twilight let her feelings out into the open. When Twilight finished, she recognized something in Celestia’s eyes. The princess looked ashamed; guilty, almost. Twilight found herself feeling as if she’d done something wrong by bringing up her concerns. The princess hid her feelings well enough, however.

“It has never been my intent to keep things from you, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia said. “I apologize. But talking about Cosmos serves no purpose except to make me aware of my failures as a sister.”

Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but once again Celestia raised a hoof to silence her.

“Please, Twilight, do not argue with me on this,” Celestia said. “Because I did not see how much trouble Cosmos was having, he ran away. Because I did not see how jealous Luna was, she became Nightmare Moon.”

Celestia looked down at the floor, an expression of deep sorrow on her face. “The ponies of Equestria look to me for leadership. How would they look at me if they knew the ways I’ve failed my own family?”

Once again, Twilight found herself seeing Princess Celestia in a new light. She’d never seen the princess quite so vulnerable. The air of nobility and perfection Celestia usually gave off was gone. For the first time, Twilight saw Celestia not as a mentor or an idol, but as another pony.

Celestia noticed the way Twilight was looking at her and chuckled sadly. “I’m sorry; I’m being a bit of a downer, aren’t I? It’s difficult to stay upbeat right now, I’m afraid. I have far too much on my mind.”

“You aren’t alone,” Twilight chuckled. It felt odd to be the one offering support to Celestia for once. “But don’t worry. My friends and I will stop him before he does anything to upset the flow of magic in Equestria.”

Twilight had meant to sound reassuring, but for some reason Celestia was looking away from her. Twilight began wondering if she’d said something wrong. Finally, after a moment of awkward silence, Celestia spoke. What she said threw Twilight for a loop.

“Twilight, I am going to have to ask you and your friends to stand down in this matter,” Celestia said quietly. “Luna and I will deal with Cosmos ourselves.”

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. She wasn’t sure what to say. Had she done something to cause Celestia to lose faith in her? Was Celestia upset that Twilight hadn’t captured Cosmos when she encountered him in the vaults? That wasn’t like Celestia at all, though. Despite Twilight’s fears, she knew Celestia wasn’t the type of pony to hold someone’s failures against them.

“Are you sure, princess?” Twilight asked worriedly.

“You told me that Cosmos was able to cast a spell which opened a portal beneath your hooves,” Celestia said. “If that is the case, Cosmos’s MBS has been cured. There is a good chance he is as powerful as Luna and I.”

“Princess, I appreciate your concern,” Twilight said, “but we’ve handled powerful threats before. We defeated Discord, and the Pony of Shadows, and Chrysalis. We can face Cosmos, as well. We can bring your brother home.”

Celestia shook her head sadly. The Princess of the Sun lifted herself up onto her haunches, towering over Twilight from up on her couch.

“I know you have proven yourself time and time again, Twilight. I know that you and your friends have triumphed over impossible odds together. But I cannot ask you to face this challenge. Not this time. I do not believe you would be able to triumph.”

“But why?” Twilight asked. The question wound up coming out a bit more confrontational than she’d intended.

In all the years that she had known Celestia, the princess had always believed in Twilight. Even when Twilight hadn’t believed in herself, Celestia had been sure of her student’s success. But now, that support felt like it was just gone.

Having Celestia say that she didn’t think Twilight could deal with this was so strange that it made Twilight feel as if the floor had fallen out from under her. Twilight almost felt like she was about to fall through another portal.

“Is it because he’s your brother? Is it because of something you’re not telling me? Princess, please explain this to me; I need to know!”

Princess Celestia opened her mouth to say something, but she stopped. The princess looked off to the side, an almost ashamed expression on her face. When she spoke, it was in a tone of voice that Twilight had never heard from her before.

“I am scared, Twilight.” Celestia said, her voice shaking. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Cosmos has been gone since we were children. I do not know how he has changed in the many years since I last saw him. I do not know what he will do if someone tries to stop him. I fear that he… he…”

Though Celestia was unable to say what she wanted, Twilight understood almost right away.

“Are you scared he might… ‘hurt’ me?” Twilight asked. When she said ‘hurt’, of course, she was actually talking about something much worse than just being hurt. When Twilight said ‘hurt’, she was talking about going the way of the Storm King.

Celestia bit her bottom lip. Twilight had never seen the princess quite so anxious before. Of course, Twilight knew that the princess had fears and worries just like anypony else. Twilight had just never gotten a front row seat to those feelings before.

“I do not know,” Celestia said tiredly. “I just don’t know, Twilight. But I cannot stop thinking about what could have happened when you met him in the royal vaults.”

Twilight felt a pang in her chest. Her failure to do anything when she met Cosmos was still weighing on her. Twilight knew a hundred spells she could have used to stop Cosmos. But the shock of seeing a male alicorn had thrown Twilight for such a loop that she hadn’t been able to do anything.

Thankfully, of course, nopony had gotten hurt. But Twilight still felt ashamed for not doing anything.

And now Celestia was losing confidence in Twilight because of her failure.

“He didn’t really do anything,” Twilight pointed out quietly. “He could have, but he didn’t. He didn’t even really hurt the guards; he just used a spell to knock them out. I know that Cosmos’s plan will put a lot of ponies in danger, but I don’t think he wants to deliberately hurt anypony.”

Well, aside from Princess Celestia. Cosmos had said that, when he drained the magic from the Heart of Equestria and turned the kingdom into a lifeless husk, it would be her fault. That was a pretty clear threat.

Aside from that, though, Cosmos actually seemed to be actively avoiding hurting anypony.

Unfortunately, Celestia didn’t seem convinced by Twilight’s argument. The look that the princess was giving her told Twilight that Celestia might not be convinced by any argument. Celestia wore the sad frown of a mare who’d already decided to do something bad in somepony else’s best interest.

“I am sorry, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia said. “But my mind has been made up. You and your friends will return home. Luna and I will go into the Undergrowth in pursuit of Cosmos.”

Twilight blinked a few times, her mouth hanging open. She wanted to ask why Celestia was being so stubborn. She wanted to ask why they couldn’t just work together on this. Most of all, though, Twilight wanted to ask her mentor why she wasn’t thinking straight. Why wasn’t she able to see that she was actively sticking with a bad decision?

But Twilight feared that, no matter what she said, it would come out angry. And the idea of getting into a shouting match with Princess Celestia was too much for Twilight to bear.

So instead, Twilight Sparkle just said, “Good night, Princess.”

Twilight didn’t stand around and wait for Celestia to respond. Before the princess could wish her student good night, Twilight turned and walked out of Celestia’s bedroom, magically closing the doors behind her.

Twilight stood outside of the closed doors, all alone in the dark castle hallway. It took a moment for Twilight to realize she was upset. The emotions didn’t come all at once; rather, Twilight felt herself begin to slowly uncover them. It was as if reality was only just now sinking in.

She was angry. She was sad. Most of all, though, Twilight felt a sense of betrayal she couldn’t shake away. How could the princess, one of the wisest ponies in Equestria, act like this? Hadn’t she read Twilight’s friendship reports? Celestia should have known better.

Deep down, Twilight knew that Celestia wasn’t thinking straight. She knew that the return of Cosmos had drawn out some long-buried pain from inside of the princess. But that didn’t make Twilight feel any better.

It made her feel worse, in fact; because it made Twilight realize that Celestia, no matter how wise and benevolent she was, was just a pony like everypony else.

Twilight felt sick. As she marched back to her guest room, she had a feeling that sleep wouldn’t be coming easily.

And yet, when she laid her head down on the pillow, exhaustion quickly claimed her.

---

“Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight’s eyes shot open, and at once she knew she was dreaming. A swirling aurora hung in the violet night sky. There were too many stars to count, and an enormous moon hung up above. A familiar silhouette was floating down from the moon as Twilight sat up to greet its owner.

While Luna slowly descended, Twilight found that her dreaming state did little to ease the unease in her chest. She knew the best thing to do would be to tell Celestia just how she felt, but Twilight still felt too upset to talk to the princess. Maybe in a day or two she’d feel better, but for now Twilight wanted nothing to do with Celestia.

Luna, however, Twilight felt she could talk to.

The Princess of the Night had a sad, understanding smile on her face. It was a smile that told Twilight that Luna already knew about Celestia’s decision. Facing that smile, Twilight found she was unable to do anything except hang her head sadly.

Princess Luna reached out a hoof and placed it on Twilight’s shoulder.

“Listen to me, Twilight Sparkle.”

Luna walked past Twilight, trotting across the featureless ground beneath them. Twilight turned to follow, but stopped herself before she could trot after the princess. Twilight had a feeling she was just supposed to sit and listen to whatever Luna had to say.

“I am aware that my sister is not in her best state of mind,” Luna said. “But she has not lost faith in you, Twilight Sparkle. In this matter, however, she has her doubts over whether you can properly deal with Cosmos.”

“Princess, that’s exactly what ‘losing faith’ means,” Twilight pointed out. “She doesn’t think we can face Cosmos. But she’s wrong.”

“Perhaps,” Luna mused. The princess trotted forward a bit before she came to a stop. The Princess of the Night looked up at the swirling sky above them, admiring the world that Twilight had dreamed up.

“You are right to be upset,” Luna said. “But my sister is also right to doubt you. From what you’ve told us, Cosmos’s magic has grown considerably in the last thousand years. If he has become as powerful as my sister and I, I do not know that you could face him and emerge victorious.”

Great. This again.

“However,” Luna continued, “I know better than my sister that you and your friends are more than capable of defeating a malevolent alicorn.” A small smile graced Luna’s face as she looked playfully at Twilight. “I do not know for certain if you can defeat Cosmos, but I am willing to take the bet.”

Twilight didn’t know what to say to that. While she was grateful for Luna’s support, Celestia’s doubts still made Twilight ache inside. Luna seemed to notice Twilight’s dissatisfaction and once again placed a reassuring hoof on her shoulder.

“Celestia blames herself for Cosmos’s disappearance,” Luna said gently. “For years, she has dealt with her guilt in silence. Now that Cosmos has returned, those feelings have resurfaced. She does not wish to see her most prized student be put into danger because of her mistakes.”

“I understand that,” Twilight said. “I do. But just because I understand it doesn’t mean I’m okay with it. I know my friends and I can help Celestia.”

Twilight sighed. “But she won’t let us. She probably won’t even tell us where the Undergrowth is.”

Luna pondered Twilight’s words for a few moments, and then seemed to reach some kind of conclusion. The alicorn bowed her head, touching the tip of her horn to Twilight’s. Luna’s eyes seemed to light up as a magical transference seemed to take place.

A vision appeared in Twilight’s head. It was so vivid, so clear, that the dream around her seemed to disappear. Twilight could see a vast, tropical forest, thick with humidity. Animal cries and birdsong surrounded Twilight. Everywhere she looked, Twilight could see plants she had never seen before.

But something was odd. There was no sunlight, and yet the forest was visible. When Twilight looked up, she saw why; there was no sky. Instead, there was the massive stone ceiling of some underground cavern. Luminous crystals hung from above, shining blue light down into the forest below.

Twilight only had a few moments to stare in amazement at the strange environment she found herself in, however. In an instant, Twilight felt herself be pulled upwards by some powerful, unseen force. She passed through the cavern and emerged above ground, but still she didn’t stop. Twilight continued going upwards until she could see the entirety of the Kingdom of Equestria beneath her. As if looking at the map, one spot was indicated by a bright, red X.

“The Undergrowth,” Twilight whispered.

As soon as the words escaped her mouth, Twilight found herself back in the dream. Luna was lifting her head away, her eyes having returned to normal. It took Twilight a moment to properly realize what had just happened.

There was a map inside of Twilight’s head now; one that led to the Undergrowth. And at the center of the Undergrowth was the Heart of Equestria.

“The Undergrowth… is underground?” Twilight asked, stunned. Well, that explained the name, at least.

“Celestia plans on leaving for the Undergrowth after she raises the sun in the morning,” Luna said hastily. “Cadence is already on her way from the Crystal Empire to fulfill our duties. If you truly intend on going to the Undergrowth, I would suggest that you leave before my sister and I. I will try and convince Celestia that your help is needed.”

It hurt Twilight to know that Celestia needed convincing in the first place. But whatever. Now wasn’t the time to be upset. Now was the time to ready the cavalry, so to speak.

“Thank you for your help, Princess Luna,” Twilight said with a small bow. “I promise you, my friends and I will stop Cosmos before he reaches the Heart of Equestria.”

Luna returned the bow. When she lifted her head, she had a small, confident smile on her face. That smile was the last thing Twilight saw before she woke up.

Author's Note:

This chapter was rewritten several times. No matter how I handled it, the conflict between Twilight and Celestia never felt right. It always felt very forced.

I'm a little happier with this version, but I'm aware that it isn't perfect. Arguments can be hard to write.

Comments

[Sigmacipher]

Honestly, I kinda believe the only reason Celestia had so much faith in Twilight's abilities was because of the little trip through time that Starlight made tipped Celestia off to the fact that twilight would ascend.

It explains so much really...and it wouldn't be to hard to see in canon with Starswirl's spell in season 2 causing a event that wouldn't happen else wise.

Who's to say the situation is actually different.

[Wrekferno]

This story is amazing. I never seen or read a strain between Twilight and Celestia's relationship in an extended period of time before. That is very rare. Are you going to keep writing new chapters?