1 Forgotten Fridays
It never crossed Twilight Sparkle's mind that destiny could be so cynical and twisted when it came to all the different ways of making fun of her. Or that things would end this way, even.
The Celestia who was now entering the room with a cup of tea in her hands, wasn't a Princess, nor the maximum authority of the place, nor an immortal demigoddess. Neither was she a pony in this case. She was the human version 一counterpart? 一 of her mentor, her idol, of whom turned her back in defense of an unknown pony without thinking twice. It could be that Twilight's accusations had been reckless in execution, but it didn't deserve the gesture.
Right?
"It's lavender tea sweetened with honey, it'll help you sleep better." Celestia sat at the edge of the bed, after Twilight accepted the drink with a small nod of gratitude.
Initially, between the whirlwind of emotions and the fact that there wasn't much lighting, Twilight didn't notice the main characteristic that distinguished both them: this Celestia’s hair didn't have that glow of radiant sparks, nor the soft and constant undulation, impregnated with magic so strong that only can be held by someone with the ability of moving a celestial body. It was a rainbow of solid pastel tones. Wavy, luminous and well cared for, without any trace of magic.
Like everything in this universe.
The younger girl only focused on drinking the tea in hopes that sleep would attack her as quickly as possible. These had been the worst days of her entire life, and she couldn't wait for them to become distant memories located in mental pools at the bottom of the unconsciousness.
"I know maybe it's not the best question, but how are you feeling?" Celestia remained impassive but attentive; soft, measured, as Twilight remembered the Princess. Maybe they shared more similarities than mere appearances, which made it inevitable to find the most appropriate answer. Was it in a strictly medical sense or did include more than just her physical state? Should she give an ambiguous and, at the same time, concrete answer to summarise her general state?
Did she even want to give some kind of answer at all?
Her eyes went down to the ceramic mug, half empty. No levitation spell, no hooves held it, but fingers. Phalanges connected to a palm that, as a whole, formed the so-called hands.
Fingers that with their nails could scratch in a vain defense attempt, hands that could close in furious fists and leave more bruises than once believed possible to have.
Given all this Celestia had done for her so far, the ex-unicorn resolved that in spite of her discomfort she should at least answer.
“A little better, I think,” Twilight started slowly. “The analgesics are working and I almost don’t feel the headache…”
According to the specialists that treated her in the hospital, she was lucky not to have any serious concussions. Only significant bruises and slight scrapes that would take about a month to disappear completely. However, Twilight wasn't sure whether to call it luck, having the left side of her face swollen and five shades darker than its original pigmentation. Or ten, maybe. Color variant differences by pigment combination had never been her forte, probably Rarity or Pinkie Pie had a more accurate idea.
“Are you sure that’s all?” Celestia asked again, in a way that reminded Twilight of those psychologists whose intention is to create introspection on the topic addressed. Soft and, despite the word choice, without putting pressure.
But again, it was another question that she wasn't sure she wanted to answer. Too many feelings were spinning around her to explain them in such a light, synthetic way. Twilight had crossed the portal by mistake carrying a whirlwind of negative emotions, and when she ended up in this world, she clung to the stupid and positivist idea that at any moment the sun would rise, as logic indicates. But she forgot completely that logic and science always have exceptions or variants to reach the same result, depending on the paradigm or its speculative theories. Not to mention the fact that even if it was a parallel world, there was no guarantee the worldviews would be the same.
Twilight managed to understand this at the same time she realized that humans couldn't control the weather, just predict it and act accordingly, and all she could do was scream and try to find the fastest exit.
The only thing she achieved was more blows and a sore throat.
So saying that she felt bad, anguished, humiliated, or guilty was a big, vague lie. There were so many things, so many sensations, so many adjectives that came to mind, that somehow when trying to evoke them they nullified in a distressing pressure on the chest. One that she tried in vain to undo with undissolved honey and the tea that was left. One that didn't let her breathe regularly. One that when trying to take a mouthful of air to relax, only obtained incomplete syllables and wet cheeks despite her attempts to remove all traces of rebellious tears.
Even as Celestia wrapped her in her arms, filling her with soft words of encouragement accompanied by hair stroking, Twilight couldn't help clinging to her tightly and breaking into tears. Even with the cold tingling in her back.
How cynical could fate be so that the most infamous figure to turn her back on her became the only one who had dared to give her a chance?
“I know it's hard to see it now, but soon everything will be fine, okay?” Celestia spoke in a soft tone when Twilight seemed to get her breathing back to normal, several minutes later.
Twilight managed to say a simple "yes" under her breath, still not losing the grip around the older woman's torso or lifting her head that was resting from Celestia's shoulder. Human movements felt natural to perform now, and though she wasn't very much in favor of physical interaction, she had to admit that somehow it felt much warmer and comforting than the Princess' wings did on the fur. Even if she wasn't entirely sure if that opinion was actually due to continuous exposure to cold nights winds.
Still, Celestia spoke with such certainty that helped the ex-unicorn feel a little less insignificant, a bit less tiny in a room that wasn't her own. Within a strange and completely alien world that so far gave her both fascination and complete misery. It made her think that the bad feelings were temporary and that, this time, the sunbeams that showed through the clouds would last until a sunny day.
“Thanks. For everything,” Twilight whispered, once the embrace was undone and she felt a little calmer. The anguish wasn't gone, no, pretending so was absurd. But venting always helped. “It means a lot.”
The woman in front of her might not be a Princess, nor her idol whom she dreamed of ever resembling, or a pony in this case. She was her human version, who at first sight Twilight confused with the equestrian one, believing that she had crossed the portal to take her back to their world. But she was the version that didn't doubt a second of the validity of her words and made sure that she received proper medical attention. This Celestia even offered lodging in her house until she found another place to stay.
“It's nothing, honey, really.” Celestia offered a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, but the gesture was enough for the younger girl to try to mirror it. “Now just try to rest, okay? It has been a pretty hectic day.”
Celestia behaved as Twilight would have expected the Princess, who always said she cared about the well-being of all her subjects. And even though she couldn't be completely annoyed by the latter's reaction at her brother's wedding, the bitter taste that fiasco left lasted to even now, several days later, and definitely didn't help.
After another quick hug and another lavender and honey infusion to finish mashing the nerves, Twilight was finally falling into the dream world. Hoping that when she woke up the next morning, memories of the past few days would already be scattered behind the fog of the unconscious.
Twilight woke up with a loud sound that she could barely make out as wood against some kind of frame, and opened her eyes in panic when she understood where it came from.
Fear magnified its asleep omnipresence in an icy current of electricity, clawing bones and putting hairs on edge in mere seconds, dominating any form of logical thought that might have appeared as a rival. Protection was its first order, which given the circumstances, resulted in Twilight trying to make herself as small as possible. Ignoring the muted whimper of her back, she collided between the head of the bed and the corner of the wall, hoping to blend in with the room like a simple bulge under the sheets.
Not again, not again, not again. Please, please don't...
"Aaahhh!"
The bulge stopped in its tracks. Was that a feminine voice, or had she already began to rave?
"A-are you okay?"
It was a female voice, one she wasn't sure she recognized but seemed on edge. But the fact that it wasn't the opposite sex made her heart rate slow down enough to stop hearing it gallop over her ears.
The ex-unicorn opened her eyes, which had already begun to ache from how hard she had closed them —the left one still throbbing thanks to the damned bruise she had there, and breathed in as much air her lungs allowed to take courage and spy who it was.
Twilight blinked a couple of times thanks to the sudden light in the room, and between the small black spots on the vision, the things around her took their respective shape and color. The bed on the left side, a perfectly tidy desk that occupied most of the adjacent wall, a bookshelf on the next wall, followed by the door and the human figure of a girl leaning against the closet with one hand on her chest, her face a mixture of worry, confusion, curiosity and relief.
The memories of the events that took place in the past hours came back to the surface as quickly as they left, as well as that small sense of security that was enough to drown the fear. However, what resurfaced now was the discomfort when she took awareness of the situation.
This wasn't her room, nor her world, nor her original body, even the pajamas were borrowed. This wasn't her bedroom, but that of the girl who was watching her and waiting for an answer less than two meters away. Celestia's daughter. She was mentioned in a small conversation about rules Twilight had to follow if she stayed here, which were basic and logical because, well, she was a stranger. Even though Celestia had initially confused her with her human counterpart.
"I-I'm sorry, I thought... I was... somewhere else," she mumbled when remembering she had been asked a question, not knowing where to look except for the 一now一 interesting check quilt.
She was in the room of Summer... Streamer? No, that didn't sound quite right. But Twilight was shaking like a scared filly under the sheets of her bed. To say that she felt totally out of place was perhaps too light a phrase.
The other girl shook her head, dismissing it with a wave of her hand.
"It's okay. I think, uh, we both got scared." The red-haired girl with golden locks gave a small chuckle that Twilight thought sounded a bit nervous. "Are you sure you are okay, though? That sounded like it hurt."
The painkillers had already taken effect on most of her body, but for some reason, her back continued to complain. Or did she have a bruise there and hadn't noticed? Anyway, this last hit will surely leave a mark. She hated how easy it was for her to bruise, no matter the body, and the fact that she was clumsier in the current one didn't help.
Even so, Twilight nodded, not to feel more embarrassed than necessary.
"Yes, I'm... I'm okay…" The quilt was interesting not only in color but texture too. It didn't feel so soft to the touch, would it be made of cotton, like the ones from Equestria? Twilight swallowed the urge to snort, no longer understanding why she tried to pretend that she had some dignity left. The girl in front of her was Celestia's daughter, yes, and she had already made a fool of herself in front of her. "I'm taking up your space, right? I-I'm sorry, I'll just g--"
"No, no, not at all!" The redhead quickly made a gesture with her hands to reinforce her idea. "It was my suggestion. You can stay, really."
A pause.
"...You sure?" The affirmative gesture had enough resolution for Twilight to object a second time. "Wow, that's... such a nice gesture, I mean, you barely know me and, uh, well, thank you."
She bit her tongue, to try to stop babbling things and sink deeper into shame. She didn't even understand the direction of her actions, maybe the bruises hadn't been as light as the doctors believed and they were affecting her brain activity. Or maybe it was the exhaustion along with the side effects of the pills she had to take. Or maybe all of the above.
Twilight made a mental note of looking for some book on human anatomy and psychology. There she would surely find better answers. Checking some information pamphlets wouldn't be a bad idea either.
The girl in front of her crossed her arms, and after a few seconds in which she seemed to be thinking carefully, she licked her lips before finally speaking.
"Let's say that I know this world's Twilight Sparkle quite well. She's technically my cousin."
A pause.
A very long pause. She was sure her heart stopped for a second, along with her breathing.
She definitely didn't expect that answer.
Twilight never said her name. Even if Celestia mentioned it to her, which was quite likely, she couldn't know she was Sparkle instead of Twinkle. When she found out she had a human counterpart, Twilight lied in that small aspect to avoid any kind of confusion. She already had too many problems to add something extra like her parents, for example.
Besides, the explicit mention of "this world" implied that there were others, right? At least, Equestria was a parallel version of this world. Twilight had no idea if other worlds existed, as far as portals were concerned all the information was in Canterlot library’s forbidden section.
But if she knew that, then it was likely that--
"H-how do you know about...?" For some reason, her voice came out lower than intended, but she decided to leave the sentence unfinished so as not to give unnecessary information.
The redhead, who now Twilight realized had been looking at her expectantly all this time, leaned against the wardrobe. For some reason, she now seemed unsure, at least more than what her appearance might suggest, with a leather jacket and black jeans.
"I guess you mean Equestria, right?" She inquired softly. Twilight nodded slowly. Both were testing the waters, it seemed. "Let's say I tied some knots. Like you confused Celestia with the Princess, and, uh, you mentioned the mirror. So I figured... you were from there."
At the last comment, the ex-unicorn slowly nodded again. If she knew, then no point in hiding it. Twilight wasn't sure what else to say or do, exactly. One part of her head was asking questions about what, who, how, when, where and why, that the other party, the most rational and logical 一within which allowed such conditions一 began to silence at all costs. At another point in her life, she would have burst into questions, in her need to obtain information about this world, and from the idea of learning something new.
Now the best thing she could do was shut her mouth. Not that she had too much of a right to ask, they already had enough hospitality as to have to put up with someone who wanted to put her muzzle in where it didn't concern her. Eh, nose, the nose.
"I'm also from Equestria," she commented, answering a couple of questions and at the same time making a few more because Twilight without constant questioning wasn't Twilight.
"Really?" the ex-unicorn asked, perhaps quicker than necessary.
"Yep. About... five years ago." The redhead seemed not to notice, choosing to hang the jacket on the rack behind the door that Twilight didn't remember since when exactly it was closed. "It's a long story. But I suppose I can say I understand that first sensation of, well, feeling everything foreign and at the same time not."
More questions came to Twilight's mind, she decided to swallow them.
The redhead turned her back to her, looking for something between the drawers and the shelves on the open side of the wardrobe. There was a moderate amount of clothing, all folded in an orderly fashion, apparently by type or function. Twilight still didn't understand too much the difference between bedding and normal clothes. Were they not to cover the body and protect it, and nothing else?
"Yeah. It's, it's weird, to be honest." The ex-unicorn allowed herself to barely raise the corners of her lips. "But I think I got used to it."
Twilight had no idea how many days she had been wandering around the city, eight or ten at least, maybe fifteen. But by the forth, she felt much more comfortable, as if this was her natural form all her life.
So natural, that even, in a moment, crossed her mind the fleeting idea that in truth all that happened was just a product of her imagination.
She erased that thought as soon as it came.
The other girl in the room closed the sliding door of the wardrobe with a wooden sound against a frame, much like the one that had awakened her. Agreeing with Twilight's last comment while looking for another couple of things in the room. Twilight didn't stop feeling out of place and was about to say again that she could find another place to sleep, if not for the fact that the redhead would probably insist not to.
"I'm gonna take a shower. Whatever you need, we're in the next room," she said, pointing her thumb behind her, already with a towel on her shoulder and the other hand on the doorknob. "Oh, and uh, I think I never told you my name. I'm Sunset Shimmer."
They exchanged a simple greeting, Twilight tried again to lift the corners of her lips a bit to try and be as polite as possible. There could be no dignity left but she could still pretend, she supposed.
She made another mental note to try to work on memorizing names because there was no point in learning whole books by heart but not knowing what someone was called.
Once again, lights off, the full darkness of the night, and weariness forced her to close her eyes and attempt to rest. She had too much stress, too many emotions, too many questions, her head was going to explode.
Fate again seemed to mock her more and more, with its laughter and impossible coincidences. Not only did the one who had turned her back on one side of the mirror gave her an opportunity in another, but also had a daughter that came from the same place, that came from Equestria. It was one chance in a million, but after so much bad luck, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
When Twilight found herself falling again into the dream world, she did it with an extra bit of certainty that maybe, after so many misfortunes, after so many cloudy days, finally the sun would come out.
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Why do you want to change the cover art? It looks good to me.
Interesting title... I'll try to get to this soon.
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Wanted something less casual, I guess? Probably will stay like that for a long while
i am really liking dis stowy keep goin!!!!
This sounds pretty interesting.
It’s an interesting start, but you have a lot of purple prose. Not that that is bad, but it does seem like a lot of unnecessary wordage and it can be a bit distracting and sometimes confusing. Hopefully, you will explain what exactly happened to Twilight in those fifteen days before she ran into Celestia. I look forward to more.
Interesting
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I've never heard of purple prose (we don't have that term in Spanish) so I had to look it up. Never paid attention to such detail, I'll keep it in mind for when rereading this chapter and the ones that follow. Thanks for the criticism.
As for what happened, that will be explained in due time, don't worry.
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Glad to see I managed to keep you all intrigued by this chapter, next one will probably come out soon.
Ok I am loving this story, keep it up!
the sun’ll come out tomorrow bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there’ll be sun.
This makes me (hypocritically) uncomfortable. Maybe that's the wrong word, I dunno. My brain is stupid and anxious and can only interpret this sentence in a single awful, familiar way. Guess I'll keep reading and find out if I'm right.
On a technical level, this story is a knockout. The writing is perfectly in-character for Twilight, who even in her deepest anxieties is unable to silence the analytical part of her mind. I see some calling it "purple prose," and I whole-heartedly disagree. Twilight uses big words. She thinks with big words. That's kinda her deal. Using so many big words isn't excessive exactly because it's Twilight's thoughts.
I only got 1 question on the first chapter where's spike???????
Man, this seems pretty melancholy.
This is a great story, I really love how well you constructed Twilight, Celestia, and Sunset's characters, they stay true to their personalities really, really well.