The Tower

by the7Saviors

Flipped

Twilight was by no means a daft mare, though even she had to admit that it was her sharp wit and boundless curiosity that more often than not had gotten her into trouble that could have easily been avoided in the past. She knew somewhere in the back of her mind that her obsession with the truth of what she was fell in line with some of those past blunders, but she'd worried about this for too long to let it go now. Yes, she was ready to throw in the towel when Discord showed up and had he not appeared when he did, she may very well have right then and there, but things had changed. Though Discord's advice seemed simple enough on the surface, Twilight was all but certain there was a hidden meaning in his words.

His suggestion threw the mare for a loop initially, but in the end, it took Twilight little time to come up with a few ideas as to what the draconequus meant. The problem was that most of those ideas would require her to speak to Luna about certain topics they'd discussed in the past. Thinking back, Twilight remembered how well those conversations had gone, and that—like her research into alicorns—those conversations had gone nowhere. Still, it had been quite some time since she and Luna had spoken about such things; it had been some time since they'd spoken at all really, at least without Celestia present. She'd stopped showing any sign of her interest in the subject of dreams, alicorns, and the 'Realm of Ascension' in front of the two sisters a long time ago, with the last time she'd brought any of the issues up being three or four decades ago.

It would've been something her past self would've struggled hiding, but over the years of ruling in Celestia and Luna's place, the mare had gained much experience in hiding her true intentions. Twilight had applied a combination of watching Celestia work during her time as Princess and intensive psychological study on her own time to combat the occasional bouts of anxiety that would slip through every now and then during the early years of her reign as the sole ruler of Equestria. As a result, she'd become fairly confident in her ability to keep a secret, among other things. That said, she didn't feel all that good about what she'd decided to do, but she had already tried the direct approach many times with little to no results.

After several sleepless nights of warring with herself and the morals that had been instilled within her by her mentor, Twilight had finally come to the conclusion that if she was going to get anywhere, she'd need to be a bit more... subtle in her approach. She needed a plan, she needed several plans, she needed backup plans in case those plans fell through. Some of those plans were less than savory, but as Twilight's mind worked tirelessly to concoct these plans, the question of whether her ideas were tenable or not began to take a backseat. What Twilight failed to realize during this time was that she and Discord had become, in some ways, very much the same. After the death of her first and last student, Twilight—like the draconequus—had slowly but undoubtedly distanced herself from any meaningful relationships save for Spike.

With the everflowing passage of time came greater and greater change and the peaceful land of Equestria was no exception. Even if all seems well on the surface, certain changes can and will affect most in ways one would never expect—often without them even realizing until its far too late. Unfortunately, it's these types of changes that more often than not cause the 'downs' one experiences in life, the 'downs' that most are helpless to do anything about for any number of reasons. It could be because they didn't act fast enough or they might've ignored the problem hoping it would go away on its own when in reality that problem was only growing worse. It could be subtle emotional changes brought about by some horribly traumatic event in the past or it might be something as simple as life passing you by while you weren't looking.

No creature is immune to the subtle and drastic changes that time brings, not even those rare creatures who fancy themselves immortal. If anything, it's those timeless beings who are most susceptible to time's ravaging hoof. The longer one's life stretches into the future, the more difficult it is to perceive those tiny, subtle, seemingly insignificant changes. If such a being isn't paying attention, those changes are easily overlooked. Without that constant vigilance, such a being can easily trip over their own ignorance and fall to ruin. If one was to search for an example of ruinous ignorance to the changes around them, one would need look no further than that old ponytale of The Mare in the Moon and the actions of the millennia-old Princesses that inspired it—more specifically, Celestia's treatment of her younger sister during the earlier years of the Equestrian diarchy.

As the mare became more comfortable with her throne, she fell into certain habits. As time passed, her focus began to narrow to the point that all she saw before her was her duty to her subjects. Such narrowminded focus made Celestia a brilliant ruler in the eyes of her little ponies but despite her benevolence to those who looked to her for guidance, she failed to give her own sister the same time of day. And so the Princess of the Night was cast into the shadows where her anger and jealousy and bitterness were allowed to fester and grow into something uncontrollable. By the time Celestia realized something was wrong, it was too late, and both sisters paid a heavy price. Of course, it isn't just the long-lived who need to be wary of time's flow and the changes that happen within, but it should be said that while time can indeed heal all wounds, the opposite can also be true.

Discord failed to recover from his loss and with nopony to lift him up or the emotional means to do so himself, he shut his eyes and ears to the world in a sense. As time wore on in Equestria, bitterness and despair gave way to apathy and indifference to the plight of the finite creatures that lived their short lives day-to-day. He lost touch with who he'd been when Fluttershy was alive and eventually, unable to bear it anymore and desperate to regain a sense of self, he chose to cast away the relatively moral character he'd built over the years to revel in that which defined him at his core.

Twilight, in her obsession to know the truth, hadn't realized that she was making the same sort of mistake her mentor and mother figure had made well over a millennia ago. Tunnel vision had caused the Princess to neglect the very connections and principles that had made her into what she was today. Where her duties as a teacher at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns were concerned, she had become somewhat distant and unapproachable. Where her remaining friends and family were concerned, her warm and caring smile had grown more and more into a mask to hide impatience and irritation. Had she been asked on the spot to recall the names of the current Headmare or Headstallion or any of the students attending the school she'd built from the ground up to promote and foster the very idea of friendship and harmony, a perceptive pony would notice more than a bit of hesitation in her response.

She lost touch with who she'd been when all of her closest friends were alive, and in doing so—unnoticed even by Twilight herself—she had closed off her heart to those around her. What remained was what had always been there lurking inside her, that cold and curious and logical little filly unswayed and unimpressed by what having even one good friend could offer. Without the bonds she shared with the other Elements of Harmony to keep her afloat, the questions she so desperately desired to have answered had eaten away at those few bonds remaining until she could hardly feel them anymore. She couldn't be swayed to focus on what she had rather than what she'd lost or didn't have, and so, ignorant of her own changes as well as the changes around her, her meticulous plans turned to amoral schemes.

Once she'd gotten over her initial misgivings, the unfiltered influx of ideas came readily and easily. With renewed purpose and feeling more at ease than she'd been in a long while, Twilight went about focusing on her duties as the ruler of Equestria. Though she would've much rather carried on with her plans, time was not a terribly important factor as far as she was concerned. Given how long it had been since she actually spoke to Celestia or Luna, she was fairly sure she could avoid suspicion if she were to approach the latter mare now with her request. Still, with what she'd planned to ask of Luna, it was probably better to err on the side of caution and wait for a while longer, Twilight surmised. She initially found it strange that with all the time and effort both Celestia and Luna had taken to teach her the finer points of being a ruler, not once had Luna proposed she learn of dream walking or anything else related to oneiromancy for that matter.

It wasn't until she'd asked Luna that nonsensical question back then that she understood. There was something Luna didn't want Twilight or most likely anypony else to know when it came to dreams and the role she played within them. Like her research into alicorns, she found no documents relating to oneiromancy; she found nothing at all on the subject of dreams outside of a few texts on dream interpretation and symbolism, none of which were of any sort of repute. To Twilight, this couldn't have been a mere coincidence and she wanted more than anything to continue forward with the assumption that dreams, alicorn nature, and perhaps even that place were all somehow related, but she couldn't—not until she could convince Luna to teach her oneiromancy and find out for herself.

So Twilight waited.

She played the role of a good leader and waited for a prime opportunity to present itself though she was far from idle; she even took the time to choose and personally teach another promising young student, much to the delight of her royal predecessors. It was another three decades or so before just such an opportunity arose in the form of a request from her now positively massive and ever increasingly drowsy royal advisor. Evidently, when they reached a certain age—usually around 150 to 200 years of age to be exact—dragons experienced a desire to return to the Dragonlands where they would go into something akin to hibernation. It wasn't quite the deep centuries-long dreamless sleep experienced by older dragons who'd lived for thousands of years, but it would still see Spike—who'd just about reached that age range—gone from Twilight's side for at least a dozen years give or take.

Having learned of this natural occurrence from his time abroad in the Dragonlands, Spike had, with a heavy heart, asked Twilight for an extended leave of his duties. Once upon a time, Twilight would've been reluctant to let the dragon go. She would have hesitated but knew that in the end, she'd have no choice but to let him do what came naturally. As things went, she had no issues, and though the goodbyes were heartful and emotional, Twilight saw her number one assistant off with a warm smile—a smile she couldn't help but twist into a small grin of satisfaction as the dragon flew up and out of sight. She still cared for Spike like he was her own son, of that there was no doubt; the problem was that she also knew the dragon as well as he knew her, and given some of the things she envisioned having to do going forward, she knew he would make things... difficult.

In other words, Twilight didn't yet know how things would go exactly, and wouldn't until she could appeal to Luna, but she knew it would be better not to have Spike around for whatever transpired. What she needed now wasn't a voice of reason ready to step in with words of caution and disapproval, but rather somepony ready and willing to give their wholehearted cooperation to her cause; she needed somepony she could use. But for now, Twilight would focus on her conversation with Luna and worry about the rest afterword. She'd taken the time to establish a firmer and more constant line of communication with her predecessors, particularly Luna. While Twilight had always considered the mare a friend of sorts since the Princess of the Night experienced her first Nightmare Night back in Ponyville, they had rarely, if ever, spoken on a personal level since.

It wasn't until she was crowned as the new sole Princess of Equestria and underwent further training for her role that the situation changed, and even then she'd often felt that Luna preferred to keep her distance. What Twilight had to do was clear; if she wanted to learn what Luna had to teach, then she had to build a trust that didn't yet exist between them, and for that, she needed to grow closer to the mare. Luna had never outright stated that she wouldn't teach Twilight the secrets of oneiromancy, but the implications were all too clear in her response to the foolish question Twilight had asked so long ago. Perhaps if they'd been closer, perhaps if there was more trust, things might've gone differently.

Whatever the case may have been, trust was a factor that could not be overlooked. And so Twilight worked tirelessly to build that trust over the last few decades leading up to Spike's departure, and now she felt it was time to see just how far that trust had actually gotten her. Twilight planned to make a heartfelt entreaty to the mare, requesting her teachings under the guise of easing the burden Luna had chosen to carry alone for so long. Ready to enact her plan and making doubly all her affairs and backup plans were in order, she contacted Luna to meet with her in Canterlot for a visit—to which Luna agreed readily. Luckily, both she and Celestia had chosen to travel to different destinations for the time being and Luna's happened to be closer to home. Twilight, happy that things were coming together so nicely, greeted the mare warmly upon her arrival to Canterlot Castle.

After having one of the castle staff serve a plate of scones and Luna's favorite bitter tea, Twilight and Luna proceeded to exchange pleasantries in the form of what the former felt to be an amiable but rather vapid and vacuous conversation. Luna was by no means a daft mare and could be just as perceptive as her sister on occasion. Twilight also knew the mare to be the straightforward type, and so wasn't surprised when she was pressed by Luna—albeit kindly—to cut to the chase. Shoving down her anxiety and pouring as much charm and earnestness into her words as she possibly could without overdoing it, Twilight made her case. It was a heartfelt plea, an earnest desire to help ease Luna's burden. It was a steadfast entreaty to entrust the current Princess with more responsibility now that she'd had a decent amount of experience ruling the kingdom.

They were the wholesome and honest words of a mare desperate to prove herself worthy of learning what Luna could teach. While Celestia evidently had no talent for acting, Twilight was, or rather had become over the years, an entirely different story. It helped that while her methods had been calculated, her desire to learn was completely genuine, and it was that genuine, almost foal-like eagerness, that Luna saw when she looked into the mare's eyes. Unlike her sister, Luna hadn't been around to experience Twilight's foalhood, but she'd heard enough stories from Celestia to imagine the fully grown mare before here as she would've been back then, and Twilight's eyes were enough to bring the Princess of the Night back to a time she'd never even been a part of. That itself was one reason that she hesitated to deny the mare outright, even though she had ample reason to.

The moment Twilight had mentioned wanting to learn oneiromancy, Luna's expression had become guarded, but as Twilight's words grew ever more impassioned, that expression began to slip more into something resembling uncertainty. In recent years the two had become closer than they'd ever been in the past—so much so in fact that Luna had begun to wonder lately if there was something more there, something that surpassed friendship. These budding emotions were the second reason Luna couldn't bring herself to immediately refuse Twilight's request. Having a greater understanding of what the Dream Realm truly was, Luna and her sister had resolutely agreed that Twilight hadn't been ready to learn the secrets oneiromancy had to offer... but that had been when she was first crowned as the Princess of Equestria almost two centuries ago.

Perhaps it was fine now that she had more experience. The mare had come so far in the time that she'd been crowned. Equestria has experienced an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity under her rule and even putting that and her growth as a pony aside, magic was and still is her talent. She's already learned everything else Celestia and I have to teach her and has surpassed our expectations in every regard. Maybe... maybe it really is time to pass the torch...

These were the thoughts that ran through Luna's head and as she lowered her gaze to the fine white marble of the table they each sat on either side of, her brow furrowed and her mouth set in a worried frown, realization struck her; She was making excuses where none were needed. Deep down she had already known her answer from the very beginning. It was only a matter of accepting it and saying it aloud, and so—casting the doubt from her mind—she raised her head, looked the mare she may or may not have had certain feelings for, and resolutely gave her answer. Twilight Sparkle would have her lessons, and Luna would be there every step of the way to ensure her mental health and that she didn't stray off the path and into darker waters. There were, after all, certain things about the Dream Realm that ought to be left alone and kept hidden, even from Luna's eyes and ears.

Unbeknownst to Luna, what Twilight sought just so happened to be hidden beneath those darker waters, but at that moment, the only thing that mattered to the mare was the radiant smile that lit up Twilight's face, making her expression shine like the sun she'd been raising every morning on her own for some time now. Seeing that, any lingering doubts Luna had about her decision or how she felt about Twilight herself blew away like so many leaves on the wind. If Twilight felt the same way she didn't show it, but that was fine for now. They had all the time in the world to grow even closer and Luna could also be a patient mare when she needed to. In the meantime, Twilight's focus lay solely on absorbing each and every word Luna had to say about oneiromancy.

As far as she knew, there were only two ponies in the world that had mastered that particular branch of magic—one of which was tutoring her in its use and the other being none other than Starswirl the Bearded, from whom Luna had learned the magical craft. Had Starswirl been alive, Twilight might've asked the old stallion, but as it was, he and the rest of the original Pillars of Equestria had, like the rest of the Elements, long since passed. Evidently Celestia hadn't the horn for that sort of magic and had given up very early in her own studies, settling for knowing the bare minimum at most. Twilight on the other hoof had no problem whatsoever in her attempts at learning such a complex branch of magic. While oneiromancy may have been in the realm of Luna's special talent, Twilight's talent was still that of magic in and of itself, and that talent hadn't waned one bit in the years since she'd become the sole ruler of Equestria. Still, even with Twilight's affinity, the lessons took some time and as time went on, the Princess began to catch on to Luna's affections.

The mare hadn't exactly tried to hide those affections, but she hadn't embellished them with flowery words or actions either. It was unfortunate then that Twilight had no such feelings to give in return. Romance, as it turned out, was the furthest thing from the Princess's mind and had Twilight realized how Luna had been looking at her sooner, she might taken a different route. As things stood, however, Twilight could either humor her teacher, ignore her affections entirely, or reject her outright. For Twilight, the latter was out of the question, as it would've likely thrown an even bigger wrench in her plans than if she were to accept her feelings. At the same time, she couldn't return those affections, not only because she didn't feel that way, but because it would certainly cause problems for both of them in the future and neither did she didn't want to upset Celestia.

It wasn't as though Twilight didn't find Luna attractive—far from it in fact. The mare was beautiful, and when given serious thought, it would've been a blatant lie to say that Twilight was entirely disinterested, but her own wants were far too strong to be ignored. Maybe once she had her answers... maybe once she was satisfied then she could try for a relationship, but until then Twilight would continue to play the role of the oblivious student. On the subject of oblivious students, Twilight had, up until now, left her own protègè in the dark about her plans, mostly because of the role the young stallion played within them.

Path Seeker was a unicorn stallion whom Twilight had taken under her wing back when he'd been a colt studying at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. He'd moved to Canterlot from Trottingham along with the rest of his family at a tender age and his considerable talent for magic had earned him a place at Celestia's School. Not only had the colt consistently been top of his class, but he'd shown practically all of the same traits personality-wise that Twilight had been known for back when she was a filly, right down to the blind adoration and admiration of the current Princess of Equestria. In other words, Path Seeker was a colt after Twilight's own heart... but that wasn't why she'd chosen him as a personal student, at least not entirely. Twilight had taught him just as Celestia had taught her and had given the colt the same sort of attention she'd gotten from her own past mentor. In time, they built a relationship that, on the surface, was much the same as Twilight had with Celestia.

In reality, however, this was not the case.

While Twilight felt some sort of affection towards Path Seeker as his teacher and at times guardian—nopony could spend so many years together and not feel something—it was nothing like the genuine mother-daughter type of relationship she and Celestia had shared. To Path Seeker, there was a genuine bond between the two, but to Twilight, that bond felt hollow and very much one-sided. She'd chosen Path Seeker—no, she'd chosen a student for one purpose and one purpose only, and she was reminded of that every time she looked at Path Seeker. She thought about it every time he flashed her that wide innocent smile as a colt, and it always made the smile she gave him in return that much more bitter. For the sake of her goals, Twilight had set the merits of friendship and harmony to the wayside for the most part while nourishing the colt's love of magic and in time, Path Seeker had grown to be a stallion wholly devoted to his studies and to the Princess that had brought him so far.

It was exactly what Twilight had wanted, and now that she'd been taught the magic of oneiromancy, it was time for the next phase of her plan and for that studious young stallion to fulfill that role. It was a role Twilight herself would play if all went well, but as things stood now, and given what she'd learned from Luna, there may have been certain risks involved in what she planned to do next—risks she couldn't afford to take being the sole Princess ruling her kingdom. It wasn't Twilight's intention to turn Path Seeker into the next monarch of Equestria via an alicorn transformation, but if what she'd hypothesized turned out to be correct, then the stallion might very well become the next alicorn created since Flurry Heart. With what she'd learned from Luna, Twilight could turn her hypothesis into a running theory, and Path Seeker was the final piece she needed to solve the puzzle.

If all went well, Twilight would finally have found that elusive link between a simple pony and the mysterious creature known as an alicorn. If all went well, then Path Seeker would ascend and at the very least, Twilight would have another potential heir to the throne of Equestria. If all went well, she could finally rest her tired, scheming mind and wash herself clean of the constant feeling of guilt and betrayal she'd buried deep within for so long all for the sake of her goal. If all went well, if all went well... but would things really go that smoothly? As Twilight prepared to explain Path Seeker's role to him in her 'experiment', she couldn't help but wonder.

If all didn't go well, then Path Seeker might've very well become—in the unsettling words of an infamously zealous tyrant and cult leader of the past—a lamb to be sacrificed upon the altar of progress to the god known as knowledge. Twilight had meant to refrain from turning the stallion into a puppet who knew only mindless obedience, but his devotion was absolute nonetheless and she knew Path Seeker would brave the risk without hesitation—if not for her sake then the sake of his own indomitable curiosity and unquenchable need to know. He truly was a stallion after the Princess's own heart and it was because of this that she felt she could be somewhat candid in her explanation of what she expected of him; she at least owed her faithful student that much, and just as she expected—just as she'd hoped for—Path Seeker was more than willing to help her accomplish her goal.

With that, everything had almost fallen into place, and she could narrow down her many potential ideas on how to proceed to just a few realistic plans based on what she'd discovered thus far. All that remained was to ensure she wasn't disturbed during the experiment. Her royal duties, her schedule, the time and location in which she intended to carry out the experiment, and any potential witnesses Twilight had all taken into account and had all been planned for accordingly, but that still left the most difficult hurdle to overcome if she were to succeed in her endeavors without any outside interference. Unless she could avoid the vigilant eye of the Princess of the Night, all her planning and scheming would be for naught. If that happened... if she was discovered by the mare who'd entrusted her with the knowledge that made this all possible...

Twilight shuddered at the thought and refused to even entertain such a horrendous scenario.

Comments

[Venerable Ro]

Agelessness is very bad for one's sense of perspective, it all starts to run together, until it seems that you're the only real thing in the room.

[BirdsBooksBrownies]

Twilight is the character I feel the most connected with, but I will never deny that she can be quite scary at times both in terms of her almost fanatical desire for knowledge, and her raw power. While I have nothing against her becoming an alicorn on a conceptual level, it would seem that alicornification enhances everything about the subject (for lack of better words) both for good and for ill. Anywho, enough of my prattling on, back to the story.

[Love able chaos]

Ah the plights of the immoral a hard cross to bear and one not so easily mastered.

[Brony_Fanatic]

Twilight is starting to give off a more villainous vibe, I wonder if finding out the answer to the questions she's been obsessing over for centuries will be worth it...

[DarkSnowGaming]

Why do I feel like something bad is gonna happen...? Something bad better not happen, and if it goes I hope it gets fixed.