Three Sisters

by Cryohawk

Chapter 4: Time to be a Princess Again

The days following the announcement of the new Princess of Equestria were…interesting to say the least, the majority of Equestria has seamlessly accepted with some even being supportive of the arrival of the returned princess. Though even with all of this support there are some that fear Twilight. They are afraid of who she really is as a pony or what she could do to Equestria. There is even one group of ponies that have tried to discount her of even being a princess, they’ve cited that there’s been little evidence of her even existing or ruling back then and that she should have to earn her place in royalty. As you can imagine these ponies were typically shut down fast by Princess Celestia herself.

As for Princess Twilight herself, she has been busy for the last few days, she’s done a few stressful all-nighters worried that she won’t be prepared for the inevitable day she’ll become fully reintegrated back into Equestria. To put it simply, Twilight hasn't had the best night’s sleep for the past few days or sometimes sleep in general.

This vicious attack on Twilight’s sleeping schedule would be saved when Celestia took her so she could give her a little surprise...

-{<()>}-

Deep in the halls of the magic district stood Princess Celestia and the newly reappointed Princess Twilight.

The two alicorns stood in front of a pair of large purple wooden doors with the surface of it being decorated with purple metal in different patterns of swirls which made it look like magic was being used on them, in the center of the doors was a large magenta six-pointed star. Finally, framing the doors was a thin layer of obsidian while two blue flamed torches hung on either side of it.

Twilight stood anxiously next to her sister. She was a bit worried about what exactly Celestia’s “gift” would look like.

“Are you sure I need a new room? My current room is good enough for me. It also reminds me of my old room in the Everfree,” Twilight muttered the last part under her breath, though Celestia looked like she still heard it.

“Twilight, that room is far too small for you, and if I remember correctly your old room was so packed full of your contraptions that it was practically unsleepable. Remember the time when one of your machines broke that your room became so unbearable that you had to sleep in my room, with me. For the last week” Twilight blushed slightly as she remembered that particularly embarrassing moment.

“Well, I guess when you put it that way,” Twilight muttered as she looked to her side. This uneasy silence lingered until she heard her sister sigh before she continued.

“Twilight, I know you've always been...intimidated by all of this extravagance. Imagine this as my welcome back gift to you. I know you’ll love this, I took special care to make sure that only the latest and most advanced equipment was installed for you,” Twilight, even as she heard this, was still a little worried. Before she could reply to her sister, Celestia pushed open the large pair of doors.

Any response Twilight had died in her throat when she looked inside the room. The floor was filled with marble tiles in a checkered pattern of dark purple and lavender. While the walls were made of reinforced purple metal with tons of protection and reinforcement runes etched into them that faintly pulsed with magic. Helping light the room was the same glowing purple crystals that helped light the rest of the magic district, some hung from the walls or the ceiling.

But what drew her attention was the entire room was filled with magical machines, beakers, test tubes, magic analyzers, bookshelves, magically reinforced metal tables, plasma resistant metal chairs, it even had an M.A.P.S.A (Multi-Arm Particle Separator and Analyzer). It could separate individual particles and scan them in amazing detail!

Twilight stood there in amazement, mesmerized by all of these astounding machines and contraptions. Before she snapped out of it and sprinted over to the machines with childlike glee and a huge smile on her muzzle.

“OH, MY GODS! IS THAT A MAGI OPTI-SENSOR! EHHH! IT’S A MASS PULSE CRYPTA GENERATOR! OH, MY GODS! OH, MY GODS! AHHHH!” Twilight screeched to the heavens as she jumped in circles with overwhelming excitement.

Twilight would have continued if it weren't for the sounds of laughter and a sudden flash that had come from her completely forgotten sister, the same sister that had sat there during Twilight’s little “celebration”.

As Twilight looked over at her sister she saw that something was held in her magic. It was a strangely familiar box-like device with what looked like a lens attached to it. It took Twilight a moment to remember what the device was before it suddenly clicked, it was a camera, as soon as she realized that a huge blush enveloped her entire face.

“Oh gods, it’s been ages since you’ve done something like that. Hehe,” Celestia remarked as she smugly gazed at the offending image.

“You're never going to let this down are you,” Twilight said as she glared at the incriminating photo.

“Nope,” Celestia curtly replied as she teleported the photo and camera away, likely somewhere secure. “Anyways, welcome Twilight to your personal laboratory. I know your old room in the Everfree was too small for you and that you had a tendency to try and cram as much stuff into it as possible. So I had the entire first floor of your tower turned into a laboratory, and as I said before, every piece of equipment you see is state-of-the-art and considered the best in all of Equestria.

“The walls and furniture have hundreds of runes carved into them making everything near indestructible, so you can experiment to your heart's content. To your right you’ll also see a secured bookshelf” - Twilight looked over to where her sister pointed and indeed saw a tall bookshelf with reinforced glass doors that kept the books inside safe. - “inside them are all of the manuals and guidelines for the equipment as well as a few other interesting related books. Now if there were to be any fires then there's a water station a little down the hall that you could use. Finally, the stairs to the next floor are right next to the main entrance so if you have any couriers or guests they can go upstairs instantly and skip your evil laboratory,” Celestia finished with a smirk.

Twilight deadpanned at her sister's last comment, but this was short-lived as her nervousness from earlier returned.

“I...don’t know. I love all of this, but don't you think that all of this is a little...much,” Twilight scuffed the floor with her hoof as she started to feel a bit overwhelmed.

Twilight suddenly felt a wing slide its way along her back and as she looked up she saw her sister had moved next to her and cradled her with her wing.

“ *sigh* Twilight, I know you're not completely comfortable with all of this, but you deserve this. Not only for your accomplishments for Equestria but also for being a wonderful sister -” Celestia’s smile dimmed a bit “- Also for sacrificing yourself for me and Luna,” Celestia whispered the last part.

Twilight frowned before she replied “And I would do it again in a heartbeat for either of you. Thank you, for this and everything,” Twilight's reply warmed up the sad atmosphere that had begun to dominate the room. It also brought back Celestia’s smile which quickly became more playful.

“Also, I haven't been able to spoil my little sister in over a thousand years. I have some major making up to do,” the two sisters shared a laugh before Celestia got up and motioned for Twilight to follow. “Let’s continue our tour, shall we?” Celestia suggested. Twilight frowned faintly before her sister rolled her eyes and reassured her “Don’t worry, the rest of your room is less extravagant” with her sister’s reassurance the two continued onward.

As the two sisters made it up to the next floor, Twilight saw that it was vastly different from the first floor. Instead of marble, the floor was made of wood and at the center of the room was a circular purple and magenta ringed rug with her cutie mark at the center. Completely dominating the walls were tall bookshelves, each of them was stuffed with books. The only part of the walls that wasn't made up of a wall of books was a small quaint fireplace, there was already a blue fire started in it, and in front of the fireplace were a few sitting pillows.

On the ceiling hung a large purple metal chandelier with glowing crystals attached to it, there were also other simpler versions such as a simple chain that hung from the ceiling with a glowing crystal attached to the end.

That last noteworthy thing in the room was a pristine purpleheart wood desk with purple metal trimmings, there was also a purpleheart wood chair with the same type of trimmings and magenta cushions for the backrest and seat. On the desk were some quills, inkwells, blank parchment, purple wax, a wax seal stamp, and another glowing crystal desk light.

By the time Twilight finished her observation of the room a huge smile engulfed her muzzle. Before Twilight could go on another excited rant she was stopped by her sister as she caught her shoulder with her magic.

“Before I lose you Twilight. This is your office and/or study, I’ve made sure that there is a wide variety of books here for you. Also if you wish to keep any books for long periods of time from any of the archives in the castle you simply have to ask. I've already gotten confirmation from the archivists,” Celestia finished and Twilight was able to calm herself down from her book overload.

“Thank you, sister. But before I get distracted again can I see the rest of my room?” Twilight asked as she forced herself to move on before she fell to the temptation that was books, once again.

Celestia rolled her eyes but listened to Twilight’s request. “Very well, we'll leave before you get tempted again. Come on,” Celestia motioned for Twilight to follow up the stairs.

Once Twilight made it up to the final row of steps, she was able to look around at what she assumed was her chambers. Twilight saw that the floor was made out of the same wood as on the second floor with a few rugs scattered around the room. Transitioning the floor to the wall was a thin layer of obsidian and as Twilight looked up she saw that the same was true for the ceiling.

The walls themselves were striped in finely crafted purple and magenta wallpaper. There was also a pair of balcony doors that lead to, well, a balcony with an amazing view of the valley below the mountain, and on the balcony were some sitting pillows and a low table. There was also another door and if Twilight had to guess they led to a bathroom.

As Twilight looked up at the ceiling she was briefly memorized by the spectacle, on the ceiling hung tons of glowing crystals that were connected to chains. At the center of the field of crystals was a larger one that was shaped like a six-pointed star. What struck Twilight deeply was a giant six-pointed crystal but instead of the crystal looking like her cutie mark; it was shaped like her beloved Element of Magic. The giant crystal was shined to perfection with the core of the gem glowing and pulsating much brighter than all the other crystals.

When Twilight was finally able to tear her eyes away from the field of crystals and the replica of her beloved friend, she looked around the rest of the room. To the left side of her was a small private study with two bookshelves on either side of a desk with parchment, quills, and inkwells on it, there was also a chair. Past the small study was a little relaxation area that had a low table with a small glowing crystal light stand on it and a few sitting cushions scattered around.

Something else caught Twilight’s attention as she noticed next to the balcony entrance was a telescope with multiple different attachments connected to it. The telescope was plated in purple metal with intricate designs engraved into the metal, this made it look like magic was dancing in the air.

As Twilight continued looking over her new room she finally noticed her bed, it was a large canopy bed with purple curtains with dark blue, magenta, and lavender bed sheets that also had her cutie mark stitched on the center. Next to the bed were two mahogany nightstands, one of them even had a glowing crystal nightstand on top.

Helping divide her little sleeping area from the rest of the room was a simple room divider. On the other side of the room divider was a large towering modified dresser and embedded into the center of it was a glass case. Inside of the glass case was a comfy purple pillow, it didn't take Twilight too long to figure out that it was supposed to be where she put her regalia.

When Twilight finished her examination of the room she looked over to her sister and nodded, acknowledging that she was finished, this prompted Celestia to start.

“As you can likely guess, this is your bedroom. Now with your bedroom you also have your own bathroom,” Celestia said as she walked over to the door leading to the bathroom, Twilight quickly followed.

As the two arrived, Celestia opened the door with her magic. Twilight leaned forward to look inside and saw that it was quite a large room with lavender and dark purple marble tiles and cool amethyst-colored walls. The ceiling also had more of those hanging glowing crystals attached to it which helped light the room.

A huge tub dominated one-fourth of the bathroom, there was also a sink, countertops, mirrors, and a few small windows. All of these objects were decorated in engraved purple metal.

As Twilight continued to stare at her bathroom her eyes slowly widened as she realized how truly big the room was.

“Don’t you think that this is a little much? I mean look how big it is!” Twilight yelled as she looked over the huge bathroom. Twilight heard a snort come from her side and as she looked over she caught her sister midway through rolling her eyes.

“Wait until you see my bathroom,” Celestia grumbly hissed? Or at least that's what Twilight thought her sister did.

Twilight looked at her sister confused by her odd behavior before she pushed that comment away for later.

“So what are we doing now, because I just want to go somewhere quiet and try to process all of this,” this seemed to snap her sister out of her mood as she smiled at her.

“Well, that sounds like a wonderful idea. We can go to one of the tea rooms and have a break. There are also some matters that I would like to discuss with you once we get there. If you’ll follow me,” Celestia motioned for Twilight to follow.

The two sisters made their way down to the hallway which led to Twilight’s new tower. So Twilight and her sister walked down the halls of the Magic district while they talked about mundane things, like how the court sessions have been going or Celestia going over some of the new inventions that were created while Twilight was gone.

As the two sisters made it out of the Magic district, Twilight heard the sounds of hoofsteps. But before she could do anything she was surprised when she felt something small knock into her, which caused her to stumble a bit.

As she looked down she saw a black-furred filly with a black-purple mane and tail, she also saw that the filly had a blackhole cutie mark. But what caught her by surprise was the small purple baby dragon that was on her back. He had an olive green underbelly, bright green fins that start from the top of his head and end at his little stubby tail. Finally, he had bright emerald draconic eyes though instead of greed and anger that were normally seen in a dragon's eyes his were filled with curiosity and wonder.

Before Twilight could do anything she heard another set of hoofsteps rapidly approaching, Twilight braced herself this time just in case there was going to be another round of slamming the filly and baby dragon into the millennia-old princess. Instead what came around the corner was none other than her niece, Cadence.

“Wait! Slow down yo-” Cadence’s words died in her throat as she came to a stop in front of the two sisters. “Oh my gosh, are you alright! Centa, I told yo-” Cadence was interrupted when Twilight raised her hoof.

“It alright Cadence, I’m more worried about the filly and her...dragon?” Twilight asked as she wondered why a filly would have a baby dragon with her. Twilight then heard a cough come from her sister and as she looked over she saw that she had just lowered her hoof to get everyponies attention.

“If I may. Twilight may I introduce you to my newest student, Centa Void -” Celestia was suddenly interrupted as the newly introduced Centa Void jumped back up onto her hooves, with the purple dragon still precariously on her back.

“And this is Spike the Mighty Dragon! My bestest Friend and Companion!” Centa suddenly declared as she gripped Spike in her flickering magic and lifted him in the air for a few moments, Spike seemed undisturbed as he greedily sucked on his thumb while drool went down his lips. Before he suddenly dropped back down on her back. Centa’s adorable display caused all of the mares to laugh and for Centa herself to become confused.

After a few moments, Celestia cleared her throat, which regained all of the pony’s attention before she continued.

“Yes, how could I forget the Mighty Dragon Spike. Now Centa this is my sister, Twilight,” As Celestia finished, Centa's eyes almost seemed to become the size of saucers as she excitedly jumped over to Twilight with a massive smile on her little muzzle.

“Oh my gosh, your Princess Celestia’s sister! *Gasp* Does that mean you're a Princess too!” Centa stood in front of Twilight as she pranced in place with stars in her eyes.

Twilight laughed at Centa’s overeagerness before she laid down on the floor so she could be at eye level with her.

“Yes Centa, I’m a princess just like Celestia. And it’s wonderful to meet you,” Twilight finished as she put on her best warmest smile.

“I can't believe I’m meeting another princess! Not just any princess but Princess Celestia’s sister! I have so many questions I want to ask you!” Before Twilight could respond to anything Centa said, Celestia interrupted them.

“Before we continue this. Cadence and Centa would you two like to join me and my sister for an afternoon break with tea and cakes,” Cadence and Centa nodded their head in agreement, though Centa nodded with extreme intensity. “Excellent and Centa I believe that my sister would love to answer any question you have on our way there,” Celestia looked at Twilight for confirmation, which she gladly confirmed.

So with everything agreed on the group made their way to the tea room. Celestia moved ahead of Twilight and Centa to lead the way and talk to Cadence while the latter two were a little ways behind them having their own conversation.

“So Centa, what type of questions did you want to ask me?” Twilight asked Centa as she looked ready to explode from anticipation.

Centa took a deep breath “How old are you!? Where did you come from!? What type of alicorn are you!? What’s your favorite color!? Do you have a favorite book!? What does your cutie mark mean!? What’s your favorite vegetable!?” Centa slowed down to a stop as she panted from exhaustion, Twilight used this time to answer her questions.

“Well I’m two thousand seven hundred and forty-one years old, me and my sisters were born in a small earth pony village called Graycolt, I’m the Alicorn of Magic, my favorite color would have to be purple or dark blue, the best book ever made is Night Nebula’s Arcanum of Magic and Enchantments X Edition, my cutie mark means magic itself, and my favorite vegetable is beetroot,”

As Twilight finished she couldn't help, but giggle at a little secret. So she leaned in next to Canta as she gave away that terrible secret. “Centa, did you know Celestia hates beetroot?” Twilight whispered into Centa’s ear.

“What why?” Centa asked, confused.

“Well, the specific way she wonderfully puts it is “Those beetroots are a sin to ponykind and should be incinerated in cleansing solar fire. And any creature that dares to say they like them should be branded heretics and forced to eat cake until their sinful tastes are purified” so you could say that I’m a heretic,” by the time Twilight finished the two ponies and baby dragon laughed. Once Twilight was able to get a hold of herself she looked back down at Centa. “Anyways do you have any other questions?” Twilight asked her.

“ *Gasp* Oh I got another one, where have you been all this time!?” Twilight faintly cringed as she was slightly caught off guard with that question. Twilight's action caused Centa to wilt and rapidly try to fix her mistake. “I’m sorry! That was mean, you don’t have to answ-” but before Centa could finish her apology, Twilight held up her hoof as she calmed Centa.

“It’s fine Centa, you just caught me a little off guard. Now to answer your question I was...well, how do I put this? I didn't want to leave and I wish I could have stayed, but what I was doing was very important and if that life-threatening thing happened again I would do it in a heartbeat. *sigh* I’m sorry if that didn't really make any sense and didn't really answer your question, it's just not really something I like to think about. Is there anything else you’d like to ask me,” Twilight attempted to smile, but it came off more forced.

Even with Twilight’s efforts Centa still looked ashamed, Twilight signed before she moved next to Centa and put a wing around her and wing hugged her “Centa, it’s fine you didn't know, really. Now is there anything else you'd like to ask” Twilight smiled much more convincingly and this time Centa looked much better.

“Can you teach me some things about magic?” Centa asked in a normal tone. This brought a huge grin to Twilight’s face as she let go of Centa and returned to her previous position.

“Now that is a question I can answer full-heartedly,” Twilight declared.

As Twilight prepared to give Centa the best lecture on magic in existence, they realized that they had arrived at the tea room where Cadence and Celestia were waiting for them. Twilight smiled sheepishly as she realized she'd lost track of where she was, so she and Centa walked into the room. But as Twilight walked past her sister she saw that Celestia had her infamous playful grin.

“You two are adorable together. It's so nice to see you two become fast friends,” Twilight blushed slightly at her sister's comment before she soldiered on to where Centa was sitting, which was near a fireplace. As Twilight reached Centa she sat in front of the fireplace and began her lecture on magic.

“Now Centa, as you know the fundamentals of magic are…”

-{<()>}-

Celestia smiled as she watched her sister begin her lecture on magic to her student. She was happy to see Twilight take up to Centa Void so well, she was also glad to see Twilight interacting with ponies again.

Celestia turned to face Cadence, which sat across from her. Each of them had a cup of tea sitting in front of them on the table.

“I’m so glad that Centa and Twilight have become such fast friends, as much as I hate to admit it I was a little worried they would be...well more reserved. But I see now that it was simply my worries,” Celestia remarked to Cadence. Instead of a reply like Celestia expected, Cadence sat on her pillow uneasily as she looked uncomfortable. Celestia frowned with worry before she asked.

“Cadence, are you alright?” there was a tingle of concern in her voice.

This seemed to knock Cadence out of her mood as she looked over at Celestia while she bit her lip before she sighed.

“Auntie Celestia, I...we need to talk about something,” Cadence stumbled on her own words almost as if she was worried about what she was going to say.

“Cadence, you can tell me anything. What is it?” Celestia's voice was full of worry, but also warmth as she tried to calm Cadence. This seemed to have worked as Cadence took another breath before she began.

“Auntie Celestia, we need to talk about your...neglect of your duties, all of your duties” - Celestia frowned slightly as Cadence began - “look I understand. Your sister just returned and you want to see her, if something like that happened to me I’d do the same exact thing. But *sigh* I’ve noticed that ever since Twilight returned you’ve been cutting court short or skimming over documents and even if I’m not a princess I can see things are starting to slow down.

“But more importantly is, Centa. You’ve been pushing Centa on me more and more and while I’m completely fine with that, as I love her to bits. She still needs you, she constantly talks about how great you are and how much she wants to be like you. She needs someone to show her magic, what is right and wrong, and how to act in the world. She needs you right now,” Cadence breathed heavily for a few moments before she continued “I’m sorry, it’s just. I’m worried about you. About both of you,” Cadence finished.

By the end of Cadence’s speech, Celestia looked at her with a blank expression before suddenly Celestia let out a hollow laugh as she looked to the side “Your right.”

There was a part of Celestia that knew she was slowly paying less attention and effort into the runnings of Equestria as well as...Centa, but she had always willfully ignored it as she tried to push in more time with her sister. With a heavy sigh, she looked back at Cadence, which looked at her with growing worry.

“You're absolutely right, Cadence. About everything. I have been neglecting my duties, I...Oh, gods,” - Celestia brought up one of her forehooves and covered her face in realized shame - “it’s been two months and I haven't even had a single lesson with her,” Celestia started to feel guilty.

As she looked to the side again she saw her student run around and laugh in joy as she played with her sister. That caused a mountain of guilt to instantly flood her, so much so that it caused her to visibly cringe and look away in immense shame.

For a few moments, Celestia sat there as she tried to regain her composure. How could I do that to a filly!? As Celestia mentally berated herself for doing that to an innocent filly she saw that Cadence looked like she was about to freak out. So before she could Celestia brought up a hoof and looked at her.

“Cadence, like I said you're absolutely right. I shouldn't have done that to you or Centa no matter what my reasons were. I promise that I’ll spend more time with Centa and give her the proper training and support she deserves. As well as return my focus to ruling Equestria. I know this wasn't easy for you, so thank you,” Celestia made her best attempt of a warm smile, but it was shaky at best.

Even still Cadence returned her smile with her own before she began again “Well, how's Auntie Twilight been doing since the hospital?” Cadence asked. Celestia could see that she was trying to change the subject and agreed that it was best to move on.

“She has been doing alright. The medical staff has looked over the dark magic inside of her countless times, but no matter what they do they can’t find out what the magic is supposed to do or how to get it out. I’ve even looked at the magic myself and I can’t figure out what it's meant to do. All that we know is that the dark magic has somehow put up some kind of barrier in my sister that stops her magic regeneration to a certain point,” Celestia looked over at Cadence and saw that she looked confused so she decided to elaborate a bit more.

“To be a little more specific. My sister now has a maximum amount of magic she could hold, but what’s strange about this is that there are no other negative effects. She can still regenerate her magic to that point. And while it's good to know that she isn't getting worse it’s still not getting any better. *sigh* I’m just worried about her, she’s already been through so much and she doesn't deserve any of this,” Celestia finished as she looked over at her sister again.

“I see, I didn't know it was like that for Auntie Twilight...how powerful was she? Before all of this happened to her,” Cadence asked. Celestia hummed in thought for a moment before she replied, though she still watched Twilight and her student.

“She was by far the most powerful of the three of us. She could do amazing feats of magic that no other being could possibly recreate” - Celestia’s smile that had been slowly growing as she talked suddenly disappeared and was replaced with a saddened frown. - “Now, she is a mere shadow of her former self and while she has been slowly improving it's unlikely, in her current condition, she’ll return to the same level she was at. Not while that dark magic is still inside her,” Celestia finished in a whisper.

“Does, does she know about her condition? About her limit?” Cadence asked. This time Celestia turned to face Cadence again before she replied.

“I’ve told her about the basics, but I wouldn't be surprised if at this point she knew more about this than we do,” Celestia finished as she brought up her slightly cold tea to her lips and took a sip.

Cadence sat on her pillow in thought as she too took a sip of her tea. As she brought her cup down she looked at Celestia and asked another question.

“So umm, when do you plan to reintegrate Auntie Twilight back into Equestria?” Cadence asked. This time Cadence's question brought a smile to Celestia’s muzzle as she gladly replied.

“Well, I was hoping to start the progress soon. Starting with Twilight joining me in day court so she could understand how modern politics are in action. Though this is likely going to take many years before she’ll be fully reintegrated into Equestria and becomes my equal in station,” as Celestia finished they were both startled as they suddenly heard another voice join the conversation.

“WHAT! What do you mean your equal!” as Celestia looked over she saw her sister had a panicked expression.

Celestia was surprised that her sister was here and heard her. I was hoping to tell her a little later, but it seems fate has pushed that ahead...What? Where are Centa Void and her dragon? As Celestia looked past her sister she saw that Centa was concentrated on a spell and above her was a small light show of magic that flew through the air like fireworks. Spike seemed to be wonderstruck by Centa’s spell. Celestia smiled at the display. Of course Twilight showed her that one, Celestia then remembered that Twilight was still in front of her so she looked back over at her.

“What I mean is that we can rule together, with you having a more active role in government. Like we always should have done,” Celestia told her sister.

“But the way we ruled before was perfectly fine. It worked for over a thousand years just fine,” Twilight argued back, though there was a slight quiver in her voice. Celestia flared her nostrils and snorted, she had prepared for her sister to fight back against this.

“Twilight, you know as well as I do that our old system was broken, abusive, and unfair,” Celestia stated as if it were a fact.

“But...but it did work. It helped bring prosperity to Equestria,” Twilight weakly replied with much of her earlier fire diminished.

“Umm, what are you talking about? What’s the old system?” both of the sisters looked over to Cadence at her meek question. Celestia remembered she hadn't told Cadence of this yet, so she cleared her throat to get the other two alicorns’ attention.

“Cadence, in the past, when Equestria was first created, me, Twilight, and...Luna became the sole rulers of Equestria. Back then we had no experience of what was expected of us or how to rule a nation. Most of the time we didn't even know what we were doing. Anyways we decided that the three of us would rule together in a triarchy with each of us having equal power.

“In the beginning, this worked and each of us was involved in different roles. I was in charge of the foreign relations, public relations, and much of the more mundane work of the kingdom, like court requests. Twilight, was in charge of any magic-related events and the administration of the government. She created most of the core policies and doctrines that are still used today” - Twilight blushed at Celestia’s praise - “And Luna was in charge of the military and intelligence,” Celestia looked over at Twilight to continue.

“We even had a system for how we’d do court. Celestia would rule over court during the day while Luna would rule over it at night. Now since I didn't want to only join one of my sisters in court during our rule. I would swap back and forth from attending night and day court. For example, say this time I would stay with Celestia. I would stay up during the day to help rule with her for a week. Then for the next week, I would stay up at night and rule with Luna. I even created a sleep management spell that helped me adjust faster to the sleep schedules,” Twilight finished.

“So you would go to court with Celestia and Luna whenever you were staying with them?” Cadence asked which Twilight nodded her head. Celestia then continued.

“For centuries this system of governance worked with us being able to run Equestria effectively. Unfortunately, like all things, this system eventually started to break down. Over time our power changed with each of us becoming more or less important and it eventually got to the point where the triarchy became nothing more than a fabrication.

“Even before the failing of our system, Twilight was still out of the three of us the least powerful with her commonly advising us. But that became even worse when Twilight became nothing more than a glorified secretary and adviser. And while Luna was more of an equal to me I still had the ability to overrule her decisions if I chose. Which I sadly did quite often. I became the center of Equestria and to make it worse I was so enamored by all of the attention and praise that I was getting that I didn't even care about the flaws our system created,” Celestia’s tone by the end became saddened. As soon as Celestia finished Twilight jumped into the conversation.

“That’s not true! I’m also to blame. During that time I slowly started to lose...interest, so I started to disconnect myself from being a princess” - Twilight looked over at Cadence - “Cadence, while I was a Princess of Equestria I was also its Archmage so I started to focus more on that title. Because of this I also started to isolate myself from the public, so it was far easier for them to lower my power,” Twilight finished as she looked back at Celestia.

Celestia sighed and gave her sister a little smile “That may be so Twilight, but even still it was wrong of me to do that to the two of you. That’s why I want to make up for all of that. I want us to rule together like we always should have,” Celestia pleaded with her sister.

Twilight looked conflicted as she bit her lip and a tense silence followed before she looked back up at Celestia “I don’t know. I don’t think I could rule,” Twilight mumbled

“Twilight, I know that you’ll be a wonderful ruler. I won’t make you do everything at once we can slowly bring you into this. Ok?” Celestia asked her sister again. Twilight looked at Celestia obviously in deep thought before she slowly nodded her head.

“When do you plan to do this?” Twilight asked.

“I was hoping we could start today during evening court -'' Twilight's eyes widened in shock before Celestia reassured her “- don’t worry for this first one you can sit back and watch how it works. I would like it if you could add in your thoughts or advice, but that's it. It could be like the old way we did things,” Celestia finished with a smile. Twilight also smiled as she nodded her head more confidently this time.

After their agreement, the conversation moved onto more mundane subjects. Unfortunately, the, formally hot, tea was long forgotten at this point as the alicorns soon learned the hard way.

-{<()>}-

It had been a few hours since Twilight was in the tearoom with her sister, her sister’s student, niece, and the baby dragon. During those hours Twilight had done everything she could think of to calm herself down. She read the many manuals to all of the new contraptions she had, reorganizing her personal library/study while she read one of the books, to even setting up her telescope on her balcony while...she read another book...she really liked books, it helped her relax. But even as she did all of these activities she could only relax a little and by the time she was expected in court she was still stressed and had quite a few doubts.

When the time finally came, Twilight looked down at herself and felt incredibly unqualified and, for the first time since the hospital, alienated from everypony.

As Twilight pushed those feelings aside for a moment she anxiously looked in front of her at the pair of intimidating doors that would lead to the throne room. The pair of doors had the crest of Equestria on them. The doors were made out of marble, and were lined in gold.

Twilight suddenly felt something prod her shoulder. As she looked over she saw that it was her sister, who was in her golden regalia.

“Twilight, calm yourself. Everything is going to be alright. Remember that all you have to do is watch how the preceding in court is going to be. I’m not expecting you to immediately make life-threatening decisions” - Celestia then started to smile at her - “Also, you look wonderful in your new regalia,” Celestia finished.

Twilight blushed slightly at her sister's praise. She looked down at the purple metal and obsidian regalia she wore.

“I know. I know -” Twilight did her sister's breathing exercise and by the time she exhaled she felt better. “- I’m alright. I think I’m ready. Thank you, Tia,” Twilight looked over at her sister with a smile.

Celestia matched her smile and walked over to the pair of doors where she knocked on them and signaled for the guards that they were ready for court.

It didn't take long for the doors to be widely opened which allowed the two of them through. Celestia regally stepped through the doors with her princess mask securely put on and her signature motherly smile on her muzzle.

Twilight took a moment longer than her sister. She was still a little concerned before she pushed through her worries and followed her sister through the doors with her own regal stride if only a little more shaky, and her own princess mask.

As Twilight walked past the throne she was finally able to get a good look around the throne room. She saw that the floor was dominated with white marble and a long red velvet carpet which led from the doors on the opposite side of the room to the base of the throne. Like the floor, the walls were made of marble as well with tall stained-glass windows spread out evenly along them.

Long exquisitely chiseled marble pillars held up the domed roof and painted on the surface was a beautiful mural that stretched from one side of the room to the other. The mural from above the throne was a beautifully smooth and curved depiction of the day, the colors reigned from yellows, orange, and tiny amounts of red, with the sun being its centerpiece. On the other side of the mural was its opposite, a depiction of the night, and while it also had the same design instead it was made out of different shades of blue, dark purple, and touches of black, its centerpiece was a crescent moon. Finally, in the center transitioning the two sides of the mural was a section that was colored in different shades of purple and magenta, also throughout it were six-pointed white stars, while at the center there was a larger light purple star.

It looked just like her cutie mark.

Once Twilight was able to look away from the amazing mural she looked at the object that had made her worried sick, the throne.

Twilight saw that there was a two-tier dias with two long banners on either side of it. To the left side of the dias was a relatively simple chair with red velvet cushions and on the chair was none other than her sister's personal assistant, Raven. Next to Raven on the second tier of the dias was her sister’s throne, the throne itself was mostly made out of gold, with matching red velvet cushions, and at the top was a detailed miniature golden sun, which looked like her sister’s cutie mark. Finally, Twilight looked to the right side of her sister’s throne and saw what she assumed was hers. Unlike Celestia’s throne, her throne was made out of purple metal, with the edges trimmed in obsidian, magenta velvet cushions, and at the top, there was a purple metal six-pointed star.

While Twilight was slightly relieved that her sister hadn't gone overboard with her throne, as she had done with her room, she was still worried about her being adequate. What if I mess this up? What if I make a wrong decision and ponies get hurt!? What if- Twilight stopped herself and forced herself to do the breathing exercise again. As she finished she felt her sister’s wing slide onto her back.

Celestia looked at Twilight with a warm smile, her princess mask having been discarded for the moment, and nodded her head to the throne encouraging Twilight to take it. Twilight nodded her head in acknowledgment and Celestia let go of Twilight and the two headed to their respective places.

As Twilight took her tentative last step to her throne she took a deep breath before she turned around and sat into her new seat of power. The first thing that Twilight noticed was how heavenly soft the cushions were and she couldn't help but lean into the seat a bit more, she distantly heard a soft giggle come from her side.

“I assume you like your seat,” Twilight was snapped out of her half-trance when she heard Celestia’s cheeky tone, as she looked over she saw that she was also on her throne now.

“Yes. And thank you for making these new ones so much more comfortable than the last ones,” Twilight remarked.

“These certainly are an improvement. Now” - Celestia’s tone turned into a much more formal one as she looked over to Raven - “that we are all settled in, we can now begin Evening Court. Raven, shall you alert the guard,” Celestia asked Raven, to which she nodded and used a spell to tell the guards that they were ready.

Twilight took in one last deep breath before she too put on her princess mask again Welp, It’s time to be a princess again. Twilight mentally commented before the doors on the opposite side of the room opened, which signaled the start of evening court.

Two ponies walked through the pair of doors, Twilight could immediately tell that these two ponies despised each other with the way they glared at one another on a regular basis. The pony to the left was an earth pony stallion with a combed-back black mane and straightened tail, coal gray coat, light gray eyes, and a crushed up coal cutie mark. He also wore a buttoned-up light gray shirt with a black bowtie.

The pony on the right was also an earth pony stallion, but instead had an orange and golden colored mane and tail both of which were poorly attempted to be straightened, they also had a tan coat, orange eyes, and a cutie mark where there was a pile of embers that are being put out by an...axe? Twilight was understandably confused by this. They also wore blue overalls.

When the two ponies arrived at the steps of the dias everypony waited for Celestia to begin, but instead, there was a short pause until Raven got everypony's attention and asked the two attendants a question.

“Who are you two ponies? And what problem would you like to address to the Princesses of Equestria?” Raven commanded.

The pony on the left started “I am Coal Stomp and I am the owner of Coal Stomper Emporium. I would like to make a complaint,” Coal Stomp finished as he glared at the pony next to him.

“I’m Ember Chop your majesty’s, I'm the owner of Ember’s Away Mine and I’m here for a complaint as well for this fine gentleman next to me,” Ember said with a poorly concealed venom.

“At least I’m wearing a suit instead of some workstallion's clothes in front of their highnesses,” Coal said under their breath.

Ember glared at Coal “What you say, colt.”

Twilight started to get worried and looked over at her sister to see if she would intervene. As she looked over, her sister looked as if she were in rapt attention. But Twilight knew better as she noticed her eyes were glazed over slightly and her ears were folded to the back of her skull, this meant that Celestia was in her own head.

Twilight’s horn softly glowed as she started up a telepathy spell while Raven tried to get the two under control.

“Sister, are you alright?” Twilight asked her sister worryingly.

“To every god in Equis, why in the hells of Tartarus did these ponies have to be the first things I had to deal with,” Celestia mentally barked, she almost sounded like she was grinding her teeth together.

“Sister?” Twilight almost asked meekly, this seemed to bring Celestia out of her mood.

“Oh! Twilight, I’m sorry! I didn't know you started a link. It’s just these two ponies have been squabbling with each other and coming to complain about it during one of my court sessions every day for the last five months. It’s tiring,” Celestia finished as she sounded exhausted.

“I see, even still. Shouldn't we be listening to what they wanted to say?” Twilight asked tentatively, her response was disregarded.

“Heh. Don’t worry these two typically berate each other for the first couple of minutes before they start. No matter how many times I’ve tried to stop them they always continue anyways,” Twilight was slightly confused by her sister's response. So she looked over at the two ponies and indeed saw that they were still bickering and arguing like an old married couple.

“Still, if I remember correctly, our job as princesses is to listen to all of the concerns of the citizens of Equestria no matter how big, small, insignificant, or major they are,” Twilight recited to Celestia.

“ *sigh* Yes I know and your right. Very well let’s hear what complai-concern these two have,” Celestia caught herself. She then gathered everyone's attention in the room as she loudly cleared her throat. This stopped their bickering for the moment.

“Now that I have your undivided attention. What brings you to evening court?” Celestia asked in a perfect warm mothery tone and picturesque smile, though Twilight could see that it was entirely forced.

The two stallions looked at each other for a moment before Coal stepped forward and bowed.

“Your majesty’s. I would like to put a complaint about Ember Chop and his mine for violation of using a part of our property on Wilting Cliffs here on Mt. Canterhorn,” Coal stated. Ember evidently disliked what Coal said as he stepped forward.

“That’s not true, your highness. Ember’s Away Mine has owned and used this set of land for years. In fact, Coal’s emporium has been using their “supposed” land for mining when it’s clearly ours!” Ember declared as he glared at Coal.

“That is a clear lie. When I bought that land it clearly stated that the Wilting Cliffs was part of the property deed!” Coal walked right into the face of Ember in an attempt to intimidate him.

“That’s the biggest pile of manure I’ve ever heard!” Ember angrily shouted as he butted heads with the other stallion.

Twilight started to get worried that they were going to start a fight and evidently the guards in the room, as well as they, began to get into position to stop them. This never came to be as suddenly there was a loud slam which caused all of the occupants to stagger.

“ENOUGH!” Celestia bellowed as she stood up from her seat and widely spread out her wings, this stopped the two stallions who looked up fearfully at her.

Twilight looked back and forth between the two, she worried how this could end very badly. So against her better judgment, she inserted herself into the conversation.

“Umm I may have a solution to your problem -” Everypony looked over at Twilight, having forgotten that she was there. Celestia in particular was surprised before a smile worked its way on her muzzle, she nodded for Twilight to continue. “- well maybe instead of arguing who controls that land instead you two can create a duel owned partnership together where the two of you own half of the cliffs.

“Doing this you could share your profits and in time have a larger supply of coal in total, which would allow you to gain even more bits, specifically to the train companies. This is because in the recent decade’s trains have become more fundamental and crucial to Equestria as it allows long-distance travel between different points in Equestria. This allows Equestria to easily manage its lands efficiently and for the common pony...to...visit the...wonders of...Equestria…” Twilight slowed down as she realized that everypony was looking at her in slight confusion also that she had started to ramble.

Twilight heard a pair of hooves clap to the side of her and as she looked over it was from her sister.

“That’s an excellent idea, Twilight. Raven, may you hand me a map of the Wilting Cliffs,” while Raven was still confused she handed over a map. “Now like my sister said the best action to take would be for the two of you to have a partnership over this land. So to accomplish this goal, from this day forth the lands of the Wilting Cliffs are divided in half between Coal Stompers Emporium and Ember’s Away Mine,” Celestia declared as she drew a line through the middle of the map.

The two stallions looked at each other hesitantly for a moment before they walked up and took the map. They then both bowed and said their thanks.

“Thank you, your majesty’s,” both of the stallions said together before they walked out the throne room.

Twilight sat back into her throne as she recommenced her telepathic conversation with her sister.

“Well, that was certainly...something. Do you think that’ll fix their problems?” Twilight asked her sister.

“No. Most likely they’ll come back tomorrow with another mundane problem,” even if her sister wasn't talking Twilight could almost hear how tired she sounded.

“Is this what you’ve had to deal with since I was gone?” Twilight tentatively asked, there was a short pause before Celestia replied.

“Yes,” Even only with that one word Twilight felt immense pity for her sister, but before she could say anything the doors to the throne room opened again which let in another pony. Twilight mentally told herself to bring this up later with her sister before she steeled herself for what would lay ahead.

-{<()>}-

As evening court went on it seemed like Twilight’s concerns were unfounded as most of the pensions that were given were petty or simple concerns, though none were as aggressive as the first one. Even still there were a few pensions that were legitimate in their concern and for these ones Twilight gave the best advice she could think of, but eventually, evening court ended.

-{<()>}-

The doors closed behind the last pensioner and when they left Twilight got up from her throne and stretched all of her limbs.

“By the god’s, that was long,” as Twilight finished her stretches she looked over to her sister, who had also gotten up from her throne, and saw her chuckle.

“How would you like it if I said that this was a light day,” Twilight almost paled and stood there as her mouth hung open at Celestia’s horrible revelation which caused her sister to laugh.

“Ignoring that little fact. I have to say that this wasn't as bad as I thought it would be,” Twilight commented. Celestia motioned for Twilight to follow her as they made their way to the pair of doors leading out of the throne room.

“See, I told you it wouldn't be as bad as you thought. You also made some excellent suggestions in there” - Twilight once again blushed at Celestia’s praise - “Now I have a wonderful meal planned for us and as an added surprise I’ve had the chief create a three-tiered chocolate cake with molten chocolate fondue,” Celestia salivated as she continued.

Twilight rolled her eyes at her sister’s antics, but as they left the throne room she couldn't help but wonder what her sister planned for them.

-{<()>}-

Twilight had just put away her crown into the glass case at the center of her dresser. She then groggily used her magic to close the door and lock it. Twilight wobbled a bit and shook her head to try and focus herself. She looked down at herself and remembered that she had just finished taking off and putting away her regalia for the night. She then looked around her new bedroom and made her way to the heavenly object that was her bed. Before she reached her bed she couldn't help but sleepy think about what had just happened.

I still can’t believe how good the food the royal chefs made for us was, Celestia definitely wasn't lying. I’m just glad that we were able to begin to plan out how I would be reinstated as princess. *sigh* But these thoughts can wait for the morning. I'm sooo tired...I guess all of that stress has finally caught up to me.

With those final thoughts, Twilight got into her bed and almost immediately fell asleep. So the silence of the night dominated the room with the only light being from the glowing crystals which hung from the ceiling and the soft glow of the moon outside.

But, after a couple of minutes, there suddenly was a bright blindly white flash before it just as suddenly disappeared. This failed to awaken or even stir the slumbering princess, but something happened. Sitting on Twilight’s desk was a magenta six-pointed crystal star that softly pulsed with harmonious magic. Sitting on the desk was none other than the previously thought-lost Element of Magic.

Author's Note:

Hello there! So you can probably tell that this is quite a long chapter (compared to the last ones) and to be honest, this turned out a lot longer than I thought it would take, but oh well more for you to read. Now normally I would have divided this into a part 1 and 2, but because I couldn't find a good point to do that (and to be honest I didn't want to write a completely new section of the chapter just to do this) I just decided to keep it as it is and also because I generally didn't want to divide this chapter.

Anyways to end my rambling, I hope you liked this and if you see any mistakes I made or just want to give your opinion, then just tell me. Have a nice day!

Comments

[Aj5487]

but no what they do they can’t find out what the magic is supposed to do or how to get it out.

It should be.
but no matter what they do they can't find out what the magic is supposed to do or how to get it out.

[Cryohawk]

10731497
Hey thanks for telling me.

Fun Fact: When I read your comment, I had a few brain farts as I kept subconsciously adding the word matter.

[Doctor_Den]

“Well, the specific way she wonderfully puts it is “Those beetroots are a sin to ponykind and should be incinerated in cleansing solar fire. And any creature that dares to say they like them should be branded heretics and forced to eat cake until their sinful tastes are purified”.

Oh no, I am a "heretic" because I like beets. Moreover, I like the taste of almost all types of vegetables. Thirdly, I have low blood sugar - I don't know what that means, but the doctor joked that I should eat more sweets.