Chapter Twenty-One
“You.”
The word was short, simple. An acknowledgement, an affirmation of existence. It was a word used to inform someone of your intent, to tell them of just what you expected of them.
But when the word fell from the lips of the Princess of the Sun, somehow it gained new meanings. Celestia didn’t so much say the word, as spit it at Twilight. Twilight couldn’t bring herself to look at the white mare, hadn’t been able to look away from the pristine white of the marble floor. None of the occasional impurities were present in the Great Hall. The entryway to the Heart was one of the only places in the monolith whose entire length was unmarred. A gleaming, snowy white that stretched a hundred long paces before abutting the massive doors.
Though she couldn’t look the Princess in the eye, Twilight didn’t need to see her former mistress to know her thoughts. Even in a single word, Twilight felt the full weight of the Princess’ emotions. Betrayal. Fear, disbelief. The alicorn couldn’t understand what she was seeing. She could hear confusion, and no small amount of disgust.
But what Twilight heard most clearly, what she could feel as the Hall began to tremble, was the mounting fury of the Herald of the Dawn. She could feel it as Princess Celestia drew in power, calling up magic as instinctively as she flared her armored wings. She could hear her retainers, the vanguard who pledged their lives to defend their Princess, cry out in pain. She could hear them scramble across the marble floor, armor clinking. She shut her eyes, feeling the sting of tears as she did.
“YOU!” Celestia roared, and Twilight barely heard it when the Princess struck her hoof upon the marble floor.
No matter how loud her shout, though, even Celestia’s magically enhanced scream was deafened as the Heart itself let out a shriek. The snowy marble where her hoof struck let out an unholy scream, deafening, as it was rent asunder.
Shocked, Twilight stumbled back, hind legs collapsing beneath her. Her rump hit the cold stone, and Twilight’s eyes snapped open, desperate to know what was happening, what was causing the noise.
The Celestia at the other end of the Hall was nothing like the Celestia Twilight knew. She was clad in gold, as she often was, but this was far more than her crinet and tiara. Now, her body was cloaked in the shining metal. As the Princess glared, Twilight could see the heavy haze of magic blurring her features. It didn’t hide the shell of metal covering almost every inch of the proud mare.
Her usual crinet, set with a large amethyst, was discarded for a battlecollar, a crinet stretching the length of her neck. Her forelegs were clad in greaves, adorned with blades that were visible even through the heat-haze. A crupper clad her rump, wavering in smooth arches as it contoured to her body. It was the peytral and shaffron that drew Twilight’s eye though. Both were done at strange, sharp angles, not like how the simple battlearmor appeared on the statues several halls above. She couldn’t see them clearly enough to tell what they were, but both changed what might have been radiant, but possibly decorative armor, into something that lent an air of ferocity and violence to the peaceful Princess.
The other thing that Twilight noted, almost absently, in the instant she opened her eyes, was the Princess’ mane. While the crupper covered her rump entirely, hiding her tail from view, Celestia’s mane was a riot of colors. Her usual, tranquil pastels were gone. Now the Princess’ mane was a kaleidoscope of darker hues. It kept its rainbow of colors, but deeper, almost gem-like. Amethyst, pink sapphire, cerulean, ruby, all deeper, somehow angrier. And unlike her usual, gently flowing banner, her mane was near vertical, standing behind the Princess either from the intense heat radiating from the mare, or from the flow of magic creating it.
The frozen moment seemed to end for Twilight, beholding her Princess in her full, enraged, glory. If it weren’t terrifying, Twilight would have thought it the most beautiful thing she had beheld in all her life. But even adrenaline fueled awareness was but so fast, and before the unicorn’s mind could process the magnificence of her Princess, the world seemed to snap back into motion.
The floor near the Princess was blasted ruin, the heavy stone warped and cracked, though not a badly as her room had been a week before. Idly, Twilight noted that the Princess must have been keeping her power tightly leashed, if the iron taste of Celestia’s fury was anything to judge by. The unholy screaming she had heard was the stone’s shrill protest as it was heated to unimaginable temperatures in an instant. Even now, it glowed a pulsating orange beneath the Princess’ bladed shoes. Twilight had a curious thought, a fleeting question flicker through her mind for an instant, wondering how the soft gold wasn’t as slagged by the sudden heat as the stone beneath her hooves, before Celestia spoke.
“Spike.” She growled, as energy began to leak from her eyes in golden trails. “What have you done?”
The dragoness standing beside Twilight snorted. Twilight turned aside, shamefaced, as the Princess glared at the two, but Spike met her gaze squarely, baring her teeth in answer to Celestia’s challenging tone.
“I’ve done nothing.” Spike said. Her voice was calm, collected. Twilight could tell that, despite her posture, the dragon wasn’t looking for a fight. The mare offered a swift thanks to the Light that one of them was rational.
“Liar.”
The word was soft, barely audible with the echo of stone still fading. Though her voice was quiet, the single word thrummed with restrained anger.
The hostility she could feel was something Twilight hadn’t ever experienced herself until that moment. She had seen a faint glimmer of the Princess’ anger stirred when she brought Blueblood before Celestia. She had been angry at the pompous stallion, and Twilight had thought she detected an almost sadistic pleasure in serving up that nobles just desserts.
She had felt the fading echos of her fury a week ago, stumbling into the blasted ruins of what had been Celestia’s sitting room. It had been a stark reminder of just why the mare had ruled over desirable lands for centuries. That Cadance had somehow survived that firestorm, one that reduced steel to puddles and shattered stone through heat alone, only made the Changelings final reveal more acceptable. Nopony could survive in that inferno.
Twilight had even seen some of that anger focused at her a few hours ago, when she suggested that they speak with the dragoness. Celestia had snapped at her, magic and heat rolling off of her in waves. She had ranted, had snarled, and had flatly forbidden Twilight from seeking out Spike.
But now, faced with the full fury of the Princess directed at her, Twilight felt just how small she was. Spike seemed blissfully ignorant of the oppressive weight of power clouding the air. But Twilight didn’t have the ancient wyrm's resistance to such attacks. As Celestia spat the word, ever so softly into the room, Twilight’s faltering steps stilled.
Suddenly, Twilight’s mouth felt dry. She swallowed, lowering her eyes from the challenging gaze leveled at her by the Princess.
“What do you want, Spike?” Princess Celestia asked. Her words were still soft, but the seething fury hidden beneath them was even clearer as she shifted to keep her eyes fixed on the advancing dragon.
When the Princess’s gaze moved off of her, Twilight took a deep breath, suddenly feeling many times lighter. The air still seemed thick, both heavy and harder to breath, but it was a gift compared to the focus of the Princess heaped squarely upon her shoulders.
“I want to stop you from throwing lives away, Celestia.”
Twilight turned to look at the dragoness. Her reptilian voice rasped at the air, full of some powerful emotion.
She sounds like Celestia. Twilight thought to herself, watching the dragon stand proud before the Princess. She sounds old, and tired.
“If you wanted that, then you would not have started this war, worm.”
Celestia opened her mouth to continue, but was cut off by a sudden swell of power.
“Know. Your. Place.” Spike snarled, biting off the words one by one. Just like the Princess, her eyes began to glow with an angry inner light, spilling magical energy into the air. “I have come to prevent you from killing thousands, Celestia, guilty and innocent alike. Will you listen to me now, or will we need to flatten half your country first?”
“I am not a foal anymore, Spike. I will not be so easily cowed as I was in my youth.”
“Such arrogance. Just like your mother.”
That stopped Celestia cold. The small movements that the Princess had been making stilled. Instead of shifting slightly back and forth as the magic flooding the hall washed over her in waves, she could have been mistaken for another immaculate statue, were it not for her mane.
Very slowly, the Sun Princess closed her eyes, cutting short the trails of amber magic flowing from them. Twilight could hear the small shifts in the golden battlearmor as Celestia tensed, taking deep, calming breaths.
“You should not make such comparisons.” Celesita spoke softly, but her words rang in the silent hall. Her eyes opened once again, revealing hard chips of amethyst, angry eyes the very shade of Spike’s scales. With a visible effort, the mare sawed at the reins of her power, pulling it sharply to heel as she glared across the hall.
“I only make them for you have made them truth, Starborn.” Spike growled, somehow making the predatory sound gentle. “She too sought to make the world safe, once. She left on a righteous crusade, for the best of reasons. And faulty assumptions.”
Celestia’s gaze flickered to Twilight who was now several paces behind the slowly advancing dragon. Her eyes didn’t soften when they landed on the smaller mare, but Twilight fancied that they at least didn’t have the vorpal sharpness they had only moments ago. Now the weight of that disappointed stare only threatened to smother Twilight, not cut her to her very core.
Twilight felt her face flush hot with embarrassment, dropping her eyes to the smooth floor.
“Celestia, we do not have time for my usual games.” Spike said, and Princess and consort alike snapped back to attention, focusing on the dragoness. “You have already placed hundreds in danger.”
“I will not allow those… allow Rylias to attack my ponies. Nor will Luna allow her own subjects to be endangered.” Celestia said , anger creeping back into her voice. “If we allow them to invade with impunity, then we will no longer have a nation at peace, we will have one locked in endless war.”
“I am suggesting nothing of the sort. I wouldn’t expect anyone I respect to simply allow others to suffer without cause.” Spike came to a stop, standing somewhere near the center of the massive room. “Twilight, if you would be so kind, tell the Princess what brought you to my chambers?”
The mare jumped, startled at having been so suddenly roped into the conversation. Flushing, she glanced at Celestia for a moment, before nodding to herself.
“After we,” Twilight hesitated, glancing at the Princess once more. “After we talked, I went to ask Spike a few things. It was… like what I told you. The events didn’t make sense. It wasn’t logical for Spike to have been some diabolical mastermind?”
“And so you disobeyed me, and went to a probable enemy to explain everything you knew about our strategy, and intelligence?” Celestia glared. “That is how ponies are killed, Twilight. By the thousands. Mistakes like that.”
“She trusted her instinct, and unlike some,” Spike snapped, glaring at the Princess. “She at least had the sense to not allow her emotions to cloud her judgement.”
“It was wrong for her to do so.” Celestia stood firm, glaring back at the dragon. Twilight thought she could see a flush coloring her white cheeks as she spoke though.
“Setting possible indiscretions aside,” Spike snapped again, plowing forward. “Twilight made the right decision. How long have you known me, Tia?”
“Don’t call me that.” Celestia growled. Her reaction was so immediate, so… foalish, that Twilight could barely contain a sudden giggle. “I’ve known you since I was… for as long as I can remember.”
“And you really think that I would betray you?” Spike asked, sounding genuinely upset. Her voice shook ever so slightly.
This time, Celestia had the grace to look ashamed, eyes locking onto a spot on the immaculate marble floor. When she spoke though, the words were old, sad, and tired. “Treachery hurts so much, because it comes from the ponies we would never expect.”
“And do you trust anyone?” Spike inquired softly. “When was the last time you trusted someone?”
“Don’t lecture me,” Celestia whispered. Her head bowed she began to tremble. “Don’t you dare.”
“Then don’t allow what has passed to cloud your vision of the present! You know as well as any that Lights-on-Water was a fool. You know that what he did he did for you. In his own, idiotic, simpleminded way, for you, Tia! So stop letting his actions affect you still!” Spike roared, glaring at the shivering mare standing only a few paces from her.
“Spike!” Twilight shouted, dragging herself forward. The heavy shroud of energy made the warm air feel as thick as soup, seeming to press back as Twilight pushed forward. “Stop it!”
“Stay out of this, Twilight.” The dragon growled, not taking her predatory gaze off of the armored mare. “This is something that she had needed to hear for more than five centuries.”
“You know nothing-” Celestia snapped, jerking to glare up at Spike. The dragon in question cut her off with a roar.
“I KNOW ENOUGH!”
Twilight saw the great, leathery wings of the dragoness spread open, before they beat a single, savage swipe at the air. The force of the gale Spike created was almost enough to knock Twilight off her hooves, standing so close to the source. It was nothing like the agitated fluttering of the pegasi she had occasionally seen. Even the Princess, when filled with nervous energy, tended to keep her movements to short, sharp bursts.
Spike is bigger than pegasus. She’s bigger than Celestia, and has to outweigh her by almost five stone. If not more. And she can fly. Even with magic allowing her to create the force she needs, the amount of mass she has means that she has almost no choice but to have out-sized wings. They have to be nearly four times the size of Luna’s. And she flaps enough to make a noticeable wind too. Add to that, without the feathers, more energy can be directly generated, with less input, and I’m shocked she didn’t sweep me off my hooves.
Huh. Why did I think about Luna’s wings, and not Princess Celestias?
Twilight snapped out of her diversion in time to watch Spike’s jaws snap shut with a furious clack.
“Until now, your childish fixation with your own pain has been nothing more than an insult to yourself, and an embarrassment to those aware of it. Now you are risking lives, Celestia. I have seen enough of war to last me a dozen lifetimes, and I will not allow you to begin another simply because you are still obsessing over something that happened five hundred years ago!”
Celestia shied away as though the dragon’s words had struck her a physical blow. The golden armor rattled and chimed as she danced back a pace, glaring at Spike. Until then, even when Spike was speaking, Twilight could sense Celestia’s continued attention, a sense of pressure emanating from the mare. It had fluctuated wildly, from the agonizing force when she had torn the stone asunder, to the hot pressure of the midday sun beating down. Now though, Twilight didn’t feel anything from the Princess. Spike had managed to capture the alicorn’s full attention.
“You know as well as I,” Spike went on, speaking more gently now. “You know that what Lights-On-Water did, he did with the best of intentions. And can you truly call him a traitor, when he sacrificed himself?”
“He took the coward’s way out.” Celestia growled in a harsh whisper. She didn’t look at Spike though, dropping her gaze to the floor as she spoke. “He wouldn’t even face the consequences for his crimes.”
“And where those crimes worthy of death?” Spike snapped. “Heed me well, youngling. There is no higher price one can pay than one's own life. Do not cheapen his actions by pretending he was a coward. He saved you, and your kingdom, and paid the price in blood. I have been content to let you deal with what happened until now. But I will not allow you to throw away the lives of pony nor dragon needlessly. If nothing else, then you will then be no better than he was.”
“I would never betray my ponies!” Celestia roared, slamming her hoof down with a thunderous crack. Golden energy began to swirl around the Princess, dancing about her flesh like so many tendrils of flame.
“And what do you think you are doing, when you show so clearly how worthless you think their lives?” Came Spike’s calm response. She didn’t seem to be angry anymore, she seemed… tired. “Tia, have you even tried diplomacy.”
“There is nothing to say. They have invaded my lands, they have attacked my ponies.”
“Do you know why they are in the Waste?”
Twilight looked at the dragoness as she spoke, some small change in tone drawing her attention. She still sounded tired, almost like old Lady Petunia. The old mare was the lady of a small town of little importance. When she turned the title of Baron to her son, she had come to live in the Heart, to be close to Court and the friends she had made over the years.
The old mare sometimes spoke in the same tired voice, one that showed her age, and just how much the mare had to regret. She had never been shy about her past, and the few times Twilight had spoken to the old lady herself, Lady Petunia would always use that same tone, telling Twilight not to let her life pass her by.
Regret. Twilight thought. Just like when she told me about her husband. She talked just like Spike is now.
Celestia seemed to be thinking something similar, because for the first time since she had turned to face them, the white mare’s aura of angry power seemed to fade, replaced by confusion. “It is relatively simple tactics. They have the advantage of flight, as well as being heavily armored. The only troops that we have who can effectively combat a dragon are the battlemage battalions, and the Southern Guard. Without special training, our pegasi can’t approach a fully grown adult safely, and our knights will be useless unless the dragon is grounded. Unicorn troops tend to move slowly, since they are tied most heavily to the baggage, and their supplies. In the middle of that wasteland, not only would our troops be at a severe disadvantage, but they would be slow moving and vulnerable to attack unless they moved at an even slower pace. Meanwhile, the dragons can move about easily, and require more food, but less often than ponies, limiting the effects of a barren encampment on their own forces.”
Twilight could almost feel Spike roll her eyes as the dragon replied in a dry tone. “Yes, it is all but impregnable, which only makes your decision to attack them more foolish. However, I’m sure it took your tacticians about two hours to work all that out?”
Celestia nodded hesitantly. “I’m not sure, but it was relatively simple to determine. Since then, they’ve been working on ways to overcome or neutralize those disadvantages.”
“Then I will ask you what Twilight asked me.” Spike spoke carefully. “Why is it that the dragons haven’t done something so obvious, until now?”
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Yay. I'm always happy to see this update. This chapter has just left me wishing for more, though!
... I still have no idea what the dragons' game might be.
Looks like a promising fic, but there is one thing I have to ask before I even attempt to read this.
I know that the Description says that Shining and Cadence are her friends, but I want to know if Twilight is in friendship denial at all in this. She's my favourite pone, but only after being the mare I know her as now. Closed in Twi is a character that is unbearable to read, for me. But enough with my complaining, is she?
7108920
Then you'll be happy to know that is not the case. In fact, not only does Twilight develop a rapport with several characters as they are introduced, she even has some beyond Shining and Cadence at the start.
7108929
I am very happy to know that. Thanks for the rapid reply.
7108932
Think nothing of it.
When this story started i thought it would be some romance/slice of life kinda thing, now it feels like a thriller and action.
7109113
In the same boat, I'm afraid. I've never been good at keeping characters, and by extension stories, on track. They seem to develop on their own. Not sure if thats a good thing or not, just an observation. Part of the reason I don't think I'm that good at writing (and thus don't bother looking into professional writing), that and dialogue. Dialogue is the bane of my existence.
7109125
I read a lot of stories, a lot, and i can say you're a good writer. And this is not about my tastes, of course you can improve, and there is always the whole "my taste>your taste" thing, but you're good, no doubt about that.
A lovely update, and dang if its not leaving me wanting so much more. Argh haha. But here's hoping the next keeps me the same. So bravo!
7109125
Did we miss a chapter being posted?
It seems Twilight had just said they need to talk with spike at the end of last chapter... then Celestia is mad for her talking with spike after forbidding it in this chapter. What happened to the actual conversation? Twilight goes from accusing Spike to supporting her in the blink of an eye.
7109462 The interim events were touched upon midway through the chapter, clarifying that Celestia forbade Twilight from seeking Spike, and the anger was due to Twi doing it anyway. That said, I was similarly jarred by the contextual inconsistency of the narrative, as well as some particularly-odd wordings that made me wonder if this was a dream or another AU. Not the best installment.
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If you don't mind me asking, what do you think I could have done to make the transition smoother? Was there anything in particular that was offsetting, or was just the skip not referenced enough to gather the context from the chapter?
7109811 The latter, mostly. I realise that the intention may have been to provide a jarring contrast, but there's just too little context in the first several paragraphs for it to feel like it's even the same story. We don't even know Spike's there until the... 13th paragraph? Plus, we don't know that Celestia forbade contacting Spike until even later, which is absolutely necessary for understanding what the hell's going on. That part's probably the most problematic, given that the end of the last chapter sort of implies Celestia's consent.
I get the jump from discussing talking with Spike to the outcome of Twilight going around Celestia's back, but... I think the chapter could have been better arranged. This just feels... I don't know. Off. A touch confusing. While the conversation between Spike and Celestia does give us some information, we're so fact-starved in regards to what they're talking about that it leaves the chapter feeling incomplete.
Particularly in Spike's insistence that Celestia is warmongering. How exactly is she starting a war when Helios has been only defending themselves against the dragon attacks up until now, and is only preparing offensive action now that the dragon armies are approaching their borders? He blames her for not attempting diplomacy, against a nation that has been actively attacking her own for years, that has attacked her capital, and that now masses for an invasion. There's no room there for peace talks--and that's if dragons can even be considered unified enough to be called a "nation", or could actually be negotiated with as such.
Another point is in regards to Lights-on-Water. I get that you intend to explain more later, but what you have here... it's just enough to give us no clue as to what's going on other than that he was a pony, lived a long time ago, and did some meaningful betrayal. It's just enough to provide some sort of vague explanation, but the lack of information--did he betray Celestia personally? Helios? What could he have possibly done that would scar Celestia so deeply, lead him to commit suicide, but still been entirely undeserving of death?--leaves behind a deep "wait, what? what's happening?" response.
You've never indicated some hidden, deep fragility of Celestia before. Nor of her nursing some age-old hate like this. Nor that she didn't trust anypony--which is especially odd, since from what you've written thus far she seemed to trust a number of ponies. Nor that anypony was ashamed of her. Nor that she was such a fool as she appears to be all over this chapter--sure, she's made mistakes, but here she just comes off as childish and short-sighted... and considering that you emphasized that she dealt with her personal anger only last chapter, it makes her explosion here seem very out of place. All of this came out of nowhere, and thus is very jarring to the story and to the characterization you've set up.
Twilight going to speak to Spike was a terrible decision, even if it worked out. Spike has thousands of years of history, and she presumes that from the small facts that she has that it "doesn't make sense" for Spike to be a diabolical mastermind? Diabolical masterminds come in several breeds, but the sort they suspected Spike to be are successful because, with the information people have available (until some outside action/info changes things), no one would suspect them of being diabolical masterminds. I could spit out a dozen reasons Spike could have for her actions.
And Celestia has a point--for all that Spike tries to pass off distrusting her as wrong, from all the information we have Celestia was entirely right to believe that Spike had betrayed her. Discounting someone's betrayal because you know them, trust them, or have a long history with them is precisely how betrayal continues to happen. We don't know why, but we had pretty good evidence that Spike had instigated the war. It now seems to have been author misdirection, but you haven't even really foreshadowed this. But now, not only is Spike not a traitor, but Celestia's in the wrong?
I'd say that invading the Heart is pretty obvious. Aside from that, the dragons wouldn't need to take action until things changed to the point that they needed to take action. The loss of magic has reached the point that dragons just couldn't continue without more. You spelled that out pretty plainly. The magic Spike has.
No, the comparison really is completely, entirely, horrifically uncalled for. Celestia and her mother are nothing alike.
Other people's lives. Sometimes, a truly important goal will require the sacrifice of other people, for there may be some vital reason beyond oneself one must continue to live. Staying alive can be a greater price to pay than simply giving up that life. Death is lighter than a feather; duty, heavier than a mountain.
I apologize if I come off as a bit rude or harsh. I tried to cut back on that, but for some reason this chapter really sits badly with me. I don't know if I can fully express why.
Also, on a final note--did you add this to the Momlestia group, or did someone else come to the conclusion that this was a Momlestia story and add it? Because Celestia doesn't act very much like Twilight's her daughter, or even like she's hiding that Twilight's her daughter. If not ruler/subject, master/servant, or friend/friend, then you have instances like this--where, seeing who is presumably her daughter seemingly turn on her, Celestia's response is... anger, fear, confusion, disgust, disbelief, betrayal? No sadness? No despair? No loss? No grief? At some points you hint at her mother, and Celestia's the best choice at the moment now that we know Cadance is a changeling, but... even at the wedding, her manner hinted nothing at a mother giving away her daughter to be married. Also, why would she marry her daughter to her sister? I get that inbreeding is a thing with royalty, but seriously? I mean, that they don't know one another gets rid of one of the squickiest parts of incest (the perversion of familial love), but still. That's a hell of a thing to deliberately set up.
If it isn't Momlestia, could you PM one of the people running the group to remove this story from the group folders? It would be... misleading.
Also, Spike comes off as a bit of a bitch.
Also also, this brings back Spike always being right. She's... too perfect. Ultra-mega-powerful dragon that can go pony-sized if she wants, flirty attractive, super-quickly teaches Twilight advanced thought-hiding techniques, points out everypony's flaws, not a villain (and distrusting her was bad)... please make no mistake, I'm not trying to accuse her of being a Mary Sue! She's got way more dimensions than anything like that, and doesn't have that awful Mary Sue aftertaste.
Also also also, that armor is pretty wicked. Although the near-vertical mane part seems a bit weird.
Also also also also, I apologize if I said you did/didn't write something that you actually didn't/did. I'm mostly going by memory, as I'm a bit crunched for time at the moment and don't have the room to read the whole story over again. Sorry.
Also also also also also, please note that, despite my complaints for this chapter, Her Mother's Daughter is in my Favorites bookshelf for a reason.
7109896 To be fair, the alicorns don't appear to be sisters in this AU. Besides never having referred to each other as such (opting for "friend" instead), Luna seemed to imply that her parents were mortals.
Unless she was adopted, in which case... I'm still okay with this. Not like Twiluna's capable of breeding anyway.
*takes everyone else's cookies and leaves*
Soooo ...
Spike knew what was going on The Whole Time and told precisely NO ONE until it reached a point of Total War between Ponies and Dragons ...
If Twilight had not figured things out the war would have started already and the dead would have been in the millions (dragon and pony alike),
I only have one thing to say to Spike "Fuck You bitch. Fuck you till you die from it!"
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7109811
Agreed. We go from a relatively calm Celestia to an enraged Celestia in less than .05 seconds. We had zero idea about what enraged her at first, and even then it was longer until we knew why it did.
Even you admitted that your armor fetish got away from you a bit, but you probably should have saved it until you more fully set the scene. I kept thinking we were in viewable flashback for a while, with Celestia being in armor and everything.
Mood Whiplash: The Chapter.
7122471 That was kind of the whole point of that comment - Twilight's mother is sacrificing her emotional wellbeing to ensure her safety, and I'm just not so sure if tht's a good thing (neccasary maybe, but good? I dunno.) Seems like SOME sort of comprimise could've been struck here.
Loved the update, loved the story.....want more....
And I still have no clue who Twilight's mother is......did I miss something?
7141963 Well, with her marrying Luna, she's out. Cadance claims to be barren, so she's likely out.
Could be Celestia, but then why would she endanger everypony by not teaching Twilight? Actually, I want to know why regardless.
Nightmare moon didn't happen in this universe, so she's out. The title and description is starting to feel like an artifact.
7154151 ....so...discord is her mother......I knew it...IT ALL MAKES NO SENSE NOW! XD
7155694 Na, he's the father, SPIKE's the mother.
7155771 *Exaggerated gasp* .....get.OUT......*waggles batpony hoofs* that would be like sombra X starswirl pairings....so tabooo....but soo OOOOHHH
Damn, that got intense!
Isn't this a step back? Last chapter they had figured out why the dragons were in the Waste and wanted to ask Spike, but now they HAVE asked Spike, and they don't know why the dragons are there...
I'm confused...
8813559
I'm thinking political trap time! or information we don't know about the dragons' movements.