Chapter 2 - "When Silence Breaks"
Chapter Two - “When Silence Breaks”
by MakeMeFamous
The wind flowed through Twilight’s mane as she watched Canterlot grow bigger and bigger. Her mane would be a mess by the time they arrived, but she didn’t give it much thought, there were far bigger problems at hoof than looks at the moment.
With the time left after the initial shock, she had managed to grab a few books related to today’s subject – long range teleportation. Be that as it may, this was nowhere near the preparations she had gone through for the other lessons, and she didn’t like that at all. Of course she could improvise, at least to some extent, and she did have a rather impressive background knowledge of…well, everything. She was also a fast learner, something that Princess Celestia greatly appreciated. Celestia enjoyed reminding Twilight about how talented she was every chance she got, always causing the mare to blush fiercely.
Not even this, however, changed the fact that she liked to be prepared. Making a fool out of herself in front on the Princess was the last thing she wanted to do, especially after she was once again getting private lessons from her. And even though this wasn’t the first time, she couldn’t shake the feeling that these lessons were different. She was no longer the shaky little filly trying to grasp the basics of levitation, though the presence of the princess still made her a bit jumpy. She now had a life outside the castle, friends, a job... And still the princess wanted to spend time with her, teach her new things, new aspects of magic she wouldn’t have dared approach on her own. Twilight knew the princess was always busy, and the fact that she would still take the time to teach her personally was more than she could have ever dreamed of. The thought of such embarrassment sent shivers running down her spine. She shook her head, trying to push this particularly unnerving thought out of her mind.
While drawing her gaze back at the chariot, she felt her heartbeat rising. While she had studied with the Princess literally hundreds of times before, these private lessons had been different. Previously studying “with” the Princess had meant merely being in the same room and occasionally receiving a tip or a reassuring smile. That, of course, had been no less intimidating, but she had gotten used to it - at least on some level. These new lessons however, exciting as they were, seemed to bring Twilight back to the old days, learning things with no hope of ever completely understanding them. Because this time she and the Princess were actually going through the same subject, reading from the same books and practicing – together. It was more than enough to make the already slightly shy pony nervous. Granted, she had spent almost her entire life more or less around the princess, but she was still the ruler of Equestria who, not only had the magical power to raise the Sun, but also had the experience in magic that came with having lived over a thousand years. Although Twilight admired her intellect, and to a degree her magical prowess as well, it made her feel so small and feeble in comparison.
Celestia’s mastery over the Sun was something that had never ceased to amaze Twilight. Even after the explanation that it was really only a basic levitation spell on a larger scale, she didn’t stop inquiring about it in awe. After all, based on her calculations and speculations, before the princesses had taken control of the sun and the moon, it would have taken at least dozens of highly skilled unicorns to achieve what seemed like such a mundane task to her.
Using all the willpower she had left after the stressful morning, Twilight forced herself out of her thoughts, only to notice that they were closing in on the town near Canterlot. She hadn’t eaten anything yet; a realization that suddenly hit her hard and was reinforced by a loud growl from her stomach. If she had learned anything during the years she had spent in the castle, it was that her mind didn’t work that well on an empty stomach. She had learned it the hard way; the extensive study marathons she did back then had been enough to make her completely oblivious to anything except the book she had been holding, and there had been a few occasions where this had caused some major issues with concentration. Even thinking about the time she had managed to use the levitation spell on the princess instead of the chair still gave her chills. And there had even been a few times the princess had had to drag Twilight away from the books herself, and make her eat something; after all, she had fainted once while reading. Since this was not the time to be absent-minded, she figured that being a few minutes late wouldn’t be so bad, if it meant that she’d be able to concentrate. Even though Twilight had already been to Canterlot four times in the last two weeks because of the lessons, she hadn’t really been able to just stroll around the town and see if much had changed since she had moved to Ponyville. With this in mind, she decided that she could go see whether an old donut shop she used to visit all the time as a filly was still up and running.
“Hey, uhm, Lighting?” Twilight said, finally breaking the silence.
“Yeah?” he responded in his usual, carefree tone.
“What time is it?”
“Around ten I think, since we’re almost there,” he said, glancing at the Sun quickly. “You got somewhere more important to be?” he asked with a wide grin, already knowing the answer.
“Oh, uhm, no...” the mare said, blushing a bit, “I just got a few things I need to take care of before going to the castle.” “Could you land around that donut shop over there?” she asked while pointing at a building that slightly stood out from the rest, not being as fancy and well-kept.
“Oh calm down Twilight, I was just teasing,” he said. “And sure, we can drop you off here. Sure you don’t need help finding your way to the castle?” he asked playfully.
“Oh don’t worry, I still know my way around,” she responded, managing to work up a small smile.
“I’m sure you do,” he said with a light chuckle, as the chariot started descending slowly.
Twilight noticed a few intrigued glances being directed her way as the chariot landed on a street near the shop she remembered, but seeing as Twilight using the princess’ chariot was nothing new, the ponies quickly returned to what they were originally doing. Steel Wing had been silent, as usual, but did grunt a quick goodbye after they had landed and Twilight had thanked them for the ride.
She watched them depart, probably heading for the castle to rest. Twilight watched, lost in thought, after she couldn’t really see more than a couple of black smudges in the sky. She then headed towards the shop, her stomach rumbling in anticipation. As she walked, she anxiously rehearsed the teleportation spells and theory, randomly mumbling a word or two.
***
After Celestia had watched the Sun rise and light Canterlot up to its usual daytime glow, she headed back towards the castle. She felt peckish, and figured that breakfast should be served by now and started walking towards the dining hall through the garden. Of course flying back to her room and proceeding from there would have been a quicker way, but she liked to take the more scenic route once in a while. The guards near the side door to the entrance hall were rather confused seeing the Sun Princess approach, but quickly forced their regular expressions back.
They were new, fresh out of the Royal Guard Academy, and hadn’t really even spoken to the princess yet. After exchanging some mildly nervous looks, one of the guards managed to speak up: “G-Good morning, Princess Celestia.”
“It is, isn’t it,” the Princess responded, with her ever-present, smile glowing with happiness. “Looks like the start of a wonderful day,” she added before appraising the stallions before her. “How is the watch going so far?”
“Well,” the first one started, “it’s a bit wa-hmmph!” The rest of his reply was diminished to a mumble as the the other guard had rushed over and jammed a hoof in his mouth.
“Everything is fine, your highness.”
Celestia gave them a quizzical look before continuing through the doors they had opened with their magic. As soon as the doors closed, she could hear faint whispering behind them. She sighed, her smile fading a bit, and started walking towards the throne room. Maybe Luna would like to join her.
While walking, she gazed around the hall. She had always wondered whether it seemed a bit too intimidating to the more poor ponies that came here for help from the Princesses. The hall was colossal; it took nearly half a minute to walk through it. On top of that, there were huge golden chandeliers hanging from the roof and the walls were filled with the finest pieces of art Equestria contained. And if a painting wasn’t covering a part of the wall, a statue was. She wondered if she should do something about it, maybe spread the more... extravagant paintings around the castle a bit; the last thing she needed was a life-size painting of herself staring down at her every time she passed the hall. Or maybe even shrink the room down a bit, the spell wasn’t all that complicated now that she thought about it. Just as she started recalling the shrinking spell, she set her eyes on the part of the hall she disliked the most; a massive statue of herself and Luna. They had both been told that this was unnecessary when the hall had been designed, but they had been told it reminded everypony ‘who was in charge’. Like that was important…or even necessary. She just might teleport the statue to the Everfree Forest one day, only to see the looks on the architects faces...
She swung the next set of doors open with her magic, only to see Luna snoozing on the throne – most likely tired from the night court. Making as little noise as she could, she sneaked next to her .“So that’s how you run the court in my absence,” Celestia whispered in her sister’s ear with a mischievous smile on her face.
“Yes, seems reasonable,” Luna muttered as she shot up to her full length. After a few moments, filled with confused looks, she realized that Celestia was the only one in the room with her. “Oh ha ha,” she said and yawned.
“I just might give your style a try once in a while,” Celestia said with a light chuckle.
“Did you have anything else in mind, other than nearly giving me a heart attack?” Luna asked, a tiny grin starting to find its way to her face too.
“I was on my way to eat breakfast and wondered if you’d like to join me. That is if you’re not too tired,” Celestia replied.
“I might eat something before I go to bed,” Luna said, more to herself, and joined Celestia on her way to the dining hall. “Maybe I’ll even get to hear what’s been bothering you for the last few weeks,” she added, her look changing from tired to concerned in an instant.
Celestia kept walking, ignoring the question. The rest of the walk to the dining hall was spent in silence, Luna staring at her intently, almost as if trying to read her mind. When they had taken their seats, they were greeted by the cook, who soon vanished into the kitchen with their orders. While they waited for their meals, Luna started rambling on about the events of the night court: “Well, with my luck, the first thing they wanted to talk about was some boring dam project in the outskirts of Manehattan, but I...” She stopped talking as she noticed that Celestia was staring outside with a blank expression. With an artificial tone of hurt, she said: “I thought you were interested in these things.”
“Oh, huh?” Celestia uttered, returning to the present. “Excuse me sister, it seems I got lost in my thoughts for a moment.”
“You’ve done that a lot lately,” Luna said, adopting a concerned tone. “Would you care to tell me what’s on your mind, I might be able to help you know.”
“Oh I was just thinking about…”
“Twilight?” Luna interrupted.
A barely noticeable blush found its way to Celestia’s cheeks as she looked at her sister. “Well of course, she is coming for a study session today and I…” she started, only to be interrupted by her sister once more.
“Ah, now I see why you’ve been so distracted lately.” It was Luna’s turn to grin.
“It’s nothing like that,” Celestia said reaching for a convincing tone – and failing miserably. “It’s just that she’s been coming over for the lessons for a while now, and every time she seems more and more nervous - a little more afraid of doing something wrong.” She paused for a moment, glancing at the Sun climbing higher and higher. “Just last week she spent the last half hour of the lesson apologizing for getting a spell wrong the first few tries, even though she got it right on the third try.” Celestia let out a quiet chuckle and continued: “It took me dozens of tries back when I first learned it. And she still felt the need to apologize..”
Luna didn’t think it was the whole truth, but she didn’t pursue it further out of respect for her sister’s privacy. She couldn’t know for certain, at least not yet, but she had her suspicions. And all signs pointed to her being right. Maybe Celestia wasn’t ready to confront her feelings yet. Or maybe she’d just been wrong. As unlikely as it was, it was still a possibility. Luna winced at this realization. If she was wrong, the fact that she had pushed her sister to offer the lessons to Twilight would be for nothing. Or not for nothing, at least Celestia would be able to reconnect with Twilight on some level, hopefully easing her loneliness a bit. But still, it had taken so much time and effort, since she couldn’t have just gone and said it would help bring them closer to each other. Celestia would have never admitted needing somepony other than her sister. She could be so naïve sometimes… It had been difficult for Luna to adjust after her banishment and she sometimes wondered if Celestia knew she didn’t blame her for it. What her sister did had been necessary. That’s why Luna wanted to do this. She just wanted to help her sister and show her that she cared.
Celestia had been distancing herself from everypony lately. It was like she had surrounded herself with a castle of her own – and no one was allowed in. Luna had seen the worries overwhelming her sister’s expressions when she thought she was alone. And the fact that Celestia kept it a secret made Luna feel like she wasn’t able to be trusted.
She would confide in Luna eventually though, or at least that was what she hoped. Twilight however, was a whole different story. She would need to find out if Twilight was only coming for the lessons, or if she too, felt something more. And if not, she could try and find a way to help her to.
Arranging a small meal and making myself scarce could work she thought, while Celestia was still going on about her worries for her faithful student.
She could also tell Twilight that Celestia had kept every single friendship report, and that she revisited them almost daily. Although now that she thought about it, that was probably something she should leave for Celestia to say herself. She wondered if there was an elegant way to make Celestia talk about it, but couldn’t think of anything from the top of her head.
Or maybe just talking to Twilight, letting her know what Celestia did on her free time, would help them bond more. For instance, it wasn’t really common knowledge that Celestia loved to paint whenever she got the chance, and maybe that would give them more to talk about, aside from the usual - books and magic.
However feelings of this magnitude weren’t something that would come out in a casual chat. She had been friends with Twilight since the Nightmare Night where Luna had learned to fit in, but they weren’t that close. She realized she had to tread carefully though, since love wasn’t something she could just give to ponies, nor could she force it in any way, or even wanted to. It was a lot simpler than usually though, since now her status as a princess wasn’t in the way of her approaching either party.
Dealing with romance once again got Luna thinking about her past. It was just the kind of thing Celestia had warned her about when they were both younger. Being the Princess of the Night, she wasn’t only taking care of the Moon and the night, but love and dreams as well. Thus something she greatly enjoyed, was slightly nudging ponies together who loved each other. The ones that just needed the final push. However, “meddling in other ponies’ lives,” as Celestia used to put it, was not something she was supposed to do. As good as she was with reading ponies, there had been a few...incidents. For example, there had been a time when she had been so certain of being right, that the constant failures to get the two mares together had driven her to brew a love potion. Suffice to say that it hadn’t ended well, and had Celestia not intervened, it would have been a complete catastrophe. Luckily it wasn’t anything magic couldn’t fix, and the catastrophe could be averted. If nothing else, it had caused Luna to be a lot more cautious with the ‘nudging’. But this time it’s so obvious...isn’t it?
Celestia was ripped from her thoughts when the chef finally came to fetch the plates. She noticed that Luna had already left, and it took her a moment to realize that she was being spoken to.
“Is there anything else you need, your highness?”
“No, the food was excellent, thank you,” she said absentmindedly, and watched him disappear into the kitchen once again. After a while, her thoughts took over once more and she just sat there, alone in the dining hall, trying to win a long lost battle in her mind.
***
Twilight’s head was so filled with random facts about teleportation, that it was a wonder she found the right door. Pushing it open, she entered the store and sat next to the counter.
“A few chocolate donuts, please,” she mumbled in between thoughts.
“So you aren’t even gonna say hello anymore?” Pony Joe said, pretending to sound hurt. He couldn’t hide the smirk though.
Twilight abandoned her revision for a moment and looked up. “Joe, oh wow... it’s been so long.”
“Oh so you’ve forgotten about me, that it?” he said, still smiling.
“No no no, of course not,” Twilight said closing in on panic mode, “I just had a lot on my mind and...”
“Relax Twilight, I’m joking. You still have a hard time noticing that I see.”
Twilight deflated like a balloon about to pop, and slammed her face on the counter, a bit harder than she intended.
“What’s got you so gloomy? Last time I saw you like this you thought you had failed a test,” Pony Joe said while preparing the donuts, “which you obviously didn’t, I still remember the ‘yes dance’.”
“Oh I got these lessons with the princess and I didn’t prepare all that well.” she answered, devouring the donuts in a few bites.
“And since when has that held you back?” Joe asked, still holding the plate that had had three donuts on it five seconds ago.
“I spent a lot of time studying here, didn’t I?” Twilight said with a small smile starting to build up, along with a welcomed calm feeling. “So how have you been, you still the number one donut shop in Canterlot?”
“Oh I still have my loyal customers, but a lot of more ‘fancier’ places have opened around here. Surprisingly the Wonderbolts still prefer my place over the rest, whenever they are in town that is.”
“Heh, if I told that to Rainbow Dash, you’d have a new customer who would never leave,” Twilight said, glancing hungrily at the donuts covered in sprinkles.
“Maybe you should then, I could use the extra bits,” Joe said with a chuckle, handing Twilight one of the sprinkled donuts. “That’s on the house, loyal customer only discount.” he said with a wink.
“Thanks Joe,” she said, the donut disappearing in a single mouthful, “but I really have to go now so I won’t be tar... err, late. Bye!”
“Take care,” he said and watched the door close.
The chat had distracted her from the morning’s chaotic events. Unfortunately the newfound calmness started to crumble as she got closer to the castle. All the worries about failing or performing inadequately started creeping back, but she fought hard to keep her head clear. She passed the main gate without seeing anypony there to greet her, apart from the guards. She resolved to simply go to the library, since the princess often had to deal with unexpected surprises. However they had agreed to meet in the library so that’s where she’d eventually be. And sure enough, Celestia was already there, sitting on a cushion and reading an awfully thick book. Twilight couldn’t see the title, but she assumed it was about teleportation spells. She cleared her throat and managed to come up with a rather calm voice: “Hello Princess Celestia.”
Celestia was so lost in the book that it took her awhile to realize she was being spoken to. She lifted her gaze and saw Twilight looking at her. “Twilight, my faithful student.” Celestia smiled at her warmly, “How was your trip, you’re not still afraid of heights are you?”
Twilight’s cheeks adopted a crimson shade, but she answered nonetheless: “The trip was fine, princess. The arrival was a bit embarrassing though, everypony was expecting to see you when they saw the chariot,” Twilight said smiling nervously, “I probably shouldn’t have asked them to land in the town.” “You could just send a regular chariot to pick me up, or I could just take the train or…”
“Nonsense,” Celestia interrupted with a light chuckle, “I travel so little nowadays with Luna here, that they can use the exercise. Besides, you’re my student, of course you will travel with my chariot.” For a moment Twilight looked like she was about to say something, but seemed to decide against it. “I’m glad you’re here, shall we begin?” Celestia said while directing a gaze towards the big pile of books behind her. “This might be a slightly more challenging subject than the previous ones, but I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it in no time.” She smiled at Twilight and started arranging the books with her magic.
Twilight nodded and made her way to the Princess. Of course it had to be today, when I’m not prepared she thought while sitting down and trying to calm down before going over the first book with Princess Celestia.
Hours went by, as Twilight and the Princess tackled the thick book Celestia had been reading. After each chapter she would bombard Twilight with questions, which she more than often answered nearly perfectly. However today she seemed to have some trouble with a few, taking a bit longer and forgetting things more than usually, though it was still incredible compared to anypony else she had taught before. She loved to listen to Twilight and the way her mind worked, because every time she did she realized that it was so similar to hers. Twilight was one of the few ponies who she could just talk to without the constant groveling, though it sometimes took a while for the slight groveling to fade. And it was more about Celestia being her teacher, instead of being a princess. But most importantly, Twilight was a pony who would actually understand and challenge her. Therefore, in the end they ended up just talking about the dangers of long range teleportation and all the necessary precautions one should take before trying it. The Sun was halfway through it's daily course, when Celestia had an idea.
She waited as Twilight finished her sentence, going over the steps required to successfully teleport and raised her hoof to get a moment of silence. But when she looked into Twilight’s eyes, beaming with happiness that she felt while learning something new, she forgot everything else. It felt like the first good look she’d gotten of the lavender mare in ages. Twilight had grown so much since she had moved to Ponyville. She had learned so much about the magic of friendship, and even used that magic to save Equestria - multiple times. Not to mention that only Celestia herself and her sister were able to understand and perform the kind of magic they were studying right now. The fact that she was able to talk about things like this with Twilight, and that she would completely understand them and be able to even challenge Celestia with intelligent questions was just... it was such a relief. Usually the only pony she could talk to about these things was Luna, and she had been gone for too long..
Ever since she had first seen Twilight, she had know that there was something special in her, a spark waiting to be seen. Celestia had always known that Twilight was smart and capable of understanding magic in a way that few others could and the studies so far, her becoming the Element of Magic, rescuing Luna and every other act of bravery had only reinforced her original feelings. Right now however, staring into her lavender eyes, that tiny spark had erupted into a roaring flame, completely captivating Celestia. It was like the afternoon rays of the Sun finally revealed Twilight for who she really was; mature, intelligent and so... beautiful.
And with that thought, Celestia came crashing back into the real world. Twilight was looking at her, confused.
“I’m so sorry Twilight, it seems that I once again got lost in my thoughts,” Celestia said.
“Oh it’s okay Princess, I do that too. It drives Spike crazy,” Twilight replied, holding back a giggle. “Was there something you were about to say?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact. I had an idea for the rest of the lesson,” Celestia said. “I know you are quite familiar with the regular teleportation spell, but before you try longer distances, I think we should warm up a bit,” she continued. “So, how about we move to the garden for the rest of the lesson?”
“Well we’ve been sitting here for hours, so a little warm up couldn’t hurt,” Twilight said while getting up and stretching out.
While following Celestia towards the garden, Twilight finally had some time to take in the scenery. Not much had changed since she had left, and as far as she knew, the same ponies were still in charge of taking care of the gardens. Not that there was anything wrong with that. She had never really met them, and the garden always looked amazing, even more so in the afternoon with the Sun turning everything golden. It was beautiful, magical even. Twilight didn’t know why she was suddenly paying so much attention to such things, but she didn’t really care, since she was right where she wanted to be, with her mentor and idol, who looked simply divine with the sunlight dancing on her alabaster coat. This however was something she decided to keep to herself.
The princess stopped, almost causing Twilight to bump into her, still dwelling on her thoughts. She noticed they were standing on a large open field next to the maze, a place she and Cadence used to play hide and seek when she was young. Celestia had really never liked it, worrying she might get lost; after all the maze was almost as big as the castle itself. Thinking of all the fun times she had had with her foalsitter only managed to widen her already sizable grin. She looked over at Celestia, who smiled back at her before adopting a slightly more serious expression.
“This field should serve as an adequate practice area for the spell, the distance across should be slightly longer than what you’ve done in the past, if I’m not mistaken,” Celestia said while looking into the distant edge where the field turned into the maze of hedges.
Twilight turned her gaze there as well, and from what she could tell, ‘slightly’ was a slight underestimation - it had to be at least a mile across, if not more. She’d only done a bit over half a mile in the past, at best. Her insecurities must have shown, since Celestia reassured her: “I’m sure you can do it Twilight, you only need to focus. It’s not that hard once you manage the first few times, I can assure you.”
“O-Okay, I can do this,” Twilight said, trying to sound confident, while going over the steps they had discussed at length only a half an hour ago. She took in a few deep breaths and channeled magic into her horn, causing the traditional lavender aura to surround her. A silent *pop* and she disappeared.
Few seconds went by and Celestia squinted, trying to see her student appear on the other side of the field. But she didn’t. After an agonizingly long moment had passed, and Celestia started to get really worried, she heard another sound, however it sounded more like a distant explosion than the subtle pop she was hoping for. Scanning the field she noticed Twilight laying on all fours on a patch of slightly burned grass, far from where she was supposed to appear - and she didn’t appear to be moving. Fearing the worst, Celestia took off, running like her life depended on it, occasionally speeding the process with her wings. While a teleportation spell of her own would have been faster, her brain wasn’t functioning properly at the moment and she was still next to Twilight in only ten seconds or so, probably breaking some galloping records.
She dove right next to her student, turning her around, seeing she seemed unharmed, excluding some minor burn marks on her coat. And she was breathing. A sigh of relief escaped her, as she tried to wake Twilight up. As far as she could tell, her magical aura hadn’t changed in any way so she should be fine. After a good minute of calling her name and gently shaking her, Twilight opened her eyes and coughed a few times. “Well that could have gone better,” she mumbled between coughs. “I think I forgot to take something into account, so I...”
“Do you have any idea how dangerous spells we are working with here?” Twilight was cut off by Celestia who, to her surprise, seemed angry. The weak smile she had instantly vanished as she looked into her mentor’s teary eyes, and the unforeseen expression of anger.
“You could have been seriously injured, or even...” she was unable to finish the sentence, and broke the intense eye contact for a moment. While she wasn’t exactly shouting, her voice was raised and the usual warm and understanding tone that had always been able to calm Twilight during her worst times was nowhere to be heard. For the first time in her life, the princess was angry at her - and she had no idea what to do.
“Did you take the planet’s rotation into account?” Celestia asked, looking at Twilight once more. “Did you take the longer distance into account while drawing in magic? Did you calculate the psycho planar interference correctly? Did you focus hard enough on your destination? What about the spell, did you cast it correctly?”
Twilight was shocked at the all questions, and tried to frantically remember if she had taken everything into account, but the sheer amount of revision combined with the stress made her feel woozy. Now that she thought about it, she had never heard or even read about psycho planar interference. “I... But I didn’t... I never...” was all she could muster, while unable to stop the flow of tears that came with the realization - she had failed the spell because she had forgotten something, or rather had missed it while studying on the subject. This was all because she had forgotten the lesson. She had failed the princess. She had failed Celestia.
Before Celestia could do anything else, Twilight had gotten on her hooves, leaving her embrace. She wobbled for a second or two before regaining her balance, and started running towards the castle. Celestia didn’t turn her gaze, but she could hear the sobbing, which eventually faded and she was left with nothing but silence and her own thoughts. What was she thinking, performing magic of that caliber without the necessary preparation.. After everything I have taught to her about preparing for something like this.. The chapters I skipped were still in the book she had, did I skip one too many? She’s usually so thorough..
The Sun was shedding its last rays on Canterlot when Celestia finally realized that she was still in the middle of the field on all fours, next to a burnt patch of grass, staring into nothingness. She felt the slight tug on the back of her mind, like an alarm to remember to set the Sun and make room for the Moon. She also noticed she had been crying, though she found it impossible to determine how long. She slowly got up and gazed around, feeling confused, trying to recall how long she had been there. All the happiness she had felt in the morning had vanished, leaving her feeling empty and lonely as ever. As she walked back towards the castle, now being highlighted by all the hues of red and orange, she went through what had happened, presumably hours ago, over and over. Moreover, her own reaction.
After the initial relief of seeing Twilight breathe and wake up she had, for the first time in a long while, felt incredibly angry. Angry enough, that she couldn’t possibly just shove it away, bottle it up like she used to. She knew the anger stemmed from concern over the lavender mare, but it still concerned her that Twilight had to see her like that. Why did she have to be the first one in centuries to be on the receiving end of that outburst. Oh what must she think of me was all that she could think about during her way to the castle.
Celestia was standing in front of the door leading to Twilight’s room; the same room she had lived in since she had first started learning magic with her. It was where she liked to stay during her visits to Canterlot, and Celestia saw nothing wrong with it. After all she had kept the room exactly as it had been, so Twilight must’ve felt at home. Just as she had gathered her courage and was about to knock, she heard a sob, shortly followed by another one. The same pattern kept repeating every few minutes.
Celestia felt like she had been frozen. Everything she was supposed to say had evaporated from her mind, and she suddenly kept reliving the moment of watching Twilight lay on the ground. The feeling of helplessness, the thought of losing her. Of course she knew that Twilight would eventually grow old and... die, everyone she cared about did, excluding Luna of course. Though ever since she had returned, she had found it hard to talk to her. Luna had her reasons to hate her however, Celestia only hoped that one day they could be like they used to, sisters. Twilight however, it was nowhere near the time yet, Celestia was far from ready to say goodbye to her faithful student and friend. She cringed ever so slightly. She knew there was more to it than that, as much as she didn’t want to admit it to herself. Twilight wasn’t just a student to her anymore, or just a friend. And all the rational thinking in the world didn’t seem to be able to change that. If the outburst had taught her anything, it was that she finally saw Twilight, not as a student and a filly she needed to guide and coddle, but as her own, beautiful self; a mare with great power and a good heart, capable of pursuing whatever she wanted. There was no going back now.
She crashed out of her thoughts, something that had become a far too familiar feeling for her. She was still staring at Twilights door, who was still sobbing now and then. She raised her hoof again, but she just couldn’t do it. She slouched in defeat, deciding to try again the next day. She walked towards her room, unsure of what she felt at the moment. She passed the guards next to her bedroom door without saying anything, and just fell to her bed as the door closed behind her.
***
The next morning dawned, and Celestia was sitting in the dining hall, drinking herb tea and trying to find the words to say to Twilight once she would come down. She didn’t want Twilight to fear her, and she understood that the unicorn might be angry with her. She was too engrossed in her thoughts to notice the doors to the dining hall open with a groan.
As soon as the door was open wide enough, Twilight sneaked through. She stood at the door for a while, the sight of Princess Celestia being, for the first time in ages, a bit intimidating. She started closing in the distance, step by step, keeping her eyes on the ground.
“Twilight...” something in Celestia’s smile felt a bit off, but Twilight wasn’t able to put her hoof on what it was exactly.
“Princess, I...” she started, though the rest of her well prepared speech seemed to have vanished. So she just stood there, mouth half open, waiting for the impending punishment.
The princess just stared at Twilight for a while, looking like she too was having trouble finding the correct words. She found them after a few moments though: “I feel like I should apologize for the outburst yesterday,” Celestia said, while gesturing with a wing for Twilight to sit down.
“I’m really sorry that... wait whaa?” Twilight was sure she had just heard the princess wrong, but sat down next to her anyway, forcing herself to keep a steady eye contact.
Celestia sighed: “It wasn’t fair of me to expect you to get it right the first time. Even with all the preparations we did, mistakes happen and they are a part of learning.”
“But princess, I... I didn’t have the time to do the usual amount of preparations. I should have been more prepared, it’s just that I’m...” Twilight seemed to have lost her voice, and instead found the windowsill incredibly interesting.
Celestia held up a hoof: “I know. I felt something wasn’t right, but I was so eager to see how you’d do, that I pushed you more than I should have. And that is another thing I want to apologize for.”
“No, I should have said something. I.. I’ll get it right the next time, I promise,” Twilight said, focusing on Celestia again.
“I know you will, Twilight.” Celestia said with a smile warm as ever. “And even if you do not... well...” She chuckled a bit: “That’s what these study sessions are for, are they not?”
A weak smile spread across Twilight’s face: “I’ll do the best I can.”
Celestia nodded. “I think however, that we should take a break for the rest of the week, to give you some time to recover.”
The slightest bit of panic flashed across Twilight’s newfound smile: “Oh we don’t have to do that. I’m just a bit tired, that’s all. I need to find a few books and I’m sure I can make it across that field.”
“I insist, Twilight. This happened because both of us got too excited and pushed too hard. A little rest will do you good,” she said with a reassuring smile.
“But...but..” Honestly she would’ve loved the rest, but she wasn’t sure she could make any use of it because of the insomnia. In any case, she was running out of valid reasons, and the princess seemed like she wouldn’t be taking no for an answer. “Fine..”
Celestia winked at her: “Maybe you’ll even learn something about not pushing yourself too far, hmmm?”
“Ha ha,” she replied, blushing ever so slightly. “Will we continue with this?” she asked, a hopeful smile spreading across her face, “just so I know what to read for the next time.”
“Of course, unless you had something else in mind?”
“No, just making sure,” Twilight said with a sheepish smile. Next time I’ll get it, I have to. I won’t let her down again. Have to do something about that insomnia though, ugh.
“Uhm, Twilight...”
Twilight focused back at the princess, who was looking a bit odd. If she didn’t know better, she’d have said Celestia was nervous. “Yes princess?”
“I hope that everything is... okay between us. I didn’t mean to scare you yesterday.”
“Of course, everything’s alright,” Twilight said with a smile on her face, “I could never be mad at you, princess.”
Celestia looked relieved, the warmth and absolute confidence returning to her expression as she nuzzled her faithful student.
***
Twilight stared out the bathroom window absentmindedly while she was waiting for her bath. The conversation with the princess had gone differently than she had expected, though she had been told more than once that she had a tendency to go a bit overboard with her expectations. She was overjoyed that the princess had forgiven her, but her insistence for a break was shooting her mind off to tangents she didn’t like at all. Why couldn’t I just have told her I wasn’t ready for it?
She turned the faucet off with her magic once the bath seemed ready and slipped into the warm water. Princess Celestia had often told her not to dwell on the past too much, but she couldn’t help it, bringing the princess’ words back into focus. “What if she thinks I’m not ready for the advanced training?” she asked, staring at her mirror counterpart intently. After a while she realized that her mirror image wasn’t too keen on helping, and instead rolled onto her side to avoid it’s gaze.
Forgetting that she was in a bath, all she accomplished with that was a faceful of water. After a few coughs, another idea dawned on her, one that sent shivers down her spine. What if she needs a break from me? The thought hurt more than the botched teleportation had.
She thought about the past few weeks of lessons and, being who she was, her mind instantly locked onto each and every little mistake she had made in Celestia’s presence. There had been more than usual, yes, but that was the insomnias fault and there seemed to be nothing she could do about it. But maybe... maybe Celestia had finally seen that she wasn’t good enough, that she wasn’t worth her time. But as much as these thoughts hurt, she realized that she wouldn’t trade the time spent with her longtime mentor for the world, no matter the sleepless nights and small aches she had had to endure.
She’s as much of a friend as Applejack or Fluttershy are. Or perhaps a better friend since I’ve known her longer that just three years; she’s been there for me as long as I can remember. I wonder if the strength of friendship can simply be measured in years... But if she’s more than that...
She went back to the lessons again, ignoring the stupid mistakes as best as she could, this time focusing on herself. The little flutter in her heart whenever the princess smiled at her. The slightest feeling of pride and satisfaction whenever she got a particularly hard answer right. The sneaky glances, just to see her reassuring smile before attempting a difficult spell, or to assure herself that the Alicorn was still there.
This went on for a while, until the warmth of the bath wasn’t the only thing contributing towards her increasing blush. As embarrassing as it might’ve been if anypony else had been there, it helped her realize something important: there was a reason for Celestia always being close to her thoughts.
***
The following morning was nothing but a flash of places and conversations to Twilight, and before she knew it she was sitting in the golden chariot heading towards Ponyville. The one thing that she was able to focus on though, was the conversation with the princess, however brief it had been. She had seemed a bit distant when Twilight had come to say goodbye, only briefly talking about the next lesson and wishing Twilight a safe journey.
Twilight wasn’t left any less confused, the revelation in the bath had tired her out enough, so she had been able to sleep. But her dreams were still haunted by different images, though this time they only made her blush.
I could be wrong though, maybe it’s nothing. I’ve never been good with these things... I should probably ask my friends for help again, they have much more experience with feelings and everything, right?
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Wow...and I thought releasing the first chapter was stressful. Nevertheless, here it is. It turned out to be a bit longer than I expected, so that's why it took a while. Again, I would appreciate it if any grammar errors or other mistakes would be pointed out so I can fix 'em. I went through this like ten times, but I'm pretty tired atm... Hope you enjoy it! :3
~MMF
Good chapter.
Let's just go ahead and give this the thumbs up. It'll look nice next to that shiny gold "favorite" star. Twilight feeling as empty and confused as Celestia, Luna playing matchmaker - let's get this ship a-sailin'!
MOAR!!!
Also, go Luna!
Really really good so far, found a couple minor wording issues I'll be sending in a PM shortly
Keep it up!
Moar. MOARMOARMOARMOAR
Me want moar.
1512906 Thanks.
1512974 Yay! :3
1513841 Heh, I wasn't going to include Luna in all this (so soon?), but it just kinda came to be as I wrote it the other day. Also, thanks for all the feedback and help with the grammar 'n stuff. :)
1515057>>1516671 Yeah it's coming, though it might take a bit longer than this chapter. D: Also school's gonna be taking my time too, since exam week is over and the regular stuff starts again... ._.
1517611
Happy to help
I know the pain of not having help when writing stuff
I also really empathize with the school situation... I'm taking an online course right now myself and it's really screwing with my fanfic right now
I should probably let my readers know that o.O
1517885 Yeah, not really accustomed to the whole uni situation yet. Takes way more time than I thought and writing after a full day of lectures is just... But I love doing this, and seeing people enjoy my fic is amazing. Guess I have to start putting chapter 3 together.. :'D
1517982
Don't rush it on our account
It's better that we get something really good than something that's kinda...meh. I just read a fic here not to long ago where the author was having problems with the last chapter and it was taking so long to write so they rushed it, and it felt rushed. You could really tell.
Dat blush
great chapter!
im just confused as to why celestia moaned when twilight landed on her back, just seems kinda silly, i mean, it's her back, did it have something to do with her wings maybe?
1521945 Nah, it's just he sudden intimacy that caught her off guard. Dunno, might be a bit silly...
1522041
okay, i just thought that moaning because of that is a little weird, but not much of a big deal.
I skipped trough the first chapter but completely love the second!
I hope you update soon
1565274 Last week was tiring so I did pretty much nothing for the weekend, but I have started writing ch3.
Oh and anything particular that caused you to skip the first chapter? O.o
1566023 it was just me being lazy, don't worry, I read it late and was only looking for interesting dialogue
so yeah, my bad.
It's a very decent chapter, a few missing commas from what I can tell, as well as a few words that don't quite fit the sentence... though nothing immersion breaking there.
I would suggest you get a thesaurus and somebody to talk about the story with though, it would help improve the story.
The only part I really disliked was when Celestia moaned in pleasure from just a brief touch, she's much too composed for that... and it makes for a pretty convoluted way to move the story along...
Ah well... if you do wanna talk...