Chapter 15 - Curtain Raised, Truth Unveiled
"I'm your mother."
Those three simple words shocked Twilight in such a manner she didn't think was possible, all rational thought fleeing before the simple verbal onslaught. She faintly heard muted murmurs in the distance as only one word continued to come to mind. Impossible. Even with her thoughts scattered like ashes in a cyclone, her mind repeated the lone word, as if it were a mantra that would force everything to make sense once more.
More muted whispers reached her ears, and a faint sensation of a cold surface greeting her rear. Still chanting, she searched the recesses of her mind for rational thought, fruitlessly wandering through it. Unknown to Twilight, Luna was glaring at Celestia, anger contained within her steely gaze.
"Sister, I cannot believe you!" Luna exclaimed, looking at Twilight. She was sitting on her haunches, her rear knees having given out from the sheer shock factor alone. Still unresponsive, the only movement she gave was the occasional twitch of an eye.
Celestia sunk to her belly on the mural, shame evident in her posture as she refused to meet Luna's eyes. "I know, Luna... Once Twilight is out of her shock, I promise to explain all." She let out a short, remorseful laugh. "While my actions were most likely wrong, hopefully my justifications will make some sense."
Luna simply snorted at Celestia in reply, wrapping her wings comfortingly around Twilight. She brought her mouth close to Twilight's ear, gently whispering to her as she hugged her. Her horn lit with magic, a tendril of blue extending to connect with Twilight's.
Still within her mind, Twilight continued to deny the possibility that Celestia was her mother. Her emotions ran high, logic lost to her erstwhile rational mind. A faint warmth of the body came to her, followed by warmth to her mind. Slowly, hot emotions yielded to her cold logic, her mind once more beginning to regain normal its normal functions. "I'm here, Twilight. Be calm, I'm here." She knew that voice.
"Luna?" She whispered, her surroundings coming into focus as she looked around. A wing removed itself from her vision, showing Celestia laying in front of her, nearly prone, her typically vibrant mane muted and still as she lay there, eyes downcast. "Impossible..." She muttered to herself as she carefully pushed off the floor to stand once more.
"Yes, Twilight, tis I. I'm afraid I had to use Starswirl's Calm Mind on you, otherwise we would be here all day." She raised her head, slowly removing her other wing from Twilight as she shifted her focus to Celestia. "Now, we must hear what my sister has to say for herself, keeping such a thing so important a secret..."
Twilight sought comfort in Luna's side, leaning into the larger mare. "It's... impossible, isn't it... Celestia? Please, say you're just joking..." She slowly spoke to Celestia, the length between each word increasing as desperation slid into her voice.
Celestia refused to meet Twilight's eyes, instead opting to stare at a random diamond inlaid on the ground. "Please, forgive me, Twilight..." She barely whispered, regret and sorrow tinging her voice. "I had tried to tell you previously, but... I was scared." She admitted, shame now reflected in her words.
Twilight felt a wing drape across her back, the warmth from it comforting her shaky nerves. "You. But. I..." She tried to formulate a question, but even under the effects of Luna's calming spell, she was unable to do so.
Celestia simply sighed, her head raising to focus on some point beyond Twilight. "I know. I should have never done what I did. It seems so obvious and simple now, but I did not think so then." She finally caught Twilight's sight, staring at her with mournful magenta eyes. "Let me at least explain my... reasoning, although it might sounds more like excuses, I suppose."
"Okay?" Twilight questioned. As if I would settle for anything less... I still refuse to believe this as truth, although... Her mind began to drift off, looking for proof in her memories.
"Sister... I have many words for you. However, I will hold off until after you tell us why. But... don't think I'll forget this anytime soon. Nay, not even for years to come." She fixed her stare on Celestia, waiting for the words to start coming forth.
There was the time I levitated the Ursa Minor out of town, and when I had my magical burst, it should've been impossible to reach such levels as a young filly... It can't be true though, can it? Twilight was ripped from her thoughts as Celestia began to speak.
"I suppose the start is the best place to begin. When our mother was killed, the stars were left without a keeper. Even with our father's death, Luna and I managed to persevere, so long as we had each other, everything was fine. However... Apparently, even an alicorn has limits. While Luna dealt with raising the moon and bringing out mother's stars, the strain slowly began to get to her. It was so subtle, so slow, that I didn't notice the changes until it was too late."
Twilight looked up to Luna, an unsaid question lingering in her gaze. Celestia took notice, pausing a moment to give Luna a chance to speak. "It is true, Twilight. I know that I have yet to reveal much about what caused it, but truthfully this is the base of it all. I would've been able to deal with the issues of my neglected night had I still been in the right state of mind." Twilight responded with no words, simply snuggling tighter in Luna's side. "Do continue, sister."
"Very well." Celestia shuffled around for a few moments, attempting to find a more comfortable position on the floor as Twilight and Luna laid down themselves. "As you already know, Twilight, Luna had claim to the night while I held the day. We went about performing our duties, doing our best to lead our ponies after the fallout of Discord. During his brief, yet highly damaging reign, ponies had come to fear the night, and most of what it represented. Luna tried her best to curb their fears, but at every turn she was denied. I was too oblivious to take note, so wrapped up in running things during the day at the time."
A grim look crossed her face as she confronted memories she had buried many years ago. "By the time I had realized something was wrong, Luna had gone too far for me to truly do anything except bring the power of the elements against her. She is already stronger than I, but she somehow wrestled the power from the stars, adding it to her already high reserves at the cost of fully shattering her mind."
"However, the elements were still infantile, and not fully explored or understood, even though Luna and I had wielded them on occasion. They were designed by our parents as a method to attempt to deal with a spell that spread, one that ascended normal ponies to an alicorn. Even now, I'm not entirely certain how they work, as when we found them they appeared only half complete. However, apparently when they are used by one not born an alicorn, they seem to misfire. I believe it has to do something with how it leaves one born an alicorn weak and vulnerable. Again, all this is speculation."
"So, instead of cleansing Luna's mind, she was banished for a thousand years, and I failed. Beyond failed, truly. I attempted to find a way to ease the pain, and those first years following her banishment were... hard, to say the least. I started to seek comfort in the hooves of my guards, discretely. This went on for some time, as I was overcome by guilt and sadness, and this was how I dealt with it, at least for a time."
Celestia paused, letting her throat rest for a minute. Twilight and Luna's faces were unreadable, although Twilight's posture brought a small smile to her face. As Celestia had been speaking, Twilight had slowly slipped back into the manner she had back during their lessons.
Luna still had a wing draped protectively over Twilight, as if she could ward off anything that came to be. Celestia sighed once more, something she seemed to be doing a lot of recently. Somewhat ironic, really. I spent millennia searching for someone truly special, and Luna finds hers within years of coming back. And, it just so happens to be my daughter.
"I stopped that practice, however, after a particular guard got a bit too attached and caused a rather massive, and public, incident. I instead turned to throwing everything I had into Equestria, and trying my best to bury my emotions underneath all of my work. And, it worked, until about twenty years ago." She looked at Twilight before speaking, "Twilight, what do you know of how we raise the sun and moon?"
Twilight raised a hoof to her chin as she thought on every conversation she'd held with Celestia and Luna on the subject. "Truthfully," she began, hesitant, "not that much. I just know that you are tied to the sun and Luna to the moon. Beyond that, nothing was truly covered."
Luna spoke up before Celestia had a chance to. "I can explain this one easily enough, Celestia. Take a moment to rest your throat, it sounds like there is still plenty more to come." She turned to Twilight, smiling at her. "When it comes time to move the celestial bodies, we actually talk to them through our magic. The sun is a warm, loving entity, much like a mother. The moon, somewhat cool, but full of passion, much like a lover. And, my mother's stars... they are like a symphony, every star lent a voice at once as they serenade to you.
"That should cover the very basics of it, Celestia." Luna coldly said, demeanor rapidly shifting as her eyes shifted to focus on Celestia once more.
Celestia took notice of Luna's tone, shivering in response. "Thank you, Luna. Now, where was I... Ah, yes. Around twenty years ago, the stars came to me. I hadn't talked to them since mother's death, so I was thoroughly surprised to hear them come to me in a dream." Luna's eyes widened in shock as Celestia continued. "Yes, I was stunned, Luna. They spoke of your immenent return, and mentioned my inability to wield the elements. They said that the pieces needed would fall in place, and you would be returned to my side. However, they had to take one action, but did not specify precisely what.
"When I awoke that morning, all the emotions I had long since buried came bearing back to the surface of my mind, once more reminding me of my failure, and the familiar feeling of guilt reared its ugly head. I made an impulsive decision and invited one of my personal guard for some... stress relief." Twilight's eyes screwed up as she thought of Celestia doing that. Celestia took notice and couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.
"Now, a quick side track here to help explain what happened next. Typically, to get an alicorn pregnant, a large amount of magic is needed, on top of the physical contributions. And, by large, I mean level Canterlot large. Of all the ponies alive today, only Shining Armor could possibly do so. Even then, his odds with Cadance when she next comes into her time are still low, maybe a ten percent margin, at best, without her providing any magic.
"So, you can imagine my surprise when I sensed life growing within me. It seems due to my... length between dalliances, I had provided the magic needed to let the pregnancy take from trying to contain it within me. Ironically enough, the stars 'action' was simply pushing those feelings back to the front. I'm not one hundred percent certain, but I believe the Element of Magic requires a natural born alicorn wielding it. It was definitely quite the shock to me."
Twilight spoke up, her voice fluctuating between apprehension and nervousness. "Who was my... real father? Did, do, I know him?"
A mournful look came over Celestia's face as she slowly shook her head. "Nay. When we were first starting diplomatic missions to Gryphonia in an attempt to help them unite as a country, we were attacked by a large force of those who disliked both the idea of a singular nation as well as outside interference. He was one of the casualties of that attack..."
A pregnant pause hung in the air, nopony sure what to say. They were saved from further awkwardness by Celestia who cleared her throat before continuing. "Anyways, he passed before I was able to tell him. It was somewhat of a shock, as, well... I might've begun to take a small fancy to him. Mmm, the things he could do with his–"
Twilight cut her off with a loud exclamation. "Eww, not what I want to hear!"
Luna facehoofed at her sister's ramblings. "Celestia, continue on, please. I do not know how much longer my spell will last, and when it ends, it will simply all come crashing back down on Twilight." She comfortingly nuzzled Twilight, who leaned into Luna.
"Luna, you said you used Starswirl's variant of Calm Mind?" Twilight quickly asked, running some numbers through her head. A quick nod from Luna confirmed she had heard it correctly at the start, and she turned to Celestia. "You have maybe another... thirty minutes? Before it wears off. And please, no more mentioning... that." Twilight visibly shuddered.
Celestia blushed vividly, her cheeks tinged with rose. "Err, right. Continuing on..." She briefly closed her eyes and thought on where she had left off. "Ah, yes. So, after all this time, here I was. The most alive that I'd felt in centuries, but at the same time I was extremely scared. I now knew for a fact that Luna was returning soon, and I only had a short time with which to prepare for it. Plus, after all that time living in the castle, I knew that it would make for a horrible environment to grow up in..." She trailed off, a thought crossing her mind. "Not that it did much good in the end it seems, ironically enough.
"So, I began looking around for unicorn couples. In order to ensure that questions would remain to a minimum, I carefully picked out Velvet and Crescent, who were expecting their second child at the time. They were of lower nobility, yet didn't seem to care one whit about playing the games that I've witnessed from every other family. They truly are an example of how one should aspire to be..."
A polite cough from Luna reminded Celestia that she was getting off track once again. "Right. I approached them and swore them to secrecy before revealing my pregnancy. That's why I used a geas, Twilight. I wanted to make sure that no one would divulge the info to the press, or anypony else for that matter, until I was ready for it. I thought that it was best to be raised away from the games that the nobility played. I didn't want you to be used as some bargaining chip in their twisted schemes...
"As the months passed, I started using strong illusions to hide my stomach, cut court hours short, it's truthfully very easy to get out of public appearances." Celestia gave a quiet chuckle. "Finally, the time was close by, and so I invited Velvet and Crescent to the castle. We were very quiet about it all." Celestia took a moment to rest her throat again, and Twilight seized onto the first question at the top of her head.
"You mentioned it was their second child? But, Shiny was born first, and they didn't give birth to me..." Twilight asked, confused. Luna remained quietly at Twilight's side, providing her support by simply being by her side.
"Indeed..." Celestia began, a small, sad smile forming. "Your brother's horn was fully developed while in utero. Because of this, Velvet had a very hard time giving birth, and even with all the expertise of the doctors on hand, she suffered a lot of internal damage. Truthfully, the fact that she had become pregnant a second time was a near miracle..." Twilight gasped as she put the pieces together.
"When Velvet gave birth, because of the complications from Shining's birth, her foal didn't survive. The poor thing never got to even breathe in fresh air... Just another reminder of just how fragile life truly is..."
"Why did Shining and me never hear of this? It's serious when a foal is lost, the mortality rate is really, really low..." Twilight frantically began, a wing tightening around her barrel combined with the spell helping her to calm down nearly instantly.
A look of guilt came over Celestia. "Yes, that is typically true... However, because of me, they had you still, and because of the secrecy surrounding it all..." She trailed off, uncertain what exactly to say. Her magic flared to life, bringing a small black box to rest in front of her. "Well, that day, they took home a perfectly healthy filly, after I finished the geas and performed some magic to help you blend in."
Twilight looked Celestia dead in the eyes, a fury hidden within her gaze. "Did anypony else know that I was your daughter?"
Celestia shook her head. "No, Twilight. I never even told Shining or Cadance, not even Luna." At that remark, another cold, furious glare was directed at her by Luna. "The only ones who were aware were Velvet and Crescent, as well as the attending doctors. And I had them all under the geas." Twilight slumped back into Luna at this information.
Celestia unwove the wards on the box in front of her, and a wash of powerful magic swept over all three ponies. Luna gasped at the sheer power radiating from within the container, while Twilight felt a warmth enter her. What is in there? It feels... right. I don't know if I could describe it in any other way... "What's in there, Celestia?" Twilight asked, genuinely interested in the contents.
The box opened to reveal a small, circular amulet about the size of Twilight's hoof. An intricately carved crescent moon lay within a sun, made of what appeared to be silver and gold, respectively. The top two thirds of the amulet consisted of the sun and moon. The bottom third appeared to be made of bronze. The carvings were done with painstakingly amounts of detail, the bronze in particular had a lot of attention paid to it, depictions of a valley carved into it.
"This amulet contains most of your magic. In order to disguise you, I had to remove and store all of your pegasus magic and your earth pony magic within a container, which is this amulet. Even some of your unicorn magic was syphoned off and stored within this amulet. This allowed you to pass for a normal unicorn filly, if not a bit more powerful than most others." Celestia said, bringing the box closer to Twilight.
"That makes absolutely no sense at all..." Twilight muttered, her mind furiously at work trying to figure it out. "How?"
"Every pony has anchors for their magic. Usually, moving these results in injury to the pony in question, but, if properly done with precision... one can remove them and store them elsewhere. When newborn, the anchors are extremely small, which is why wings and horns don't typically grow in until after they've been born. Of course, as time went on, they naturally matured and developed at the rate they would have within the pony in question – you – and recently they've actually begun to 'spill over' from the container."
Celestia raised the amulet into the air in front of Twilight, an intricate silver chain strung to it. "By wearing this, you'll slowly re-absorb the magic, and your anchors will reassert themselves within you over the next few weeks." She slid the necklace over Twilight's head and brought it to rest on her neck.
Twilight held the amulet portion with a hoof, examining it closely. As it had passed over her head and came to rest on her neck, a warmth had suffused her, a feeling of rightness. Now, it had been dulled to a simple warm spot on her coat, although the metal was cold to her hoof. She sighed to herself, then let the amulet fall as she looked at Celestia.
"I think there's maybe a few more minutes left, so... why? Why did you give me up, hide who and what I was from me, and then still end up a second mother to me?" Her voice started to raise in pitch, becoming tinted with anger as tears began to fall from her cheeks. "I saw you as a mother, and even wished it were true at times, but this! This is just too much!"
The next words Twilight spoke were a near whisper, barely heard by Celestia. "Who knew your dreams coming true could be so... bitter."
"I am truly sorry, Twilight. I'll understand if you don't want to see me for some time to–" Celestia began, only to stop as she heard Luna speak.
"Uh oh." Luna muttered, carefully getting up and taking a step back from Twilight.
"What is it, Luna?" Celestia asked, noticing how stiff Twilight was becoming as well as Luna stepping back from her.
"I think your time is up. We might want to –" With a massive bang, Twilight disappeared.
~{B}~{O}~{W}~{T}~{N}~
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2698849
Not sure if good or bad. Huh.
For some time? More like half of forever, really...
Keep up the good work!
So... that makes Twilight Luna's niece. Awkward.
Still, it is arguable that Celestia may not have been entirely in control of the situation. It is quite possible that the Stars themselves were controlling her - magic beyond even her ability to manage was directing her rather than being directed by her.
2698876 by adoption not blood so not as awkward as it can be
2698866 great chapter, have a
2698876 not true due to technicality of Celestia and Luna not really being related! Incest is kinda relative like that!
Well this was certainly an interesting addition to the story, great work.
2698876 Well her adopted niece anyway, you have to remember that Celestia is Luna's adopted sister, not her biological one.
2698948 [ORIGINAL COMMENT REDACTED FOR REAL CONTENT]
This story, it has words, I like words. There are also characters, they do stuff. Stuff is fun to do! That is also important for stories. This has all the requirements to be a story. Yay!
More
DAMN YOU CLIFFHANGER!!!!
Good stuff sir. Please, tell us how this ends soon?
That "calm" spell was a good idea, but I still think Twilight got to terms with "Celestia is my mother" way too easily.
Damn you space. What the hell man? You just love to torture me don't you? Ah well good chapter anyway hope you push the next one out soon.
2698876
Well, technically, Niece-by-adoption. Then again, as far as most laws I know of are considered, that still could count as one degree of separation.
Luna better follow her niece and assure Twilight that she knows that luna loves her still even if they have a familial buck block.
2699126 The spell if it does what I think it does. Forces one to calm ones mind to accept truths and not panic and see stuff from more of a scientific perspective. think of it like Twilight was told hey yeah the sun rises every morning. she doesn't really panic over it because hey its true. Same with the calm mind spell. Though when it wears off that panic that she felt suddenly comes right back as well as anything else one feels.
Or better yet it makes you emotionless. With no emotions in the way. she had no reason but to accept it.
Gah another cliffhanger why do you do this!
Keep up the good work i will be looking forward to the next chapter!
2699203
Make her calm and accept the truth, sure, but where are the proof that makes Celestia's claim true? There is none, only her word that it is. Sure, Twilight may trust Celestia, but she has no reason to believe that said alicorn really is her mother. She's lived her entire life with another family. Would you believe the headmaster on your school (or your boss where you work) if he/she told you that they were your mother/father? Would you even if you were on drugs or just drunk?
In all seriousness, we're only told that the spell calms her mind, nothing more, so it doesn't really make sense that Twilight accepts it so quickly.
When the amulet thing comes up, however, then there is given some proof, and then I can see her as accepting it (albeit reluctantly), but not before which she seems to do.
The ending...
yay, emotional controlled magic^^ It always makes for the best light shows^^
2698874
Lol, will do.
2698876
Tried to do more of a 'hey, we're presenting a vague thing, which is more of a self fulfilling prophecy.' Cept, I didn't quite give enough information to make it readily apparent.
And as far as the technical relation, well, we'll see.
2698907
Thank you
2698973
Thanks as well
2698948
Nice joke there! 2698985 this guy also caught it it seems. xD
2699123
Like I said in the blog post, I've got a fair amount already written, as I kinda bounced around. No hard date, but I've set a personal goal. You'll know really soon if I meet my goal.
2699126
Just quoting you once here. But, yes, it does seem that way, doesn't it? For right now anyways. There is more to it, and it will become apparent next chapter. Promise you, there will be a flood of issues, although more proof will indeed surface, and it'll be something irrefutable. And I intentionally left the spell's description vague. Inspiration came from DnD's Bigsby spells, but this particular one essentially just allowed Twilight to listen to what Celestia had to say. She asked questions concerning the smaller details, but the larger picture was pushed back. That's what came crashing down at the end there. Love folks like you Kapuchu, and glad you've been here since almost Day 1. Love getting those really good criticisms / discussions.
2699151
Sometime soon. Sometime.
2699162
You'll see next chapter.
2699203
Take a quick peek at my reply to Kapuchu. It was left vague on purpose, but kinda sorta somewhat described it in my reply above.
2699217
I have a strong grip, what can I say? Thanks, and hopefully it won't be too long a wait.
2699293
Good song.
2699162
no they don't, 'tia was adopted remember?
2699357 oh that makes things so much simpler then.
2699343
Aaaw derpy.ponychan.net/chan/files/src/136971942114.jpg
I love you too.
As for being here since day one? Wow... I completely forgot xD I had no idea I had been here for that long.
2699343 wasn't trying to make a joke
it's an expression, and I never actually realized the pun until now
damn it, yet another great story where I reached the end of what's been posted.
Great story so far, poor Twilight though, she probably teleported to the moon or something when the calming spell wore off.
Not gonna lie, this is exactly what I thought of when I read that.
media.tumblr.com/fe036da9c9bf48bac96e0398fc340a23/tumblr_inline_mgfoi9NHm01ra3nr2.gif
Maybe not to that extent, but an explosion still.
Shocking!
So I got to the end after about 3-4 days of reading when time allowed. (Great job) You said the last part will be out in about six months from the first post. Please hurry I enjoyed the story and can't wait for the ending.
"[...] However, apparently when they are used by one not born an alicorn, they seem to misfire. I believe it has to do something with how it leaves one born an alicorn weak and vulnerable. Again, all this is speculation.
So, instead of cleansing Luna's mind, she was banished for a thousand years, and I failed. Beyond failed, truly. [...]""
How does Celestia know that Twilight knows that Celestia isn't a born Alicorn? The reader knows it, but Luna herself said that no word about anything spoken on the moon should leave aforementioned realm. So, the causality Celestia implies with "So" is in actuality not causally determined. In her thinking, Twilight doesn't know of the adoption of Celestia by the alicorn-parents of Luna.
NoooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
I caught up completely!
2753320 My reaction was just a facedesk, resulting in a headache. Although there were times in the story, specifically when it came to fluttershy and the mention of "games" where I just went
Oh god whens the next chapter
2699225 An amulet with the powers of an alicorn sealed in it... now where have we heard of that before... hmmm...
Seems like an evil alicorn might be sealed in the one Trixie possessed, eh?
2699126 See, I could see it going both ways. I actually feel like the complete and total breakdown is over the top. Granted, given that breakdown, I would agree she accepted it too quickly, more like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.
I feel throughout most of this chapter that there were a number of things that I feel like are not how she would react, but it's not really that fast, on top of the fact that she never really accepted it.
And someone mentioned what proof there is: Once the geas is removed, I think everybody will then be able to talk about it, which means the proof comes with her adoptive parents confirming the story
She is pretty stupid if she has to ask this.
6084415
She's not stupid. Right now, she's likely in an intense state of duress that is only being held back by Luna's spell. Her emotions, specifically shock, panic, anger, and sadness, are what's driving her, so therefore, she's likely not able to think as logically as she is usually able to
Celestia broke Twilight
7101103 twilight.EXE has encountered a problem and had to shut down please wait while twilight.EXE Reboots
7579932
*Loading screen pops up in her eye sockets*