> A Wish the Heart Makes
>  by HermitKlam
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Nostalgia
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia watched as Twilight attempted to stifle yet another yawn, only to hide the movements of her lips behind a hoof as the effort proved futile. Pausing in her speech, she observed as the purple alicorn’s eyes fluttered slightly with the effort it took to keep them open. As she watched in silence, Twilight’s head slowly slipped forward, her violet orbs slipping shut for a brief moment before her head jerked back with enough force to send her chair onto its hind legs.

Reacting quickly, Celestia sent out a tendril of yellow magic and enveloped the toppling chair, stopping it in its tracks. Gently righting the piece of furniture, she withdrew her magic and graced her tired former student with a look of gentle concern.  “Perhaps you should get some sleep, Twilight. We can continue this another time.”

“No!” Twilight’s eyes, which were slowly slipping shut once more, shot open in alarm. Bolting upright in her chair, she blinked rapidly and shook her head, attempting to rid herself of her grogginess before looking the older princess in the eye. “No, I’m okay Princess- really. We can keep going.”

“Twilight…” Celestia’s brow arched slightly as she gently chided the purple mare, her tone saying everything her words didn’t.

“Oh! Right; sorry Pri- I mean, Celestia,” Twilight grinned sheepishly, gazing up at her mentor through her lashes. “It’s just – you know what they say about old habits.” Not quite being able to hide another yawn, she quickly changed the subject before the princess was able to comment. “So! You were explaining about griffon society?”

The fact that the purple pony accurately pinpointed where she had left off and her insistence on continuing reluctantly convinced Celestia to start speaking again. Though she’d like nothing more than to send the obviously exhausted pony to bed, she instead silently reminded herself that she did not have the authority to do so. Twilight was a grown mare by regular pony standards, and while it could be argued that she was just a foal by alicorn standards, Celestia had to put aside what everypony else would think and instead consider how Twilight would react.

To Twilight, she was a princess, a mentor, and - she hoped - a friend. She was not, however, Twilight’s mother, a fact that she had to continuously remind herself of over the years. Though she secretly relished in her maternal role those times Twilight would come to her as a foal for comfort or guidance, she knew to keep her feelings to herself as the young filly quickly grew out of that phase and, as time went on, began to slightly pull away to what was considered a respectable distance between student and teacher. 

Yearning to feel that closeness with her pupil once more, Celestia was overjoyed that her royal studies frequently brought the younger pony to the palace. Not wanting to overstep her bounds, however, she allowed the purple mare to dictate in what capacity they’d interact, though she was adamant that whatever they did, they at least did it as equals. The ability to do away with her title when interacting with her little pony was extremely satisfying in a way she hadn’t felt since Twilight was an excitable filly. 

Thus, it was to her slight disappointment that Twilight seemed to only want to spend time with her in a student-teacher capacity.

Sighing slightly at her thoughts, Celestia looked down at the open scroll on the table in front of her and frowned. The scroll was opened to the exact same place it had been when she had stopped the first time, a fact that made her abruptly realize that her multitasking had failed her whilst she had been lost in thought. Glancing over at the purple alicorn to see why Twilight hadn’t prompted her to continue the lecture, her eyes widened slightly before softening at what she saw.

The purple alicorn was at the edge of her seat and slumped up against the table. One of her forelegs was curled up on an open book resting on the table top, her hoof acting as a makeshift pillow. Her other foreleg was dangling limply at her side along with her fluffy wings, the tips twitching slightly in response to her dreams.

Smiling softly, Celestia deigned not to wake the sweetly sleeping pony and instead gently levitated her onto her back. Ruffling her wings, she raised them slightly in order to ensure the sleeping pony would not accidentally slip off. Noting her precious bundle shifting slightly, she waited until she felt the younger pony nuzzle further into her warmth, a sigh of content leaving slightly parted purple lips. Taking this as a sign, Celestia withdrew her magic from keeping Twilight aloft on her back and quickly shelved the books and scrolls littering the table into their correct places.

Exiting the library, she slowly walked the short distance to the wing of the castle that housed the royal quarters. Nodding lightly at the guards on duty, she was not surprised that the majority of them took her actions in stride, showing no sign of emotion as they nodded shallowly back instead of bowing so as not to compromise their ability to protect her. She was lightly amused to note, however, that a particular few guards were unable to hide a slight twitch of their lips as they got sight of the slumbering pony on her back; these guards were, undoubtedly, thinking back to the times she had walked this very hall with a significantly smaller version of her the pony on her back.

It was this familiarity and nostalgia that had Celestia completely bypassing the younger princess’s room and heading to her own quarters without realizing it. About to open her own doors, a slight shift from the pony on her back made her snap out of her memories with a hint of regret. Hesitating for a moment, she ultimately sighed and backtracked the few metres to Twilight’s room. 

Opening the large doors, she slowed down slightly as she approached the large plush bed, attempting to milk every precious moment she could out of having her student so close. Coming to a stop next to the bed, she reluctantly lowered her wings and levitated Twilight onto the plush surface. Bringing the blankets up and tucking her in, Celestia was just about to force herself away from the adorable sight when something caught her attention. 

Twilight, subconsciously realizing that she had been separated from the warmth she had been surrounded in mere moments ago, scrunched up her muzzle in discomfort. Curling slightly in on herself, she clumsily used a hoof to pat around the bed, searching fruitlessly for the illusive warmth. Mewling in displeasure, her eyes slowly cracked open. Though her violet orbs were cloudy from sleep, she was just able to make out what looked like her mentor standing near the bed, a peculiar expression on her alabaster face.

“’lestia?” Twilight mumbled slowly in question, sleep doggedly pulling at the edges of her consciousness once more. “Wha-?”

“Shhh, Twilight,” Celestia soothed the tired pony, unable to stop herself from using a hoof to gently move a tuft of pink and purple streaked navy bangs out of her violet orbs. Feeling the younger pony nuzzle slightly into her outstretched hoof, she barely had the willpower to retract the limb. “Sleep now, Twilight. Dawn shall be along shortly and you need your rest.”

“But I,” Twilight’s weak protest was interrupted by a long yawn, her heavy eyes slipping even further closed in its wake.

Perhaps it was due to the nostalgia that had been plaguing her lately, or perhaps it was due to the familiar sight in front of her, but wherever the fault lie Celestia had, almost without realizing it, begun to lightly hum. A lullaby she had only sang a hoof-full of times in the past century sprang unbidden to her lips, gently soothing the exhausted pony before her into a restful state of slumber once more. Though Twilight had fallen asleep not even half way through the song, Celestia found herself standing at the former unicorn’s bedside until the last bittersweet note escaped her throat, plunging the room into silence once more.

Moving to the large window across from the bed, Celestia shot a quick glance up at the night sky; due to her internal clock, she was speaking the truth earlier when she told Twilight that dawn was fast approaching. Not wanting her bright sun to disturb her little alicorn, she grasped the heavy drapes in her magic and pulled them tightly shut. Shooting one last soft glance at the peacefully slumbering alicorn, Celestia walked out of the room, gently closing the doors behind her. 

Deciding that there was no use in attempting to nap this close to the raising of the sun, she instead changed directions and headed to the private dining room, resigning herself instead to an early breakfast. Opening the doors, she was about to enter the modestly sized room only to stop and blink at what she saw. There, slumped against the table was her younger sister, her eyes closed in sleep and her cheek resting upon a slice of buttered toast. Standing behind and slightly to the side was a nervous sous-chef, his white hat being worried nervously between his front hooves as he debated whether to let the princess sleep in her current undignified position or wake her up.

Chuckling slightly in amusement, Celestia sent her sleeping sister an indulgent look before turning her attention to the nervous cook, startling him with her voice. “If you would be so kind as to whip up two batches of Blueberry Waffle Surprise, I’ll take care of waking up my sister.”

Jumping slightly at the new voice, the sous-chef turned his attention from the sleeping princess to the princess standing at the door, his eyes widening in surprise as relief suffused his voice. “Thank you, Princess.” Sweeping into a low bow, he realized what exactly he had said and how it could be misconstrued, causing him to stutter. “I-I mean, not that I- right away, Princess.”

Amused smile still in place, Celestia watched as the cook hightailed it out of the dining area as if his flank was on fire. Turning her attention to the only other occupant left in the room beside herself, Celestia finally entered and closed the doors behind her. Approaching her sister, a slightly mischievous look slid onto her face, her eyes glinting playfully. 

“Oh Luna,” Celestia sang lightly in the shorter alicorn’s blue ear, making certain that her breath disturbed the sensitive hairs located there. Receiving a low grumble and a slight twitch of the ear, Celestia smiled. Leaning back down, she redoubled her efforts, this time extending a wing to brush lightly at the blue pony’s side as she spoke. “Little Sister, time to wake up…”

Luna frowned slightly in her sleep, ear flicking violently in an attempt to rid itself of the maddeningly light tickling sensation. Her wings fluttered up in defence at the sneak attack against her side, only to be soothed back down into a limp position by something larger yet equally soft. Sighing as the sensations slowly abated, her frown smoothed out into a peaceful expression once more.

Smothering her altogether too gleeful smile, Celestia mock sighed as she gave the stubbornly sleeping pony a faux-regretful look. “I didn’t want it to come to this,” Celestia spoke into the twitching blue ear once more, a serene mask slipping into place. “Just remember, sister, that it was you who forced my hoof.” Giving the slumbering alicorn one last chance to awaken on her own, Celestia smothered a grin as she deemed sufficient time had passed and attacked.

Yelping, Luna shot violently upwards, her eyes flying open as her wings extended fully in surprise. Wind being knocked out of her as her momentum carried her backwards and onto the floor, she blinked rapidly up at the ceiling in shock. Quickly gathering her wits about her, she rolled onto her side and folded her wings, her ruffled feathers lowering into place with varying degrees of success.

Glancing around the room with a look of dazed confusion that could only be achieved by one who had been jolted from a deep sleep, Luna’s azure gaze finally settled on her sister. Sitting quietly in her seat across the small circular table was Celestia, an angelic smile gracing her face. “Sister?” Luna shifted into a sitting position as she drew the white alicorn’s attention to her. “You… You just…”

“Hmmm?” Celestia slowly turned her head to regard the stunned alicorn, a look of concern slipping onto her face. “Oh, Luna, are you alright?”

“You… You…” Luna spluttered in shock as she rubbed her ear, not noticing the sous-chef from earlier returning with two trays floating beside him. “You bit me!”

“Oh?” Celestia’s look became thoughtful as she surreptitiously floated Luna’s half-empty tea cup closer.  Refilling the cup, she took a small sip of the lukewarm tea, resolutely ignoring the once again flabbergasted unicorn at the door lest her composure finally break. “That doesn’t sound like me at all.”

“Doesn’t sound like- It most certainly does!” Her cheeks puffed up in an indignant pout as she glared at the acting alicorn. “You did this all the time when we were fillies!”

“Did what?” Celestia tilted her head to the side, blinking innocently on the outside while internally trying to smother the giggles that were fighting to burst forth at her sister’s adorable pout.

“Bite me!” Luna huffed in exasperation, hooves flying into the air in emphasis and nearly impacting the nervous cook as he swiftly placed their trays down and excused himself with a squeak.

“Come now, Luna,” Celestia gave her indignant younger sister a look, before taking another sip of tea. “I would never bite you.” Smiling angelically, she looked at the blue pony out of the corner of her eye, the slyness in her voice faint yet still barely audible. “Besides, it was really more of a nibble.”

“Celestia!”

“Yes sister dear?” Celestia finally allowed her mask to fall, a happy smile taking its place. “There’s no need to shout; I’m sitting right here.”

“You… You… Ugh!” Luna hung her head slightly in defeat and finally let go of her irritation, recognizing that she was far from being at her best at the moment and that her sister would undoubtedly win their argument no matter what amazing rebuttal she came up with. Rubbing the residual sleep from her eyes, she became aware of something wet on her cheek. Frowning, she was about to move her hoof to her cheek only for it to be encased in yellow magic. “What-?”

“You’ll just smudge it even more; let me get it.” Directing the blue hoof away from Luna’s face, she dipped a cloth napkin in a glass of water and began to gently dab at her sister’s cheek, wiping away the residual butter she had acquired from using her toast as a pillow. 

Blushing slightly at the attention she was receiving, Luna nevertheless remained still, allowing her elder sister to clean her face. Noting the slightly wistful expression Celestia wore after a few minutes, all traces of huffy ire and joking slipped from her voice, her tone instead laced with concern. “Sister?”

“Hmmm?” Celestia blinked, returning from her inner musings only to find her sister staring shyly at her with flushed cheeks, the fur on her head and neck damp and sticking up from her absentminded cleaning. “I apologise, Luna,” Celestia sighed as she dropped the cloth on the table, her face once again taking on the wistful quality of earlier. “I didn’t mean to treat you like a foal. I suppose I’ve been wallowing in a bit of nostalgia lately, that’s all.”

“Do not apologise,” Luna mumbled lowly, shifting slightly in discomfort.

“What did you say?” Celestia questioned curiously, not quite being able to make out the mumbled words.

“Do not apologise,” Luna spoke clearly, yet no more loudly. Averting her eyes from her sister’s curious gaze, she cleared her throat. Her absence from Equestria wasn’t a topic she relished speaking about, but this particular chat was long since overdue; she would just make sure to get her point across swiftly so as not to linger on the subject. “I… missed this. On the moon.”

“Luna…”

“I missed having a sister, so don’t…” Luna worried her lip lightly before taking a deep breath and gazing into Celestia’s slightly shiny magenta orbs. “So do not ever apologise for acting like one, alright?”

“Luna…” Celestia gave a slightly watery chuckle before enveloping her sister in her magic and levitating her across the table. Placing her gently down on the pillow next to her, Celestia wrapped a large fluffy white wing across Luna’s back and swept the blue alicorn flush against her side in a hug. “I missed you too, Moony.” 

“Never again, Sunny,” Luna also slipped into the nicknames they had jokingly given each other when their cutie marks had appeared all those years ago as she nuzzled into the slightly larger pony. “She is gone; I am never leaving again.”

Minutes passed as the two royal alicorns sat snuggled together in the quiet room. Their food had surely cooled off by that point, but neither could bring themselves to care when the warmth of each other was all that they felt they required. Finally paying attention to the insistent tugging sensation in the back of her mind, Luna sighed and reluctantly parted from her sister’s gentle embrace. Walking back to her seat, her horn lit up in a blue light as she nudged the moon into motion with practiced ease, allowing her sister’s yellow magic to usher in the sun.

Looking down at her plate, Luna was about to take a bite of the mouth-watering ice-cream topped blueberry waffle when she caught her sister’s expression. Though muted, it was the same wistful look of earlier. Sighing, she looked at her delicious waffle in slight sorrow before setting her fork down. “It is not just about us though, is it sister?”

Celestia cocked her head to the side in question as she regarded the younger alicorn, placing her fork down as well. “What do you mean, Luna?”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Luna came right out and stated bluntly. This topic didn’t impact her nearly as much as the last and so she found no reason to beat around the bush. “She is more than a student to you.”

“Of course she is, Luna,” Celestia side-stepped the obvious, intentionally playing ignorant. “I’d like to think she’s a dear friend as well.”

“Nay, it is more than that.” Luna stated adamantly. “I may have been away for some time, but some things do not change. The look a mother has for their foal is one of those things, and it is such a look that you wear when speaking to or of Twilight.”

“Luna don’t…” Celestia sighed despondently, reluctantly agreeing by omission. “I try to keep myself in check; the last thing I want is to push her away.”

“Why?” Luna asked confusedly, trying to wrap her head around why her sister would practically admit to feeling maternal towards Twilight with one breath only to state that she purposefully kept her distance with the next one. “She surely looks to you as a-”

“Student would their teacher,” Celestia cut in.

“You jest,” Luna responded incredulously. “Surely.”

“No, Luna, I’m quite serious,” Celestia frowned. “In fact, I believe she’s been distancing herself from me for a while. Though her visits are much more frequent since her coronation, it seems the only time we spend together anymore is when there is a book separating us.”

“Have you thought that perhaps that is the only way she feels she can get close to you?” Luna pointed out delicately after a moment of quiet thought.

“I…” Celestia’s expression ran the gamut from disbelief to doubt and finally settled on fragile hope before crumbling. Donning her mask once more, she averted her gaze downwards, her voice soft. “Please don’t give me false hope.”

Hating to see her sister in such a melancholy mood, Luna’s expression turned determined as an idea occurred to her. “Is she asleep?”

“Who?” Celestia sighed out as she used her fork to play with the melting ice-cream. Her appetite had abandoned her.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Luna refrained from rolling her eyes at her sister; who else would they be talking about. “Is she asleep?”

“She was when I left her,” Celestia answered, before her brows furrowed. Glancing at her sister, she inquired about the inquiry. “Why?”

“I shall be but a moment,” Luna responded, steadfastly ignoring the question.

Celestia was about to reiterate her question when she saw her sister’s head droop slightly as a shining ball of light alit on the tip of her horn. Sitting up straight, she peered intently at the spaced out pony for a few moments before her eyes widened in recognition as a single tendril of light shot out of Luna’s horn and through the wall. Not sure whether she should scold her sister or thank her for abusing her powers in such a way, she instead settled for ignoring the incident with a small sigh.

A few frustratingly long minutes passed before Luna blinked, coming back to herself with a peculiar look on her face as she turned her attention towards her sister. Celestia, not being able to place the look, decided to inquire about it. “Well?”

“My lullaby,” Luna responded slowly, still slightly lost in thought. Shaking her head, she came back to the present, locking her azure orbs with her sister’s magenta ones. “You sang her my lullaby.”

“I-yes,” Celestia answered in surprise as she blinked. “I wasn’t planning on it, but when she woke up as I put her to bed it just slipped out.”

“No, no,” Luna waved a hoof absentmindedly in the air. “Not today, as a filly. You sang it to her as a filly when she would get worked up over a storm.”

“How did you…” Celestia blinked once more in confusion before realization dawned. “She was dreaming about the past?”

“Sometimes a memory bleeds into one’s dream. When this happens, the dreamer relives the memory exactly as they remember it,” Luna informed her sister of one of the many nuances of the realm of dreams. Anticipating the next question, she continued with her explanation. “These ‘dreams’ have a different feel to them; they are almost… more tangible, and are thus easily distinguishable.”

“Alright then,” Celestia’s voice remained steady, though a hint of warmth could just barely be heard. “Twilight is dreaming of a happy childhood memory, most likely brought on by the lullaby I sang for her.”

“Yes, yes,” Luna’s eyes rolled ever so slightly. Her sister could be so stubborn. “The dream itself was most likely brought on by the lullaby as you say, the emotions however were not.”

“What are you saying, Luna?”

“I am saying, dear sister, that Twilight Sparkle does indeed love you as a filly does a mother,” Luna, seeing the white alicorn about to refute her claim, cut her off. “I am sure of it; in fact, I would bet my moon on it.”

“How can you know that, Luna?” Celestia desperately wanted to believe in her sister’s words, but she had lived more than long enough to know disappointment and didn’t feel up to experiencing it in this particular situation.

“I can feel the overall emotions a pony has when in the dream realm; how else could I aid in guarding against nightmares?” Luna pointed out, re-educating her sister about her dream-walking abilities. “For instance; earlier I felt the stirrings of a nightmare and went to help the dreamer. It turned out to be the Element of Laughter, but because I am not overly close to her, I was unable to feel her underlying feelings. Thus I was forced to dive deeper into her dream, only to end up being drafted into her ranks of militarized cupcakes fighting against an evil dentist.”

“That’s what you were doing when I woke you up?” Celestia interrupted with a question, curious in spite of herself. She always enjoyed hearing about her sister’s dream adventures, despite the breach in privacy they entailed.

“Yes,” Luna shifted slightly, a slightly disturbed look appearing on her face as she thought back to the party pony’s chaotic dream. “I must thank you for that rescue; I was, oddly enough, having a hard time leaving on my own before her dream was complete.” Blinking away the images that would undoubtedly be seared into her brain for some time to come, Luna continued. “My point is that if I had been closer to her – emotionally, not physically – I would have been able to tell that my assistance was unneeded before diving too deep. Being closer to Twilight, I can easily pick up on most of her emotions when searching for her in the dream realm. Again, I am quite sure that she does not simply look to you as a mentor or a friend.”

Celestia’s expression wavered in indecision. “I-”

A member of the day guard respectfully knocked before walking into the room. Bowing at the princesses, the stallion gave a bound scroll to the alabaster alicorn. Snapping the seal, Celestia quickly read the letter before exhaling slightly. Glancing at the guard, she nodded and watched as he bowed once more and exited the room.

“Well Luna, I am afraid that I am going to have to skip breakfast; it seems the meeting with the griffon ambassador has been moved up,” Celestia informed her curious sister as she stood up. Walking around the table, she gave Luna’s cheek a small peck before walking towards the door.

“Do not think that this is the end of this conversation,” Luna warned to her sister’s retreating back. “I shall speak to Twilight Sparkle once I awake and prove that what I say is true.”

Stopping just before the door, Celestia sighed. “If you insist on bringing the subject up with her, could you at least be sure to do it subtly?” She didn’t have time to argue with her sister, and if she had learned one thing after years of living with the other pony it was that Luna was just as stubborn as she was.

“Pshh,” Luna waved the concern away as she picked up her fork once more. “Subtlety comes easy to those who live in the night like myself.”

Waving her sister away to deal with her royal duties, Luna turned her attention back to her plate only for her expression to drop. Her once scrumptiously depicted blueberry waffle with a double-scoop of vanilla ice-cream on top had turned into a sticky soggy mess. Sighing as her stomach rumbled in discontent, she placed her fork back onto the table and reluctantly picked up her toast from earlier. 

She had eaten worse before.


-0-0-


Across the royal wing of the castle, tucked snuggly into her large plush bed was Twilight Sparkle. A small smile stretched across her lips as she mumbled in contentment, memories of happier days flittering across her dreamscape like a movie. The memories were of times of great joy in her early life, and without conscious thought she tapped into the large pool of magic each alicorn was blessed with.

Unbeknownst to the sleeping alicorn, her heart made a wish and, in response, her horn began to glow.
	
> Dreams
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight smiled in content as she snuggled up to her mentor, the raging snowstorm outside for once not fazing her in the slightest. Basking in the soft warmth of a large wing draped lightly across her back and the gentle melody caressing her ears, she almost didn’t feel the slight tremor that shook the room. The body next to her doing a spectacular job at chasing away any fears, it was with curiosity –not alarm - that her large violet eyes slowly opened. Blinking in confusion as she surveyed the room, she found nothing out of place save a few scrolls littering floor – which, on further inspection, wasn’t too out of the ordinary. Attributing the earlier shake as a figment of her imagination, Twilight was in the process of closing her eyes once more when motion in her peripherals caught her attention.

Eyes shooting open wide, she caught the tail-end of what looked like a large ripple. The entire room, along with everything in it, wavered slightly; it looked almost like a reflection in a pond would when disturbed by a thrown pebble. The phenomenon was over almost as soon as it began, however, and looking up at the princess showed no indication of her having noticed anything strange. Shifting slightly in light confusion, Twilight was willing to brush off the oddness as her tired mind playing tricks on her when a particularly heavy gust of wind splattered the rain loudly against the window.

Leaning forward slightly in order to peer around the large white alicorn, Twilight looked towards the window and stared in confusion. Wiggling out from under Celestia’s wing, she approached the large window and attempted to see outside. The darkness of the night, however, served to obfuscate the objects outside from view to such an extent that all Twilight was able to see in the smooth surface was her own reflection. Staring at the purple filly looking back at her, an odd feeling bubbled up from deep within, bringing with it the feeling that something with the whole situation was not quite… right. 

Frowning at the feeling, Twilight tilted her head and studied herself; she had a small purple body, messy streaked mane, a stubby little horn, and a pair of small fluffy wings. Her eyes and mind told her that what she was seeing was perfectly normal; her reflection was one that she’d seen many times before, after all. And yet still that feeling of wrongness persisted. Raising her hoof to touch her reflection, a bright flash of lightning lit up the night sky outside.

Jumping backwards, half in fear and half in shock, she nevertheless continued to direct her intensive gaze at the window. Though the sky had only lit up for a fraction of a second, Twilight prided herself on her observational skills and so had no trouble recalling what she had seen. Outside, the large green trees were being whipped back in forth almost savagely by the strong gusts of wind, their lush leaves taking quite the beating from the heavy rain.

Twilight took a hesitant step backwards, that earlier feeling of wrongness growing stronger.

She knew it was the dead of winter with the same certainty she had when viewing her reflection and finding nothing out of place. She knew this, and yet it was suddenly not a snowstorm raging outside, but a scheduled heavy spring downpour. A dull throbbing started up in her head, a headache forming as her mind tried to sort through the clashing realities she was experiencing.

Groaning as the pain in her head increased the more she clung to and thought about the discrepancies in the world around her, Twilight hunched over slightly and grabbed her head with a hoof. Backing up slowly, she bumped into Celestia’s side. A thought managed to squirm its way into her mind despite the pain she was in, and suddenly it was very clear to her that all she had to do was lie back down next to the princess. The warmth she experienced when nuzzled up to the older alicorn’s side would surely banish both her pain and woes as it had done many times before. 

Plan of action firmly in mind, Twilight haltingly made her way back to her spot, yet as she was about to lower herself onto the still warm pillow, the fire blazing in the hearth managed to draw her attention. Fighting back the sharp pain in her head, she squinted at the pink flickering flames, the color oddly familiar. Mesmerized, she almost didn’t notice as the room rippled once more - this time more violently - until the flames seemed closer. Eyes widening in fright as the discolored flames appeared to ride the waves throughout the room, Twilight snapped her eyes closed and stumbled backwards. Tripping over the edge of the pillow and landing hard on the floor, she whimpered as the flickering fire neared her on its merry journey to consume everything in its path.

Eyes squeezed shut and breaths coming out in short gasps, Twilight waited for the searing sensation of the flames licking up her coat. A few seconds passed without change, then a few minutes, prompting the purple pony to frown faintly in confusion. Not wanting to see the devastation the raging fire surely caused yet not being able to tamper down her curiosity at the lack of agonising heat, Twilight cracked one eye open, the other following in confusion a few heartbeats later.

Lying on her back, the first thing she noticed was the dark outline of her deep violet canopy. Blinking in confusion, she turned her head slightly to the side, taking in the outlines of her dresser, mirror, and bookshelves. Glancing down at herself, she made out the twisted form of her blanket wrapped haphazardly around her waist, half of the material still clinging stubbornly to the bed above her. 

There was no fire.

It was all just… a dream.

Letting out a relieved sigh, Twilight immediately began to calm her racing heart and attempted to remember exactly what had put her in such a panic only moments before; what exactly had she dreamed that had her so convinced that she was on fire? Twilight tried to grasp at the slippery images but all she was able to do was recall a few disjointed concepts and emotions; she knew Celestia had played a part in her dream - and she vaguely remembered a haunting lullaby - but besides that the only things she could remember were the feelings of love, loss, confusion, and fright. It seemed the harder she tried to remember exactly what her dream was about, the more the images distorted, leaving her with nary a clue as to what had panicked her enough to land her on the floor.

Well, besides a mysterious dream-fire that she could just vaguely recall, that is.

She also had a slight headache, but she attributed that to her tumble from the bed, something she hadn’t done in years. Face practically cracking in half as a huge yawn tore itself from her lips, Twilight mentally shrugged and decided it would either come to her or it wouldn’t. She was just glad, however, that Spike wasn’t currently in the room with her; the baby dragon would no doubt delight in bringing her sleep-induced mishap up at every opportunity. Yawning once more, this time managing to stifle most of it, Twilight began to stretch only for a disturbing thought to occur to her.

She had fallen asleep during her lesson.

Abject horror running through her at the thought of not only missing out on knowledge but also disrespecting the princess in such a way, it didn’t even occur to Twilight to wonder how exactly she had made it to bed in the first place. All she could think of was that not only had she lost out on time with her mentor, but she had surely disappointed the kind alicorn with her inattentiveness. Struggling out of the confines of her tangled sheets with the intention of finding out how many hours she had wasted on sleeping, the purple pony attempted to bolt into a standing position only to stumble as one of her hooves caught on a pleat in the material.

Hitting the floor with a forced exhalation of breath and rolling into the blanket, Twilight struggled to disentangle herself from her material prison once more. Both wings and one hoof pinned down by the twisted blanket, Twilight rolled onto her stomach with a scowl. Grabbing the material with her teeth, she was just about to try to free her hoof when her bedroom door suddenly swung open, startling her into freezing.


-0-0-


Luna marched determinedly down the hallway, her long strides eating up the short distance between her chambers and Twilight’s. Though she had told her sister that she would wait until after she had slept to speak to Twilight Sparkle, her plans had changed abruptly when the haunting memory of her sister’s melancholy foiled each and every one of her attempts to reach unconsciousness. After nearly an hour of unsuccessfully trying to fall asleep, her conscience had finally succeeded in its quest to prod her into action; after quickly using her ability to see if Twilight was awake, she had set out to get some clear answers and banish her sister’s woes once and for all - both so that she could sleep and so that she could prove without a shadow of a doubt that she had been right.

Stopping in front of Twilight’s quarters, Luna looked to one of the guards standing at attention in front of the door. Coming to a split decision, she gave him clear instructions before continuing forward. “We order you to send our sister a missive requesting her appearance at her earliest convenience.”

“At once, Your Majesty.” The unicorn guard responded immediately, his face and voice betraying nothing but perfect professionalism.

Opening the door in front of her, Luna was half-way inside the still-dark room when a conversation she’d had recently with her sister popped into her head. Remembering the long and confusing lecture she’d received about this century’s etiquette, she poked her head back outside of the room and cleared her throat. “We order you to send our sister a missive requesting her appearance at her earliest convenience… please.”

“At once, Your Majesty.” The armored pegasus left swiftly, obediently intent on carrying out his orders.

Luna blinked slightly in confusion; she could have sworn that she’d been ordering around a unicorn just a moment ago. Chalking it up to a lack of sleep, she shrugged her shoulders and continued inside. Flicking on the light switch with a thought and a touch of magic, Luna began to speak loudly as she scanned the room for her purple target.  “Twilight Sparkle! We have come to inquire about a topic… most… important…”

Luna’s words trailed off as she finally caught sight of the youngest alicorn. Staring blankly at the visibly embarrassed bundle tangled on the floor beside the bed, her hind legs suddenly gave out on her. Plopping ungracefully into a seated position on the floor, she absentmindedly closed and locked the doors behind her. Opening and closing her mouth a few times in shock, she finally managed to find her voice, unconsciously reverting to a more familiar inflection. “Thou art Twilight Sparkle, correct?”

“Yes…? Who else would I be?” Twilight spoke slowly, her embarrassment at being found in her current position by a Princess swiftly fading into confused curiosity before settling on worry. Peering over at the stunned blue alicorn by her door, she voiced her concern. “Are you alright Princess Luna?”

“We think that it is us who should be asking that of you, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna stated, her voice oddly faint as opposed to its usual intensity as she continued to stare intensely at the confused pony.

“Me? I’m fine, Princess. I-,” Twilight started to reassure her only to stop as she noticed something odd. “Er, Princess Luna? Have you, um, grown since yesterday? You seem a bit… bigger.” Eyes widening as she realized just how her statement could have been construed, Twilight quickly backtracked. “N-not that I think you’ve gotten any bigger; I meant to say taller. You seem taller.”

Luna was silent for such a long moment that Twilight was sure she had offended the older alicorn. It was to her utter surprise, then, that Luna completely ignored her fumbling excuses. Instead of infuriated or insulted, Luna’s voice was a mixture of cautious concern; it was as if she expected Twilight to suddenly freak out. 

“Nay, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna started slowly, hesitantly. “We believe ‘tis you who have… shrunk. Physically regressed, to be most specific.”

“W-what? No. That’s ridiculous,” Twilight stammered nervously as she shook her head, denying it. Eyes suddenly flickering around the room in unease, she began to take in her surroundings with a growing sense of panic; now that she looked closer, it did seem like everything was bigger than it was supposed to be, not just Luna. But that was… Twilight giggled anxiously, borderline hysterically. “C-completely ridiculous.”

Luna opened her mouth only to slowly close it once more. Thinking rapidly, she instead plucked the large mirror from atop the dresser and gently set it down in front of the stammering alicorn. Seeing was believing, as the saying went, and she had a feeling that Twilight would stubbornly refuse to take her word without visual proof.

Not that she could blame her; it’s not like such an occurrence was in any way common. It was quite understandably a startling revelation to suddenly have dumped on you. Finding out such a thing would also be infinitely more distressing for those who, like she had observed in Twilight, tended to work themselves into a neurotic frenzy by overanalysing everything and jumping to wild conclusions.

Twilight’s higher brain functions slowed considerably as she unexpectedly began a staring contest with an uncomfortably familiar filly. A blast from the past, the little purple filly gazing back at her from inside the mirror was a dead ringer for herself at about the age she had received her cutie mark. In fact, if the idea weren’t simply ridiculous, she’d swear she was looking at a younger version of herself. 

Cocking her head slowly to the side, she suddenly froze; the impossible image before her copied her actions with such a scary accuracy that a cacophony of alarm bells started ringing within her head. Her mouth suddenly dry, Twilight attempted to talk only for a faint squeak to escape her parted lips. Clearing her throat, she tried to speak once more, her sense of dread rising with each passing heartbeat. 

“Th-that mirror is enchanted… right? It… it has some sort of illusory spell or something cast on it, right?” Twilight’s voice started as a faint echo of its former self, though her hysterics increased with each word she spoke aloud. She hadn’t noticed it earlier, what with her mind being preoccupied and her head throbbing in pain, but her voice was…wrong. It was too high pitched to be her voice, and yet it was; it seemed to be yet one more achingly familiar reminder of years gone by. 

“…I am afraid not, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna’s tone was a careful mixture of apologetic and cautious; she spoke as if she hoped she could minimise the stricken pony’s imminent psychological meltdown by controlling her tone of voice. “’Tis nothing more than an ordinary looking glass.”

Twilight’s normally purple features paled so swiftly and so suddenly at her words that Luna wasn’t sure if the purple pony was going to faint, start hyperventilating, or begin projectile vomiting. At this point Luna was at a loss as to what she could do; fetching the doctor and yanking her sister from her meeting to deal with the situation in her stead were only two of the many possible actions currently running through her mind.

“Art thou well, Twilight Sparkle?” Luna asked hesitantly, only to wince a moment later as her rather redundant words registered; of course the mare-turned-foal before her wasn’t well.

“I’m just…” Twilight’s oddly light and airy words had a slight slur to them as she blinked slowly; she was awfully lightheaded all of a sudden. It slowly registered that the filly before her looked just as out of it as she felt, though the encroaching dark splotches in the corners of her vision made it hard to focus. “I’m just gonna…”

Twilight trailed off woozily before suddenly slumping forward in a dead faint, the morning’s revelations proving too much for her fragile psyche to handle. Still entangled in her blankets, her head fell the slight distance to the floor and impacted the hard surface with a muffled thump. Her messy mane slowly spilled across her head and neck, covering her face from view and causing a few lonely strands of hair to shift slightly with every breath she took.

Luna’s eyes widened in alarm as she watched her sister’s student suddenly stiffen before her large violet eyes rolled back into her head mere moments before she hit the ground. Horn blazing to life, a light blue haze surrounded the downed pony as Luna stumbled to her hooves, her legs slightly numb and uncooperative due to the awkward way she had been sitting. Luna’s hasty scramble slowed considerably in relief, however, as her cursory medical diagnostic of the regressed alicorn soothed her momentary panic; Twilight was peacefully sleeping once more, her fainting spell due to nothing more than an emotional and mental overload.

Coming to a complete stop next to the sleeping pony, Luna suddenly groaned, a hoof rising to rest tiredly on her forehead; this was not what she had been expecting when she left the comfort of her bed to mount an inquisition against the younger mare. All she had wanted to do was confirm her suspicions, get Twilight to admit her feelings to Celestia, and go back to bed; it was a well thought out plan that was supposed to be foolproof and leave all parties happy and satisfied. Instead, she had one unconscious alicorn who had already had a nervous breakdown over her sudden transformation, one currently oblivious alicorn who might just have a nervous breakdown of her own when she became aware of said transformation, and a mounting pressure between her eyes that promised a world of pain if she didn’t sleep soon.

With the way her day was going so far, she half expected Celestia to burst into the room, come to the wrong conclusion, and banish her once more to the moon. Common sense swiftly kicked in, however, and Luna had to admit that she highly doubted that she would ever face a repeat of her lunar exile; her time on the moon had left too many emotional scars on both sisters – scars that time may or may not heal - for Celestia to ever willingly send her back. She would unavoidably, however, have to deal with her sister’s increase in motherly instincts when she found out-

…Wait.

A thoughtful and slightly calculating look slid across Luna’s features as an idea blossomed in her mind. Perhaps the idea was born due to the incessant throb in her head, or her lack of sleep, or the complete absurdity of the current situation. In all actuality, it was probably a fair combination of all three. In any case, a plan half-part logic and half-part genius – a plan much better than her last one, now that she had thought about it – was quickly taking shape.

With her motherly instincts at an all-time high, Celestia would be unable to hold herself back from mothering Twilight Sparkle like she wished. Twilight would – despite the fact that she had apparently retained her adult mind – require the aid due to her current form, and would relish in their newfound closeness just as much as Luna’s sister. Twilight would see just how much Celestia cared about her and vice-versa, their actions speaking louder than any words could. It was completely and utterly foolproof.

Looking down at one of the two unwitting participants in her master plan, Luna’s self-satisfied smile wavered as she winced lightly; on closer inspection, Twilight Sparkle’s current position looked particularly uncomfortable. Not wanting to leave her friend – nay, her niece – in such an uncomfortable position, and not willing to deal with Celestia should her elder sister ever find out that she did such a thing, Luna frowned as she tried to decipher the best way to untangle the filly from her sheets. A few moments of assessment indicated that trying to liberate the alicorn by hoof would be futile, and so Luna gently used her magic to lift the entire bundle up into the air.

Carefully, making sure to provide sufficient support for the small body so as not to injure her, Luna slowly untwisted the blanket until the pony and material were completely separated. Letting the sheet drop to the floor, Luna gently set the sleeping alicorn onto the plush bed. A peculiar gleam entered her eyes as, once her magic retreated, Twilight whined lightly and shifted, curling herself into a small ball.

Taking the time to study her friend – niece – Luna’s earlier grumpiness at her lack of sleep grudgingly dissipated as she reluctantly admitted to herself that the young alicorn was simply too adorable. Everything from her stubby little horn to her chubby little cheeks to her small fluffy wings was making Luna fight the urge to stop and coo at her utter cuteness. If this was anything how Twilight Sparkle looked like when she first came to live and study at the castle, then Luna really couldn’t blame her sister for falling in love with the filly – if anything, she was even surer of the imminent success of her plan than she was mere minutes ago.

Thrown from her thoughts by a slight shiver that wracked the small form, Luna acted without thinking; completely ignoring the discarded blanket on the floor, she hopped up onto the bed. Lying down on her stomach, she reached out with one dark blue wing and gently swept the chilled filly closer, her intention being to share her own body heat. As if sensing the impending warmth, Twilight did not put up a fight at her sudden displacement and in fact burrowed even closer in her sleep. 

Unaware of the small yet soft smile adorning her face as she both felt and saw the small alicorn nuzzle into her side, Luna’s muscles unconsciously began to relax. Gently blanketing the slight form with her wing, she made sure all but the filly’s head was covered by her soft plumes. A soft snort escaped Luna’s throat as she smiled wryly; this was not a position that she had ever expected to be in. Even so, she couldn’t help but lean her head down and quickly but lightly nuzzle the top of the now peacefully sleeping Twilight’s head - It wasn’t like anypony was there to witness her actions anyways.

Feeling unexpectedly comfortable in the position she was currently in, Luna let out a long yawn. Lethargy filled her body as her blinks became further apart, her eyes having to fight to reopen every time they closed. Yawning once more, Luna slowly lowered her head until her muzzle was resting lightly on the bed beside Twilight’s head.

Twilight was unconscious and Celestia was currently in a –somewhat- important meeting, with instructions to meet with them when she was finished. Because of those two factors, Luna figured there was really nothing to be done except wait until both matters were resolved before the three of them could tackle the bigger issue. In fact, it was probably best if she stayed by the regressed Twilight Sparkle’s side until her sister arrived – just in case. That being said, nopony could blame her if she allowed herself to…

Luna’s eyes slipped shut as she fell into sleep.


-0-0-

	
> Lucidity
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The first thing Twilight became aware of as her mind lethargically began to surface from the depths of deep slumber was just how utterly comfortable she felt. It was an extremely pleasant sensation, one which was intrinsically linked to happy memories of living in the castle and strongly brought to mind the feelings of being safe and loved. A slow, muzzy smile slid across her face as she contentedly sighed through slightly parted lips; for some reason it felt like it had been so very long since she had last felt this way, and she hadn't realised just how much she had missed the blissful sensations. 

Arching her back and stretching her hooves and neck languidly with a slight yawn, two more sensations managed to filter through her groggy mind as she was met by a peculiar resistance, causing her earlier smile to grow. She was beginning to realise that her high comfort levels were due in no small part to the delightfully warm softness that surrounded her, the sensations somehow reaching to that secret part of her deep inside and transforming her into a giddy, gooey mess. Eyes still firmly closed, Twilight couldn't resist the urge to rub her head slowly yet firmly against the warm lump beside her, a near purr escaping her lips at the delightful sensation of a soft coat gently caressing her face. 

A slight groan rumbled through the mass of fur beside her at her actions, causing Twilight to start slightly, the small jump making the warm barrier across her back twitch lightly in response.

After a brief pause, Twilight insistently nuzzled the body next to her once more with a poorly concealed giggle as the light tickling sensation continued along her back and side. A few minutes passed as Twilight amused herself at the expense of the sleeping pony beside her before she felt another yawn fighting to escape and finally gave in to the urge to open her eyes. Blinking blearily, she slowly tilted her head from side to side only for a slow frown to slide onto her face at her unexpected surroundings; she had expected to be greeted by the soft white coat of her princess - or even the pastel colors of her beautiful flowing mane - but instead her eyes were met with a blurry black expanse.

Lifting up her front hooves, Twilight rubbed insistently at both eyes before looking again, her frown only deepening in response; her vision had cleared enough at her actions for her to discern that what she had previously thought of as black was in fact a very dark blue, something that confused her sleepy mind greatly. Turning her head and staring intently at the dark figure before her, Twilight wanted to make doubly sure that her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. With no small amount of confusion, it was mere moments later that she confirmed to herself that she was, in fact, snuggled up to a dark blue pony and was using one of said pony’s large wings as a makeshift blanket. 

A large, dark blue pony. 

A large, dark blue, stranger pony. 

A large, dark blue, stranger pony who was definitely not Princess Celestia. 

Twilight blanched. 

Wiggling frantically, she attempted to escape from the unfamiliar pony's embrace only to freeze as the pony in question grumbled lightly and shifted. Waves of panic began mounting within her as she stayed stock still, fervently hoping that the pony did not wake up. Breathes coming out in short gasps as her ears lay flat against her head in fear, it was with no small amount of relief to Twilight that, after what seemed like hours, the blue pony settled down into slumber once more. 

Continuing slowly onwards once her panic had subsided to a manageable level - this time being infinitely more careful - Twilight was able to reach the edge of the bed and all but detach herself from the pony's embrace. Feeling the large wing begin to move inward and a searching hoof lightly brush against her side, Twilight impulsively jerked forward in an attempt to escape its reaching grasp. Not having taken into consideration just how close she was to the edge of the bed, the purple pony ended up tumbling over the side only to – thankfully - land on a pillow laying discarded on the floor.

Staring dazedly forward, Twilight slowly wobbled to her hooves and peered cautiously around the room. It appeared to her that she was in an unfamiliar room with an unfamiliar pony, and yet she couldn't help the niggling feeling at the back of her mind insisting that not all was as it seemed. Deciding to listen to the voice – if only to sate her stirring curiosity – Twilight unsteadily rose onto her hind legs; the urge to investigate narrowly beat the urge of putting as much distance as she could between herself and wherever she was. Resting her front hooves on the edge of the bed, she warily poked her muzzle atop the mattress and began surreptitiously studying her apparent captor.

The pony appeared to be a larger than average mare and had, as she had determined earlier, a silky dark blue coat. Moving on, Twilight slowly took in her large blue wings, the warm remembrance of being embraced by them unconsciously jumping to the forefront of her mind. Catching herself as a little smile began forming on her muzzle, she shifted in discomfort at associating being held by a stranger with such warm feelings and quickly continued her inspection, only for her eyes to land quizzically upon the blue pony's mane. 

The mane in question was both achingly familiar and infinitely strange; like her mentor's, the mane - and tail, she confirmed after quickly checking - was ethereal and seemed to billow in a non-existent breeze. Unlike like the princess' flowing aurora of soothing pastel colors, however, the blue pony's was a star-spangled blue – it was almost as if she carried the splendor of the cosmos within her flowing locks. It was with an equal mixture of confusion and curiosity that Twilight tore her gaze from the mesmerizing mane; her eyes continued their inspection only to halt as she caught sight of the large conical protrusion jutting forth from the pony's forehead.

Eyes snapping back and forth from the wings to the horn to the beautiful flowing mane, Twilight began to mouth the words 'alicorn' and 'princess' as her confusion skyrocketed. The incessant feelings of familiarity returned with a vengeance, and Twilight struggled to remember exactly what it was that she had forgotten and seemed to plague her so. As she adamantly shook the last vestiges of sleep from her mind, that meek little voice from earlier returned as a mental roar and forced a single word to the forefront of her mind which then rolled along her tongue and fell unbidden from her lips. 

"...Luna?" 

As if the word itself were the key to a lock, a dam within her mind burst open causing her to stagger back onto her haunches, a roaring deluge of memories being released all at once. Memories of growing up, meeting her friends, her many adventures and of course growing a pair of wings and being crowned a Princess all flittered chaotically throughout her mind in a confusing jumble. Groaning at the sudden torrent of information, Twilight frantically shook her head from side to side in a vain attempt at forcing the misfiled memories into their proper mental slots only to stop suddenly after a few moments.

Raising a hoof to her -now - spinning head, Twilight closed her eyes and attempted to rub the resulting dizziness away. A few moments of gentle ministrations against her head later had her opening her eyes carefully only for her to let loose a relieved sigh at the fact that her earlier light-headedness had passed.

“What an odd dream…” Letting loose a wry chuckle, Twilight looked around her room from her position on the floor with new eyes.

“What did I eat before going to bed?” Smacking her lips together and immediately wrinkling her nose in disgust at the taste in her mouth, Twilight continued to gaze around at her – seemingly normal – room with a bemused frown. “Whatever it was, it must have been spoiled. I mean, why else would I dream something crazy like being foalnapped and then cuddled by Princess Luna, and-?”

A sudden snort followed by a few intelligible murmurs from above caused the rest of her words to die in her throat. Eyes widening to the size of saucers, Twilight cautiously poked her head over the edge of the bed and unexpectedly came muzzle to muzzle with the sleeping lunar princess. Not being able to do anything but stare in disbelief for a few long moments, Twilight was finally drawn from her shock as the princess mumbled once more, Luna’s breath – which Twilight disgruntledly noticed was far more minty fresh than her own – puffing warmly against her face and causing her to blink.

“…Unless I actually was cuddling with Luna…” Twilight’s voice was faint as she fell slowly to her haunches once more in absolute befuddlement. Like a lightning strike, a frightful thought made itself known and wormed its way to the forefront of her mind.

Eyes popping wide for the umpteenth time that day, Twilight frantically scanned the room and found her missing mirror propped up against the far wall. Stumbling to her hooves, she took a few shaky steps before her gait steadied enough for her to move them without conscious thought. Trotting over to the mirror with purpose, the purple alicorn looked to her reflection and faltered as her nagging suspicions were confirmed; staring back at her was an overall frazzled looking, sleep-rumpled alicorn filly with an impressive – and horrifying - case of bed-mane.

A twitch developed in her right eye.

“There… there has to be a completely logical explanation for… for this.” The twitching in her eye became more pronounced as her mind jumped frantically from farfetched excuse to farfetched excuse. Teeth grinding together in growing panic as her mane and tail somehow became even more frazzled than it already was, a sudden thought occurred to her, one her mind latched onto with a desperate fervour. “O-oh! Of course! I’m still asleep and this is all just some crazy, bad-food-induced lucid dream. I knew there was a perfectly reasonable explanation.”

Eye now twitching at a steady rate, Twilight squashed down the little voice inside – the one that insisted her dabbling in lucid dreaming had never procured such realistic results – with a ferocity that would have surprised her at any other time. Frantic gaze alighting on the reflection of the shrouded window behind her, Twilight’s voice rose hysterically. “In fact, I bet if I looked outside I’d see crazy Discordian dream effects, like flying inkwells and dancing scrolls… and…”

Taking the barest of moments to think over what she had just said, Twilight dashed over to the window as fast as her stubby little legs could carry her. Momentarily forgetting her new stature, she attempted to leap over the low bench beneath the window only for one of her hind hooves to catch the lip of the seat and send her tumbling forward. Crashing into the windows with a light yelp, Twilight instinctively scrambled for purchase and grasped one of the drapes in a vice-grip with her front hooves. Hearing a low creak and feeling a light breeze against her back, Twilight’s eyes widened in mounting horror as three things became suddenly clear.

One…

Her windows must not have been latched correctly.

Two…

Her stumble and subsequent crash must have had sufficient force to push the unsecured window panes wide open.

Three…

She was now dangling precariously outside her window, the only thing keeping her from falling to the gardens below being the – on closer inspection rather flimsy – piece of cloth clutched tightly in her small hooves.

Twilight tried to get her panicked mind and heaving breaths under control even as she shook in fright at the situation she found herself in. Chancing a peek down at the ground many stories below her, Twilight let out a weak whine before tightly clenching her eyes shut. Heart pounding in abject horror at how high up she was and how precarious her position was, both the pessimistic and realistic parts of her brain decided to band together and come to one terrifying conclusion; this felt, as she had suspected earlier, far too realistic to be a dream.

Whining once more, Twilight attempted to frantically shimmy up the curtain in the hopes of being able to climb back into her window only to freeze as a sound reached her suddenly perked ears. Eyes popping open, her violet orbs stared upwards in shock as the drape she was dangling from began to rip just above where she was gripping. Her attempts at climbing became even more frantic and hurried, a fact she belatedly realised only exacerbated her current dilemma. With an altogether too loud snip the piece of fabric Twilight was clutching like a lifeline broke off from the rest of the curtain and uncaringly sent her tumbling into a free-fall.

Plummeting head-over-tail to her doom below, Twilight attempted to scream only for the sound to get caught in her throat and instead come out as a strangled whimper. With the wind whipping her unruly mane into her face and her heart in her throat, Twilight desperately attempted to focus on using her magic to save her. It was not to be, however, as each attempt at using her magic – from a simple weightless spell to a teleport – resulted in a flurry of useless pink sparks from her horn and a stab of pain; it was as if there was some sort of block keeping her magic from flowing effectively to her horn and outwards.

Still trying to force her magic through her horn, Twilight was suddenly reminded of her new appendages as a particularly violent downdraft pulled at her feathers. Clenching her teeth at the pain in both her head and her back, she forcefully opened the wings that were tightly clenched to her sides due to her fear. Knowing her momentum would put too much of a strain on her fledging wings if she even attempted to fly, she instead painstakingly angled her wings in a quasi-glide towards a hedge – as opposed to the dirt path fast approaching below her. With a last strangled cry she flung her magic against the invisible block with all of her might, breaking through just in time to summon a weak personal barrier.

With a mighty rustle and thump, Twilight impacted the large bush with a jerk, its many leaves and branches acting as a rather hard cushion and successfully breaking the suddenly limp filly’s fall.


	-0-0-
	

Celestia walked sedately down the marble hallway, a serene smile on her face as she glided by the odd scurrying maid and stoic guard. Having finished her meeting with Ambassador Sharp Eye for the day she had decided to take a detour; instead of heading to the kitchens for a midday snack she was on her way to answer her sister’s summons. Her serene mask slipped minutely as a twisting sensation made itself known in her stomach, her mind reflexively flashing back to her earlier conversation with Luna before she forcefully buried such thoughts.

She wasn’t sure if she was more anxious to hear if Luna had failed or succeeded – and, if so, whether or not the answer was favorable - in her self-imposed quest, both thoughts equally settling into her mind and chest with a surprising heaviness.

Mask once more firmly in place as she finally reached her destination despite metaphorically dragging her hooves, Celestia swallowed a sigh as she came to a stop in front of a pair of large doors sporting Twilight’s cutie mark. Taking the time to let her eyes roam over the beautifully carved and painted mark with a proud smile, she finally admitted to herself that she was stalling after tracing the purple star with her gaze for the fifth time. Pushing all apprehensive thoughts from her mind, she straightened slightly and raised an alabaster hoof to knock on the door.

A white brow rose slowly as silence greeted her. Clearing her throat, she glanced inquisitively at the lone earth pony guard standing rigidly at his post beside the door. “Princesses Luna and Twilight Sparkle…?”

“Are inside Princess Twilight Sparkle’s quarters, Your Majesty.” The young guard spoke swiftly and firmly, answering his monarch’s unasked question to the best of his ability. “Nopony has passed through these doors since Princess Luna entered at oh-seven-hundred. That is, I mean-”

“That’s quite alright Private,” Celestia winked at the suddenly fumbling guard, gentle humor audible in her voice. “I’m more than capable of understanding military time. Thank you for your assistance.”

“O-of course, Your Majesty!” The flustered stallion snapped once more to attention, his eyes staring intently forward as he attempted to regain his practiced stoicism. “I-I mean, it was my pleasure, Your Majesty!”

Fighting back an amused chuckle, Celestia lit up her horn and attempted to open the door only to be met by a surprising resistance. Momentarily nonplussed, she recovered quickly and sent a tendril of magic into the lock; it was a matter of seconds before a faint click was heard and the door inched ajar. She wouldn’t normally invade her student’s privacy, but in this case she had been summoned, a fact which was excuse enough to sate what little guilt she may have otherwise felt. Pushing the door open until it was wide enough to accommodate her larger than average frame, Celestia slipped inside and closed the door behind her.

“Twilight?” Celestia looked around the room for her student and her sister from her position at the door. The lights were on and the message – and guard - had stated that they would be here, and yet she couldn’t immediately see either of her alicorns. “Luna?”

Moving away from the door with a quizzical frown, Celestia came to a stop in the middle of the room as something registered in the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she wasn’t sure whether to roll her eyes or snort at the sight that greeted her, and so exasperatedly settled on an indulgent sigh. “Luna…”

There, sprawled atop Twilight’s bed with a pillow clutched tightly to her chest, was Luna. The blue mare was mumbling nonsense with every fourth or fifth breath, her wings sprawled out haphazardly and twitching erratically at her sides.

It took only a hoof-full of seconds for Celestia to quickly come to the same conclusion she always did when watching her rumpled younger sister sleep; though Luna exuded a certain amount of grace and mystery, it was moments like these that made it hard for the elder alicorn to view her younger sister as anything other than absolutely adorable.

“Come now Luna,” Celestia walked up to her dozing sister and nudged her with a hoof. “Must we really have a repeat of earlier?”

The blue alicorn’s response was a rather dismissive sounding snort and mumble combo as she buried her head further into the lavender pillow clutched between her hooves.

Magenta orbs zeroed in on a dark blue ear as she began to lean forward. Stopping inches away from the now twitching ear, Celestia frowned and rethought her plan of action – she had already used that tactic once today. Blinking mischievously seconds later as an idea occurred to her, Celestia shifted her position until her muzzle bumped lightly into Luna’s. Tilting her head slightly, she made a small golden spark travel up her horn and jump onto Luna’s, causing the younger alicorn to snort and twitch as she was suddenly faced with the sensation of being thoroughly tickled.

Celestia grinned unrepentantly as Luna’s wings fluffed up in defence as she whined; this was another of her favored methods of waking her younger sister.

Luna groggily cracked her eyes open with a groan, blinking blearily as her vision was obstructed by warm magenta surrounded by bright white. Blinking again and yet receiving no changes to her vision, Luna furrowed her brows slightly and spoke, her voice heavy with sleep and confusion. “Sister?”

“Mhmm,” Celestia hummed in agreement, rubbing their noses together lightly in a quick butterfly kiss before pulling back and straightening up from her hunched position. “Did you sleep well?”

“I-yes,” Luna replied after a large yawn, her sleep-lidded eyes still staring at the white alicorn before her in light befuddlement. “Why are you here?”

“Well I was hoping you could tell me,” Celestia responded with a small smile, her amusement only growing at Luna’s resulting blank stare. “You did send for me, did you not?”

“Send for…” Luna trailed off blankly before a metaphorical torch lit up in her mind, causing her head to shoot up in remembrance. “Twilight!”

“Yes, where is she?” Celestia cocked her head slightly to the side and glanced around the room once more. “I was under the impression that she would be here with you; this is, after all, her bedroom.”

“Ah… Right…” Luna cleared her throat somewhat nervously. Though she knew the situation they found themselves in wasn’t her fault, she was unsure as to how her sister would react at first. “Sister, we ask that thou brace thyself posthaste. The news we impart may shock thee.”

“Oh?” Celestia questioned, her amused smile vanishing in the face of her sister’s serious demeanor and unconscious dialect slip. “Should Twilight be present for this news?”

“Twilight Sparkle is the subject of this news.” Luna hesitated only slightly before deciding to bite the arrow and get it over with. Flaring one of her wings with an unconscious flourish, she spoke. “Behold!”

Celestia stared blankly at what Luna’s wing revealed, her mind running in circles as it tried to process what she was seeing.

“Now sister,” Luna started, her nerves mounting as she tried to decipher her sister’s expression. “Remember that there is most certainly a solution out there and we have only to find it.”

“Luna,” Celestia started only to stop. Taking one last long look at the object on display beneath the blue wing, she slid her lightly quizzical gaze over to her sister’s obviously nervous one. Quickly smothering her confused expression into a careful smile, she tried again. “Lulu. Would you… like a purple covering over your pillows instead of your blue and silver ones?”

“What?” Luna blinked blankly at her sister. It took a long moment for her to get over the seemingly random subject change, though it crossed her mind that Celestia may be trying to cope with the situation through avoidance. “No… we’re quite content with our-my pillow casings.”

“Of course,” Celestia nodded slowly as she continued to eye her sister oddly, though her carefully constructed smile hid all but a slight glint in her eyes.

“Sister,” Luna started before deciding to change tactics, her serious teal orbs locked onto her sister’s magenta ones. “Celestia. Avoidance is not an option; whilst far from dire, this is a situation that requires your undivided attention.”

“I see…” Celestia glanced beneath the wing once more and nodded, despite having no clue what her sister was going on about. “Is this… Are you lonely? Would you like another plush toy? Or perhaps for us to spend more time together?”

“What! No! Nonononono!” Luna couldn’t help but reflexively glance around the room for eavesdroppers as she hissed, her cheeks reddening. “We are the Bringer and Guardian of the Night! We have no use for such childish things as children’s toys.”

“Oh?” Celestia allowed a slight smirk to curl her lips as she gazed at her huffily blushing sister. “What about the plush rabbit I-”

“Mr. Nibbles is a collectable,” Luna interrupted with a sniff. “As are all of the other, ah, plush occupants of my chambers. I have told you this before.”

“Of course they are, Lulu,” Celestia humored her sister with a smirk before her voice and expression softened perceptibly. “Would you like for us to spend more quality time together then?”

“I, well,” Luna averted her eyes. “I would not say no, but-wait! That is completely besides the point!”

“Luna-”

“No!” Luna huffed and poked her sister with a hoof in agitation. “Cease your incessant distractions and look at what is beneath my wing!”

“Luna, I’ve already-”

“Look!” Luna interrupted once again with a stubborn scowl on her face. “Look and tell me what you see!”

Celestia sighed and just barely contained an eye-roll. Exaggeratedly turning her whole head to face the object beside her sister, she scanned it with her eyes for a full minute before swinging around to meet her sister’s teal gaze once more. 

“Well?” Luna asked, successfully hiding her nervousness behind her impatience.

“It’s one of Twilight’s purple pillows,” Celestia stated dryly with a raised brow.

“Yes! It is one of Twilight Sparkle’s- wait! What?” Luna blinked in confusion before snapping her head to the side and gazing at the pillow nestled beside her in complete befuddlement.

“Is everything alright Luna?” Celestia asked in slight concern as she watched her sister search the bed with her eyes before standing up and looking at the bed beneath her. “Also, what were you saying about Twilight?”

“Hmm,” Luna mumbled concomitantly as she walked to the edge of the mattress and leaned over. Peering into the shadows beneath the bed for a moment, she then raised herself up with a preoccupied frown as she confirmed the transformed alicorn was not hiding within. 

“Luna!” Celestia spoke loudly to get her sister’s attention even as she moved to intercept her. Gazing down at the surprised pony who had just bumped into her, she softened her voice. “Twilight?”

“A-ah. Yes. Twilight Sparkle.” Luna giggled nervously as her eyes continued to scan the room before her sister’s hoof gently yet insistently guided her head upwards. Connecting nervously with her sister’s furrowed gaze, she swallowed. This was not going according to plan. “She… that is…”

“Yes…?” Celestia prompted gently though her concern was mounting, both for her student and for her sister. Perhaps she should spend more time with the blue alicorn, as well as make sure she gets plenty of rest; the last time her sister was this skittish around her had been when she was cleansed by the Elements of Harmony. “Go on.”

“Twilight Sparkle is…” Luna trailed off and slid her gaze to the side only for her eyes to widen suddenly as she caught sight of the open window. Snapping her gaze back to her sister’s increasingly worried orbs once more, she attempted a reassuring smile only for it to come out slightly wobbly. “S-she went for a, uh, a visit to the marketplace.”

“I was under the impression that she hadn’t left her room,” Celestia mused with a raised brow.

“Yes, well, she left by the window,” Luna smiled harder, praying for her sister to just accept the excuses she was making up and stop with her incessant questioning. “She wanted to gather more experience flying with her wings.”

“Is that so?” Celestia hummed thoughtfully. “I’m glad she’s getting used to her wings; I was afraid it would be quite some time before she fully accepted them as a part of her body. Did she say what she was going to buy?”

“Why yes, yes she did,” Luna nodded decisively. It was only after a few moments of silently staring at each other that Luna realized her sister was waiting for further information. “…Quills.”

“Quills?” Celestia watched her sister nod affirmatively before sliding her gaze over to the desk in the corner, a canister of no less than fifteen finely crafted quills standing proudly atop for all to see. “She seems to have plenty at the moment.”

“Yes… Well…” Luna floundered for a moment as she stared blankly at the numerous chinks in her excuse. Shrugging her shoulders, she decided to pass it off as a quirk of Twilight’s. “She is your student.”

Celestia seemed to think on that statement for a few moments before, to Luna’s relief, accepting it with an indulgent sigh. “She always was excited to go quill shopping; she passes through them absurdly fast.”

“Perhaps you should just give her a few of your feathers; I guarantee such a quill would last longer in her hooves than the norm.” Luna glanced once more at the window as she tried to think of a way to get rid of her sister so she could search for and retrieve the wayward filly before she was found out.

“Hmm…” Celestia tilted her head slightly; an intrigued look settled onto her visage as she thoughtfully brought the tip of one wing in front of her face. “There is that…”

“Yes, yes,” Luna’s eyes caught the clock in her ocular sweep of the room. “Ah! Is it that time already?”

“What?” Celestia’s wings twitched in surprise as Luna suddenly started to bodily herd her towards the door.

“’Tis time for your midday snack, sister. Thou wouldst not want to keep Chef Gateau waiting, now would you?” Luna opened the door with magic and closed it firmly behind them. “Go forth and enjoy thy cake; Twilight and I shall seek you out once she returns from her, ah, outing.”

Luna smiled brightly at her bewildered sister before teleporting away in a blue flash of light. Reappearing in the center of the guard barracks, the smile quickly slid off of her face. Gazing around the room at the half a dozen frozen solar guards, as well as the two lunar guards surprisingly still in their armor, she spoke, her voice reflecting the direness of the situation.

“Guards. We have a situation.”


-0-0-

	
> Donuts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“…ey…….limits…..”

Twilight groaned as she dazedly woke up to a dull pain suffusing her whole body. The strain of breaking through the barrier on her magic coupled with the strain her not-quite-controlled fall had placed on her small wings had been painful. It had not, however, prepared her for the backlash that had assailed her slight form as her weak barrier impacted the bush with startling force. It was perhaps a blessing that she had blacked out in the split second between her barrier shattering and her body hitting the ground.

“…Guar….dem…show…..yo…slf…..”

Twilight sighed internally before initiating her emergency post-experiment procedure; she needed to know what state she was in before she could go back to panicking about what state she was in. Preliminary observations suggested bruising along most of her body, if the dull aching was anything to go by, as well as a – hopefully temporary – problem with her auditory senses.

Secondary observations required her to actively test instead of relying on simple passive observation. Twilight started with her wings by giving them a small twitch. The pain was… bearable, if unwelcome. She supposed it didn’t come as a surprise that one or both of them were most likely contused, if not outright sprained. Still, it would be dangerous and irresponsible of her to simply let them dangle at her sides, and so she painstakingly folded them up with a wince.

Taking a moment to breathe through the pain, she waited until the sensation faded back into bearable levels before continuing. Next on the list were her limbs. Twitching each of her legs, she slowly tested her range of movement before sighing in relief- though she was met with the expected ache, nothing seemed to be missing or broken. 

She already knew that there was a problem with her hearing, because while it wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility, she highly doubted that there was a swarm of bees buzzing around her head. Checking things off on her mental checklist, she moved on to the next item. Slowly cracking open her eyes, she was met with a blur of green. Blinking a few times brought her eyesight into focus, the green blur solidifying into a mass of leaves.

Again, no surprise – she had, after all, aimed for a bush.

Another successful check was added to the list as she continued.

Here Twilight paused before steeling herself. It was time to test her magic. She started small by simply accessing her magic and letting it flow along her horn. This was followed by the immediate unpleasant sensation of something prodding her brain, bringing to mind the many times she had suffered from overusing her magic. Not willing to take any chances with her magic on the line, Twilight decided to take her test one step further to be completely certain of her self-prognosis. Focusing, she determinedly pushed away the nervousness roiling in her stomach and decided to simply pluck one of the leaves off the bush with her magic. Enveloping the leaf in her pink aura, she gave a light tug.

The results were… surprising, to say the least.

While her target was successfully plucked, the rest of the bush unexpectedly exploded outwards in a blast of uncontrolled magic. Each leaf that had been previously attached to the bush shot out simultaneously in an arc, leaving the slightly singed alicorn sprawled out in a tangled mess of bare branches.

So… 

Twilight blinked, nonplussed as her ears rung. 

Not quite what she had in mind. The test was technically inconclusive, but… she’d treat it as magic depletion anyway and wait a while to try again. Just to be safe.

“…rea….ff limi….”

With the bush practically see-through now, Twilight moved her head to look to see if her explosion was confined to the bush she was currently occupying only to startle as she came nose to hoof with somepony. Craning her head, the hoof before her faded into a large white stallion with a deep frown on his face. A stallion with a familiar set of armor.

A guard.

But why did he look so angry…?

Twilight tilted her head in confusion, and watched as the guard’s mouth moved as he spoke. All Twilight heard, however, was the loud buzzing interspersed with faint vocal sounds, however they were too broken up to piece together.

The guard spoke again, his frown deepening at her silence. Despite the fact that it appeared as if he spoke louder, it did not help Twilight understand him.

Twilight decided to look at the whole situation objectively, and try to piece together his behaviour that way. She was currently laying in a bush in the garden that she had magically decimated. She was also feeling… not quite herself at the moment, to put it lightly.

So she was in an unknown – to most ponies - form, squatting in the destroyed leftovers of a bush in the inner garden. 

The inner, royal garden.

The royal garden which was off limits to…

Ah.

The whole situation made sense now. It was all a misunderstanding. Once she cleared everything up she’d enlist his help in returning to her room. Hopefully Luna had come up with a solution and everything would be as it once was.

Clearing her throat, Twilight was about to set everything straight when she was unceremoniously lifted up in an unfamiliar magic. Squeaking in surprise, she was floated ahead of the guard as he immediately began to trot towards the exit. Twilight shivered in discomfort; the feel of a stranger’s magic surrounding her was unpleasant enough, but couple that with the fact that she could tell he was angry and he wasn’t being as gentle as he could be and Twilight was feeling nervous.

No, it was more than simple nerves.

While she intellectually knew that the guards were good ponies who served the crown faithfully, this particular guard’s actions and bearing had her stomach all twisted up in knots. The negative feelings grew within her at an alarming rate despite her attempts at rationalization until she was physically shaking in his grasp, her eyes darting to and fro.

Fear.

She was afraid of the guard. 

And it was potent. No matter how hard she tried to convince herself that everything was alright and that she should trust the guard, she couldn’t help but feel the same way she did at Cadance and Shining’s wedding. When Celestia had hit the floor, her horn singed, Twilight had never been so afraid. Had never felt so small and helpless.

Until now.

It was as they turned the bend and Twilight got a glimpse of one of the ponies on the path that her mind finally blanked and her instincts took over. Lighting up her horn, she easily tore through the guard’s hold on her with another magical explosion – this one only half unintentional. As soon as she hit the ground, Twilight rolled. It took a few frantic tries before she was able to struggle up on all fours but within a matter of moments she had scrambled past the guard, through another bush, and past the gate.

The only thought in her mind was to escape- to hide. And so she ducked and weaved her way into the city proper, her intention to lose her tail in the bustling crowds.


-0-0-


Blueblood shrieked in startled fear as a pink explosion occurred mere hooves in front of him. He shrieked again when he saw that his pristine coat was now sullied with black soot. He shrieked a third and final time when his brain finally connected the small purple filly scrambling from the scene of the crime with a filly that plagued his memories.

Same explosion.

Same coat - though the tacky cape was new. And hideous.

Same penchant for being a thorn in his hide.

Slowly, Blueblood’s fear turned into ire, the blast from the past unearthing all of the associated emotions from his time as a foal. Contempt, jealousy, ire. Eyes narrowing, Blueblood stomped the ground imperiously with a hoof.

Not this time. This time, Blueblood would stop the little monster before it managed to ruin him and steal the limelight like it did in his youth. This time, Blueblood would get his revenge.

This time, Twilight Sparkle would regret ever thinking herself important enough to associate with the likes of Canterlot’s elite.

“Guards!”


-0-0-


Luna swiftly flew around the castle, her eyes scanning the ground below her for any sign of the wayward alicorn. Coming to a hovering stop in front of Twilight’s bedroom window, she inspected the scene of the crime. The window was still open, the torn drape fluttering in the light breeze. Deducing that the material had ripped when Twilight left, she could also assume that the young alicorn had not done it willingly.

Luna refused to believe that somepony had foalnapped the youngest princess right out from under her without her noticing, and so concluded that Twilight must have overbalanced and fell. While that was concerning, it was one of the better outcomes that had begun plaguing her once she had started her search. The fall, whilst most likely bruising the filly up a bit, would not be fatal due to Twilight’s ascension and increased durability.

Gliding down to the ground, Luna looked to see if Twilight had been knocked unconscious and was laying concealed by one of the garden’s numerous flora. It was a matter of moments before the blue alicorn spotted the anomaly. Not far from the window was, what her mind faintly recalled, supposed to be a rosebush. 

Instead of the same lush and thriving leaves and roses as the bushes around it, however, the bush in question was a naked mass of gnarled branches. The branches were broken and flattened toward the center, and it was there that Luna found her first sign of being on the right track. Caught in the branches was a large tattered piece of dark purple material – material which would without a doubt match Twilight’s drapes perfectly.

Inspecting the ground around the bush for more clues, Luna frowned. The path was marred with too many hoofprints to be of any help. Sighing, Luna scanned the path in both directions, debating her next course of action. She knew that she should alert her sister and have her aid in the search, but a few things held her back. 

First and foremost, she was certain that Twilight wasn’t in any serious danger. Had she thought for one moment that Twilight was in trouble, she would have helped her sister tear Equestria apart to save the pony near and dear to their hearts. However if she alerted Celestia now, not only would her sister be alarmed, but she would most likely overreact.

There was also a small part of Luna that didn’t want to face the consequences of not informing her sister of Twilight’s predicament and subsequent disappearance whilst under Luna’s care right away. When she finally owned up to her shortcomings on that matter, she wanted to have the filly safe and sound before them.

Which was definitely not because she wanted to have a barrier between them, nor because she was hoping Celestia would turn all of her attention on the youngest alicorn and conveniently forget to scold her. 

That being said, Luna was really not looking forward to the guilt her sister’s disappointed expression would inspire.

Though she refrained from bringing Celestia into the fold until absolutely necessary, Luna was taking the matter seriously. Mobilising the guard had been one of her better knee-jerk reactions, and she was relieved that they were taking the situation extra seriously. In fact, their quick response had somewhat impressed her.

//

“Guards. We have a situation.”

The guards, despite their differing states of dress, snapped to attention in unison. A beat passed before one of her night guards took a single step forward, obviously nominating herself as their spokespony.

“How may we be of service?” Her words were clear and cool, her yellow eyes never wavering in their seriousness.

“This is of the utmost importance, and supersedes all of your previous orders,” Luna began by stressing the importance of what she was going to ask of them. “We have a missing foal, who must be found as soon as possible.”

If possible, the guards stood even straighter than before, their determination almost palpable. The thought of any foal, helpless and missing on their watch in their city was simply unacceptable.

“Profile?” The night guard inquired swiftly.

“Filly. Age five- six at the most,” Luna started listing off. “Lavender coat, dark blue mane and tail streaked with pink.” As she continued to describe Twilight, she witnessed the quick confused glances a few of the older guards shot each other. It was this familiarity that convinced Luna to fully disclose their target’s identity, hoping the additional knowledge would cause the guards to prioritize and search places they otherwise wouldn’t.

“Race? Cutie Mark?” The mare questioned again as her monarch fell silent. “What name will she respond to?”

Luna fixed each guard with a searching look before nodding slowly, her mind made up. She recognized each and every one of them, and had no reason not to trust these particular guards. “Alicorn,” Luna responded slowly. “She sports a magic starburst cutie mark, and will most certainly respond to Twilight Sparkle, though we caution you to not advertise her name or situation to the populace.”

Stunned silence permeated the room at the revelation. Luna waited a few moments for the news to sink in for the obviously shocked guards before raising one brow questioningly. Getting the hint, the spokespony cleared her throat, knocking the others out of their shock and back into attention.

“As a matter of fact, this mission is of the highest secrecy,” Luna’s voice deepened to relay her seriousness. “Not even my sister is to know of this. Should you find Twilight, covertly return her to my chambers and inform me of your success. I shall check in every twenty minutes until she is found. Dismissed.”

The assembled ponies snapped into sharp salutes before scattering.

//

Shaking her head and knocking herself from her reverie, Luna debated on her next course of action for a few more beats before turning towards the garden’s exit. Flying over a small commotion near the gate, Luna was tempted to stop and attempt to gather more information until she recognized that the pony throwing the tantrum was Blueblood. Eyes rolling at the spoiled unicorn’s latest fit, Luna beat her powerful wings and left the Prince in the dust.


	-0-0-
	

Twilight stopped after what felt like hours of running and slumped against the wall of a building. Her lungs were burning from the exertion, and the aches from her fall continued to pain her, though they thankfully weren’t debilitating. It took a few minutes for Twilight to get her breathing under control, and once she did she straightened up with a grunt to observe her surroundings.

To be perfectly honest, she had been in a blind panic when she had started fleeing and so had no idea where she had ended up. The narrow corridor and large metal dumpster lent credence to her assumption of being in an alley, and so Twilight cautiously made her way to the end. Peering out into the street, the alicorn blinked in surprise at what she saw.

The Traveler’s Trough.

And across from The Traveler’s was…

Cautiously hopeful, Twilight quickly scanned the street for guards before slinking from cover. Hunching down to appear as small and insignificant as possible, Twilight hugged the wall as she quickly covered the few paces between her and her destination. Giving the street one last paranoid glance, the young alicorn pushed open the glass door.

Jumping at the sudden sound of a bell chiming, Twilight let out a low nervous laugh as she quickly realized that it was triggered by the opening of the door. Scanning the thankfully minimal customers, Twilight made her way to her normal seat at the corner of the bar. Struggling for a moment to climb up – she hadn’t had this problem in ages – the purple pony sighed once she managed the exasperatingly hard task.

It was there, sitting in one of the few places her mind associated with safe and happy thoughts, that Twilight finally relaxed. Slumping against the countertop, the purple alicorn buried her head in her front hooves and let out a large sigh. Safe and resting, Twilight allowed her mind to analyse the past few hours in more detail.

She had fallen asleep during Celestia’s lecture – a fact which still caused her face to pale and heart to race. Somepony had brought her to her room and tucked her in. Sometime between falling asleep in the library and waking up in her bed, she had transformed into a younger version of her current self – she had not regressed, because she was still in possession of her wings, and therefore her current state was most definitely due to some sort of transformative spell. 

She was relieved that though her body was younger, her mind and memories had remained as those of her adult self. Physically, she felt as if she had competed in The Running of the Leaves after sleeping on a bed of nails. Emotionally, she was all over the place.

The feeling of terror that had spiked within her when that guard had captured her surprised her. Intellectually, she knew that she had nothing to fear from the stallion, or any of the other royal guards. Emotionally, however, she didn’t trust them as far as she could buck them and feared their very presence. Even now, safe in Donut Joe’s, she felt the stirrings of panic when she thought of being found by the guard.

This worried Twilight greatly.

It seemed that her emotions had regressed to better fit her apparent age. This meant that not only did Twilight have little to no control over them, but that they tended towards the volatile. Foals felt in the extremes, not having enough control to filter or dampen their knee-jerk reactions with logic and reasoning. This was especially important to note in relation to unicorns.

While the ability to shape magic into usable spells relied upon factors such as focus, arithmetic, and magical aptitude, the ability to use magic depended heavily upon emotion. Stronger emotions resulted in more magic rushing to the surface, which if not channeled correctly could result in accidental discharges. That was the main reason why foals were more susceptible to magical flares than adults.

That is to say, the phenomena was most commonly seen in younger unicorns, but was not out of the realm of possibility for an adult. Twilight had experienced multiple flares over her short lifetime, and not all of them were while she was considered a filly.

Magical flares came into existence when two conditions were met. First, the unicorn in question had to have an unstable magical core. This meant that the core was fluctuating as it grew, allowing for a deeper pool of magic whilst increasing the user’s magical potency. It did have its setbacks, however; more potent magic made it so that the unicorn had to essentially rebuild their finer control. 

This in turn caused the second condition for magical flares. Magic and emotion were so tightly entwined, that when a pony had an unstable core, and difficulty with the finer points of control, their magic was more likely to react unpredictably to even the smallest hint of strong emotion. Spikes of emotion - such as anger, fear, despair, and joy – were the catalyst for bursts of accidental magic, which more often than not devolved into an uncontrolled cycle of emotion and magic.

For example, the pony felt a strong emotion, and their magic reacted. The pony then felt fear at their accidental magic, and less-than-stellar control, which then fed the magic and spurred it to even greater lengths. Eventually the fear would demolish even the faintest of control, and the build-up of magic would result in an uncontrolled surge.

While fear was the most common catalyst, that is not to say that another emotion or even simply a spell gone awry by over-powering could not bring about a flare. The flare itself, if not influenced by an outside force of equal or greater potency, would eventually die down after consuming most of the pony’s magical reserves. This would leave the pony in question weak and magically depleted for a matter of hours to days – depending on the size of their core. The upside to a flare, was that the slow replenishment of a depleted core seemed to aid in the stabilization process.

This was what worried Twilight the most, now that she had the time to somewhat process her situation. She was used to having flares, yes, but due to her magical aptitude, they were always quite potent and volatile. When she flared next – and Twilight held no illusions here; should she remain in her current state for too long, she would flare – it would be akin to her first.

That is, if she had the magical aptitude of her adult alicorn self during her first flare.

This time it wouldn’t just affect the examination tower in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and the dozen or so ponies within. In fact, that whole debacle would have been much worse if she hadn’t already poured a good amount of her magic into hatching the magic-resistant dragon egg. She didn’t want to even imagine what level of damage she would cause this time.

“Why, if it isn’t my best customer.”

Twilight, startled out of her thoughts, popped her head up at the unexpected yet familiar voice. Standing next to her was Joe, wearing his trademark apron and easy-going smile. Twilight blinked, the corners of her lips twitching.

“Hay, Joe.” Twilight grinned genuinely for the first time since she had awoken to her current situation. “How did you know it was me?”

“I’m gonna guess by your appearance that formalities are a no-go?” At Twilight’s sheepish nod, Joe continued. “Gotta say, that’s a pretty decent one – almost didn’t recognize you - but it might not work for very long. You look like a younger version of yourself. Sooner or later, somepony will catch on.”

“Hehehe…” Twilight giggled somewhat nervously, a hoof rising to rub the back of her head in a sheepish manner. “Y-yeah. Disguise. It was pretty short notice. I’ll-uh, keep your advice in mind.”

“I do have experience with disguised customers,” Joe winked, alluding to Celestia’s many visits with a younger Twilight, disguised so as to avoid a commotion. “One Sparkle Sprinkle, on the house, coming right up.”

Twilight thanked the older pony with a small grin – she was at Donut Joe’s, and she couldn’t visit the baker’s shop without having at least one of his famous donuts, especially if the donut in question were named after her. The Sparkle Sprinkle was so christened because it was created as a result of one of her – admittedly failed - experiments as a foal. Joe had loved the mess of a donut, and had added it to his menu the very next day. It was the first thing Twilight always ordered when she visited Joe’s, not only for the taste but also due to the fond memories that it brought up.

Maybe taking a break to have a snack would be beneficial. A good deal of her friends - Celestia, Spike, and Pinkie to name a few – always seemed happier and more at ease after consuming sweets, and Twilight could really use the boost. Perhaps her situation wouldn’t look so dire if looked at through the hole of a Sparkle Sprinkle.

Fiddling with a napkin atop the shiny counter, Twilight let her gaze wander around the dining area, absently looking to see if she’d recognize any of the patrons. She vaguely recalled seeing the orange stallion sharing a Double Donut with the poofy green Pegasus once or twice in Celestia’s court, but she doubted that she was in danger of being found out by him.

Folding the napkin into increasingly smaller squares, Twilight continued her absent pony-watching. It was to her silent relief that she didn’t recognize anypony after that first stallion, and so Twilight was able to silence that niggling voice of paranoia whispering from the back of her mind. About to turn her attention to the door to see what was taking Joe so long, a familiar flash of colors caught her eye.

Mane and tail consisting of a pale blue streaked with an even paler, almost white-blue, blue coat, and horn, the figure Twilight was staring intensely at was so familiar that the alicorn didn’t know whether to laugh or groan. She had traded in her purple magician’s hat and cape for a white apron, but even without the tip of her cutie mark being visible Twilight would know that mare anywhere. What were the odds that she’d run into The Great and Powerful Trixie – or was it still The Great and Apologetic Trixie - there and then?

But… What was the showmare doing working as a waitress?

Just then Joe showed up and deposited a delicious looking donut with purple icing topped with blue and pink sprinkles in front of her. Before he could move away, Twilight leaned closer and curiously inquired as to his new help.

“I thought you were against hiring waitresses, wanting to see your customer’s reactions first-hoof.” Twilight tilted her head to indicate Trixie. “How’d that happen?”

“Ah, Trixie.” Joe glanced at Trixie with a light frown. The mare in question was currently frantically trying to keep up with a customer’s long-winded and rapid order, her quill scratching furiously along her small notepad. “I’m letting her pay off her debt by working here.”

“Oh?” Twilight’s interest was piqued. “I can’t really see her pulling a Spike and clearing you out of pastries.”

“You know her?” Joe questioned sceptically before snorting. “No, nothing like that. She’s working off property damage.”

“Property damage?” Twilight’s brows rose at that. While it was true that Trixie had caused a fair bit of damage both times she visited Ponyville, it was nothing the Freak Accident Fund couldn’t pay for. Even so, she hadn’t pegged Trixie as somepony who would go around vandalising other ponies’ property.

“Yeah, I had to replace the whole front window and a few of the tables when her trailer crashed through it.” Joe’s frown deepened in remembrance. “Luckily I was closing up and there weren’t any customers, so nopony got hurt. She didn’t have enough to cover the damages, so I offered to let her work it off instead of calling the guard.”

“I see,” Twilight nodded slowly, slightly relieved to find out that the destruction was accidental. It would have been one thing if Trixie had wrecked Joe’s purposefully, but Twilight was well acquainted with accidental damage. Her mind slowly started mulling over an idea. “How much does she have left to pay?”

“Four-hundred bits,” Joe stated flatly. “I almost wish I weren’t such a nice stallion, and had called the guard as soon as it happened.”

“She’s not cut out to be a waitress, then?” Twilight asked almost redundantly. She was certain waitressing was not one of Trixie’s many flaunted talents.

“No,” Joe agreed immediately. Understanding his tone could be misconstrued as overly harsh, he sighed. “Well, she’s not the worst help I’ve ever hired, but that’s not really saying much.”

“Huh.” Twilight observed the floundering mare for a few moments longer. The idea was slowly spinning into something that, while perhaps not one of her best ideas, was at least intriguing enough to ponder properly. When she spoke, it was slowly, as if she were mulling over her words even as they fell from her lips. “I may have a proposition for you later, but for now I’ll let you get back to work. Mind if I steal Trixie for a few minutes? I have a few things I want to ask her.”

“At this point, having her out of the way may be an improvement,” Joe murmured. “Sure, alright. She’s due for a break anyways. I’ll come by again before you leave.”

“Thanks, Joe,” Twilight smiled up at the stallion who returned the gesture before returning to the kitchen.

Twilight waited until she saw that Trixie was done with her current customer before raising her hoof and waving it around. It took a few moments, but the other mare eventually saw the gesture and made her way over. As Trixie approached, she pulled out her quill and pad. 

“Welcome to Donut Joe’s,” Trixie’s voice was somewhat subdued, though it still contained an audibly faint undercurrent of her usual confidence. Her carefully constructed smile was that of a practiced politician – or in this case performer – though upon closer study Twilight could see that it was starting to fray. “How can Trixie be of service?”

“You can sit down and help me eat this donut,” Twilight smiled and gestured towards the Sparkle Sprinkle. “There are a few things I’d like to talk about, if you don’t mind.”

“What-?” Trixie blinked in surprise, her mask slipping as her smile turned into a confused frown. It took a few beats, in which Twilight kept up her smile and Trixie continued to stare in confusion, before the other mare snapped out of it. Scrambling to regain her composure, the unicorn cleared her throat. “Trixie apologises, little filly, but Trixie is working.”

“Don’t worry, Trixie,” Twilight explained. “Joe said you could take your break so that we could talk.”

“What? Why would Trixie’s employer tell this to a filly Trixie doesn’t know?” Trixie’s perplexed frown deepened.

“Don’t you?” Twilight cocked her head, a slight grin tugging at her lips.

“Trixie is quite sure she would remember,” Trixie snorted imperiously, a bit of her usual fire returning.

“Oh?” Twilight’s grin grew. She was actually having fun at the moment, which was a very welcome relief after the day’s earlier panic. “Look closer. Are you absolutely certain you don’t recognize me?”

Trixie gave the filly a sceptical look, though ultimately decided to humor her. Walking closer, she studied the younger unicorn. On further inspection, the purple coat and streaked mane were familiar, though to think that that pony and the filly in front of her were one and the same was frankly ridiculous. Trixie had almost dismissed the thought altogether, when she studied the filly’s face. Those sparkling violet eyes and warm smile were ones that had haunted Trixie’s dreams for quite a time after her visits to Ponyville, and they could belong to only one pony.

Jerking back with an astonished gasp, Trixie’s eyes widened as she opened her mouth in a startled shout. “Twili-!”

“Shh!” Twilight lunged forward and managed to latch on to the showmare’s face, effectively muffling her too-loud exclamation. Twilight whispered back fiercely. “I’m in disguise, and would rather not be found out!”

Trixie swallowed her words and nodded in acquiescence. About to use her magic to remove the princess dangling from her neck, Trixie hesitated. Realizing that, despite appearances, the purple unicorn in front of her was not actually a filly and that her actions would thus be considered rude, the blue mare instead sat down and used her hooves.

Carefully picking Twilight up, she sat the purple unicorn back on her stool. Once she was sure the other pony was secure, Trixie slumped into her own seat, her purple eyes trying to make sense of what she was seeing.

Twilight gave Trixie a few minutes of silence to process – Celestia knows Twilight had needed more than a few – before opening her mouth. “So you’ll take your break?”

“Yes,” Trixie replied unblinkingly.

“And you’ll hear me out?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Good.” Twilight nodded in relief. Her plan hinged on being able to convince Trixie to follow along, and she couldn’t do that if Trixie refused to listen. “So, I figure my first step is to reach the castle and-”

“Why are you a filly?” Trixie blurted out, interrupting Twilight. The purple unicorn gave Trixie an unimpressed look at the interruption, causing the blue mare to fidget. “Trixie is confused.”

Twilight’s frown at being interrupted melted into a neutral expression before she sighed. Grudgingly, she admitted that hoping Trixie would ignore the obvious and take everything on faith was a bit farfetched. Still… 

“…I don’t know.”

“What?” Trixie blinked in astonishment as she gazed incredulously at the now squirming filly. “What do you mean you don’t know? How can you not know how you’ve turned into a filly?”

“I mean I don’t know!” Twilight grumbled, ears splaying and hooves crossing in embarrassed annoyance.

“You must have some idea,” Trixie fished, still flabbergasted. “A spell gone awry? An experiment? You said you were in disguise…”

“None of those,” Twilight squirmed, extremely uncomfortable with the line of questioning. “I’m using the disguise excuse as a – well, as an excuse. As for how I’m like this… I-I’m not sure.”

“…Right,” Trixie stared sceptically at the nervously fidgeting unicorn.

The silence that fell between them was heavy, and at least on Twilight’s side, laced with tension. It slowly became too much for the now twitching alicorn to bear, and she finally blurted out what had been plaguing her since she’d had a moment to think.

“I think Celestia is punishing me by making me go back to Magic Kindergarten!” Twilight’s eyes widened as she clamped her hooves over her mouth.

“…Excuse me?” Trixie deadpanned.

Twilight scowled, blushing heavily. Her voice was muffled as she spoke through her hooves. “I’m not going to repeat it.”

“Fair enough, Trixie wouldn’t want to either,” Trixie nodded, before clearing her throat. Her voice made it clear just how much of an idiot she thought the unicorn before her was, princess or not. “That is the most ridiculous thing Trixie has ever heard.”

“But I fell asleep during her lecture-”

“Even Trixie can see that, for some odd reason, Princess Celestia seems to care for you a great deal,” Trixie continued, completely ignoring Twilight’s weak protests. It was actually quite insulting that the purple unicorn had so much, and yet didn’t seem to appreciate it enough to actually trust those who cared for her. Why, if Trixie had what Twilight Sparkle had…

“But I-”

“Do you truly think Princess Celestia would do something like send you back to M-K?” Trixie snorted. “Truly? And this is the unicorn that bested Trixie not once, but twice?”

“I- Okay, fine!” Twilight exclaimed, eyes averted. Trixie’s words actually cut deep. While being sent back to Magic Kindergarten was one of Twilight’s greatest fears, she knew it was an illogical one. The fear of failing both her mentor and her magic, coupled with the bad memories she had of Magic Kindergarten, turned the very possibility into a potent yet irrational fear. Deep down she knew that Celestia would never do such a thing, and it was shaming to even consider it, but that was the problem with irrational fears. Logic had no place there.

“I’ll admit, that while the thought did cross my mind,” Twilight started after doing Cadance’s breathing exercises. She didn’t have time to get emotional. “It’s most likely not true. That being said, I really don’t know how I ended up like this, but I would like to find out, and for that I need your help.”

“Did you say you needed Trixie’s help?” Trixie questioned, her purple orbs regarding the filly strangely.

“Yes,” Twilight sighed, happy they were finally getting back on track. “I need to get to the castle, and I need your help to-”

“Trixie would have thought that you would know your way to the castle by now,” Trixie interrupted once again.

Twilight fixed her with a long enough stare that Trixie actually averted her eyes and mumbled out an apology. Twilight took that as a mark in the win column. “Yes, well, while I know the route like the back of my hoof, let’s just say that I’d like to get there as discreetly as possible.”

Trixie was about to open her mouth, but another squinty-eyed stare caused her to think twice and simply raise a brow in question.

Twilight smiled angelically in response. Perhaps there was hope for Trixie yet. “Are you familiar with the illusion branch of magic?”

“Familiar?” Trixie snorted and flipped her mane. “Trixie excels in illusory magic. Trixie would have thought that was obvious.”

“Perfect,” Twilight practically purred. The assistance of illusory magic would aid greatly in reaching the castle while avoiding everypony. “Hypothetically speaking, would you be able to keep up an illusion on, say, myself, from here to the castle? One that would make it so that nopony would recognize me?”

Trixie frowned and studied the purple unicorn beside her. She knew she could do it easily, illusory magic was her forte - her talent. She also knew, however, that Twilight was not talking in the hypothetical sense, but was genuinely curious to know if Trixie could do that task specifically. What Trixie wanted to know, was why.

Trixie’s voice, when she spoke, was full of caution. “What exactly are you asking of Trixie?”

Twilight looked straight into Trixie’s purple orbs and smiled.

“I want you to be my guard.”


-0-0-