> Rebirth
>  by The-Pony-Librarian
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm sorry, but Twilight isn't taking any visitors at the moment, she-"
Twilight muttered a soft curse as her listening spell crackled out of focus, and she lost spike's voice in a haze of staticky feedback. Shameful. She was getting out of practice...much too out of practice for her liking, but it had to be done. The strenuous spells that made up her usual magic regimen were strictly off limits. Too risky. She absolutely could not allow anything to go wrong.
Not with this.
Closing her eyes she tried to focus her magic onto the conversation in the foyer. She had little energy to dip into for the spell, even though it was infuriatingly simple. Most of her magic was siphoned off constantly to maintain a much, much more important spell. Even then she had been forced to stay in bed for the past six or seven weeks. Even with magic, getting up and moving around in her...condition...would be incredibly dangerous.
With one last frustrated push, the listening spell fizzled back to life.
"Please" a voice pleaded, too fuzzy to make out it's owner "It's been months"
Ten months and twenty days, to be exact.
Spikes voice tuned in, in reply "I'm sorry princess, but she really cannot see you"
Princess? Twilight's mouth hardened into a flat line as a face immediately sprang to mind...but no. Twilight hadn't spoken to her since, well, since the day that took away any reason for twilight to speak to her ever again, that manipulative, lying-
No. It was probably Luna, maybe Cadence. She hadn't spoken to Cadence in a long time, longer that she liked, but that was Cadence's decision. The years had changed her, the loss of Shining Armour, broken her. When she had picked up the peices, she didn't quite come back the same. Twilight missed Cadence.
The unidentifiable voice cut back in, loud, desperate. "You have to let me see her! I need to see my..." the voice broke off, started up again "I need to see my old student. Please"
Twilight bit the inside of her cheek. Hard. She could recognize it now. As quick as thought, magic fueled by the burning inside her, she reached her mind down to the foyer. The doors to her palace slammed shut, and held fast with the help of a thousand different protection spells that had been woven into the walls of her castle years ago. It seemed like an eternity, maybe it was.
There was a soft knock at the door, followed by a creak as Spike pushed it open, poking his head inside. No longer a baby dragon, though not yet fully grown, Spike stood a good head above her now when fully upright. Currently he was stooped over, shoulders hunched so his spines wouldn't it the door frame. His barbed tail flicked uncertainly.
"Are you okay?" he said softly, the rumbling timbre of his voice bringing some comfort to Twilight.
She gave a nod. Once. Too quickly.
Her oldest friend gave her a knowing look, then turned back through the door and shut it gingerly behind him, politely leaving her so she could cry in private.
In about an hour, he would bring her some hot tea.
A soft sob shook Twilight's body. She knew this routine all too well.
Soon though, soon it would all be worth it, all the isolation, all the pain. She would have them back.
Celestia's lies didn't matter any more. All the deceit she had been spoon fed for years would no longer be of any importance. 
She was Twilight Sparkle. She had unknowingly cheated the grim reaper once. Celestia be damned if she wasn't going to cheat him again for her friends. She would bring them back, this was her long, tiresome, difficult labor of love and she was going to bring them back.
Labor of love. Twilight giggled weakly at the pun, eyes still watering, then wriggled her body awkwardly in order to shift into a more comfortable position. 
It was hard finding an agreeable way to lie down when pregnant with five foals.
Her friends were worth it. 
Her friends were worth that and more.
It was a complex magic she was weaving with her body and her soul, the power to bring the spirit resident within a talisman to flesh, to create it through herself. It was old too, ancient.
Twilight wondered if anyone had possessed the nerve to try it, before her.
She had stumbled upon it years ago, in the castle of the twin sisters, before she knew why they had died, before she knew who had caused it. Celestia had told her not to use it, so she hadn't. Then things changed. She re-evaluated her choice.
The inception of the spell was easy, if uncomfortable. It had not been difficult to memorize the incantation, nor to change her appearance via a magic so she wouldn't be recognized. Seducing a stallion had been almost laughably easy, though it wasn't like she picked a difficult target. A soft hoof around the neck, a well timed flick of the tail, a purring voice asking where she could get a drink in the place. By the second frilly cocktail she was being ushered to some stallion's home.
It was the first time she had ever been with some pony.
By the time she had ever thought to seek a partner, she was already aware of her vice like grip on this reality, her ability to continue drawing breath as all of those she had loved and known slipped away. Taking a mate would have just been hurting herself.
Not that she never considered it.
Sometimes she thought that even the stinging sharpness of loss might be better than the grey she lived in.
That was the easy part though, the brief, awkward tangle with a pony she barely knew, the casting of the spell, the hasty teleportation away once he was finally asleep.
It was once the spell had been cast when things got difficult.
Ponies usually only gave birth to one foal, occasionally two. Three was incredibly rare, and more that that, practically unheard of. The pony body just wasn't built to carry five foals. Most of her magic was going into ensuring the safety of the pregnancy. Twilight knew very well that she couldn't be harmed, but the same didn't apply to....her friends? Her children? Them.
She couldn't lose them again.
Twilight was asleep before Spike could come with her tea.

Twilight opened her eyes, feeling the powerful light shine through them as she lifted into the air, not even needing to flap her wings. Before them loomed a great, shadowy figure, flexing myriad sinewy arms of darkness towards them. Somewhere in the middle of the inky mass, a great maw opened, a sullen red light shining through it like a portal to the depth of Tartarus. She was not afraid. Twilight felt the familiar tug of the elements, the rushing rainbow of power, shooting towards the abomination, wrapping it in tendrils of light.
Fluttershy was the first one to scream.
Twilight looked back, fear shooting through her mind, she frantically, desperately, fruitlessly, tried to end the spell. She was trapped by the elements, helpless to do anything but feel the hot-bubbling panic squeezing her heart as the rest of her friends voices joined in, screams harmonizing with those of the monsters in a chorus of agony. Another cry reached her ears, fuzzy, out of focus, her own, not of pain but of anguish. Tears streamed down her face as she fought hysterically to break free, struggling within the grip of the magic, powerless, defenseless, useless.
She collapsed to the ground in a heap, eyes squinted tightly shut, cradling her head. The only thing worse than hearing her friend's agony moment ago, was the absolute silence she heard now. Not a single rustling wing, or drawn breath, or twitched tail, just her own heart, beating "NO NO NO" against her ears.
Twilight opened her eyes to see the monster rebuilding itself, slowly stretching upward, regrowing it's myriad of hideous limbs, lengthening, changing, still a monster, but now different, almost familiar. Glaring at it, she stood up on shaking legs, eyes burning, teeth aching from clenching them so hard, ears still ringing with the screams of her friends.
She was alone.
The abomination let out a roar that shook Twilight's bones. She did not flinch. Fury washed through the alicorn like a tidal was as she launched into the air, burning with rage. A flare of magic shot through her horn, striking the monster directly in the middle. It staggered backward, and Twilight's eyes narrowed with cold satisfaction. She another beam of magic, and another, and another, a primal scream building up inside of her as she twisted her head back for one last blow.
A clawed hand shot out, grabbing her around the torso. As the vice like grip slowly pulled her inward, Twilight shrank her wings disappearing, limbs shortening, she tried to call upon her magic only to find there was none in her new, tiny, filly body.
The monster brought it up directly to its eye.
It had the face of Celestia
"No! No, you're lying!" Twilight screamed "You said the monster killed them! You said it was monster! You bastard!" a choked sob escaped her "...you monster."
The Celestia-thing looked down on her, giving a smile that might have been mistaken for pity, if not for the jagged teeth.
"Oh Twilight..." it said softly, almost gently, a voice unfit for such an awful form "I'm only doing what's best for you"
Then the grip around Twilight's middle tightened, searing agony shooting through her torso, razor claws digging into her-

Twilight woke up with a short scream, head shooting upwards as her pulse raced in her ears. Then her eyes widened in panic.
Not because of the dream. She had been having that nightmare for a long time. Almost every time she slept. It was always the same.
What shot fear through her heart, was the shooting pain in her stomach.
It was still there.
Twilight opened her mouth, fear tugging at her throat
"Spike!"
	
	
	
> I
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight took a deep breath, counting the minutes between the painful jolts, Spike stood beside her, gripping her hoof almost tighter that the knots in her chest. 
"Weak, irregular contractions, it's probably false labor," she repeated for the umpteenth time in that hour. She had experienced a similar scare a few days ago and nothing had come of it, but nevertheless, she could still feel a fluttering anxiety building inside of her. Then another throb came, stronger, about a minute long, only four minutes after the last one. Twilight waited, tail twitching nervously. Three minutes later, another. 
Then another. Twilight gave a sharp, surprised hiss through gritted teeth.
"Or..." She interjected, voice hitching up another anxious notch. "Maybe not."
Twilight was suddenly very thankful that for her foresight in preparing a pain potion a week previously. She looked up at Spike, whose expression was mirroring her own nerves tenfold.
"Really? How do you feel? Are you okay? Do you need something?" All these were spouted from the young dragon's mouth in quick succession, accompanied by wringing claws and lashing tail. "Has...Has your water broken?"
Accompanying this question was a look of such absurdly profound terror that Twilight might have chuckled if she wasn't too busy trying not to fling out a stream of profanities.
"Yes. Kind of crappy. Yes. Not at the momen-" Twilight winced. "On second thought, bring the potion."
As Spike hurried out the door , she added wryly "and no, my water hasn't broken. Trust me, you would know"
She looked out the window, watching as the sun slid slowly down the horizon, and, despite the pain, managed a fond smile as she placed a gentle hoof on her belly. It was going to be a long night.

One Month



For the first few weeks after their birth. Twilight found herself compulsively checking if her friends children the girls were still alive. Guided by a deep paranoid fear, almost without realizing it, she would end up walking soft stepped through their room, placing a light hoof on each sleeping pastel colored chest, barely breathing until she felt the last reassuring heartbeat. The rare times when they were all asleep and quiet were stripped of even brief relaxation by the crippling dread that the elements were silent for an altogether darker reason.
The first time all of them slept through the night had been the most terrifying morning of her life. For the next hour she stayed in the room, using her magic to hold the girls against her, feeling the five pulses against her own. Spike had given her a weird look. She hadn't cared.
Thankfully, the busy kept away the fear most of the time. Each of her new old friends had their own quirks and personalities, and they were clearly evident even as young foals. At a month old, Rainbow Dash was already a master crib, swaddling, and diaper escape artist. Rarity possessed the ability to put out eardrums when she screamed and used it liberally. Applejack would put absolutely anything she could find, including carpet, into her mouth. Fluttershy would start bawling if not within at least twelve feet of Twilight at all times. Pinkie Pie, while hardly ever crying, had the uncanny talent for appearing in places she shouldn't, like the wine cellar. Twilight still didn't know how she managed to get herself down there.
It was the happiest she'd been in years.
Twilight admitted to having possessed the tendency, especially in her more cynical recent years, to scoff at sexual reproduction, and the subsequent offspring produced by it, being referred to as a miracle. It was nature, a trait made to increase genetic variation, to pass along genes, to further the species, no more miraculous than a cell dividing itself in two. It was just that, in fact, only over and over and over again. Looking at Pinkie, however, looking at Rarity, Rainbow, AJ, and Shy gave her a change of heart.
They were miraculous. More miraculous that the wings on her back or the fact that she hadn't aged a day in over three centuries. They were perfect miracles.
Rambunctious perfect miracles.
"Rainbow!" Twilight called out enticingly, taking careful steps around the gigantic bath-recently converted to changing-room "Come on out! Come on out for Twily!"
Held aloft in her magic, carefully hidden behind her back was a diaper. Getting one on the pegasus foal always required the utmost stealth.  A well matched battle against two old foes, one armed with magic, the other, pure speed.
"Come on Rainbow...I know you're there."
"NYAAAAHHH!" Came a defiant cry from an unknown corner, which Twilight could only presume to mean something like "Diapers are for the weak!" "Bring it, Purple!" Or, if you construed a slightly more hostile tone to the shriek: "Death to the overlord!"
Crouching down, Twilight crept stealthily against a dark, wooden shelf, fully stocked with every imaginable changing supply. With lighting speed, she snuck her head around its corner, bringing herself face to face with a large pair of mischevious magenta eyes. Before Rainbow could dart away another time, she was gently scooped up in a bright ball of magic. 
A few minutes later, toting a newly diapered and swaddled Rainbow Dash in her telekinesis,Twilight trotted into the main portion of the castle, complete with a little living room, a warm kitchen, comfortable wooden flooring supplemented with a few area rugs, and many, many bookshelves. She had completely demolished the interior of the private upper floors of her castle on an impulse and redone it in a much more homey style about twenty or so decades ago. Good Press, the mare set in change of her public image in the aftermath of an unfortunate incident involving a news interview, an extremely derogatory comment, and (subsequently) a chair hurled at a wall with lethal force, had been horrified at the plebeian decor of course. However, her contemptful remarks during the renovation process, meticulously done presentations on more "Princess like" designs for the new upper area, and passive-aggressive comments every time Twilight was required to invite her to visit, were not enough to persuade the alicorn to give a flying feather.
Sometimes you reach a certain point where you are absolutely certain that if you see one more Celestia damned crystal column you will throw up everywhere.
The lower floor rooms, the ball room, entryway...throne room...having been open to visitors, had remained in their original states, but Twilight had figured her private floors were to do with as she pleased.
She had attended the funeral of Good Press one hundred and sixty years ago.
Twilight trotted over to her window seat, a soft cushioned wooden lid that opened to a small storage compartment containing her favorite books, overlooking the entirety of Ponyville, and cradled Rainbow Dash in her forelegs bouncing the filly gently. Out the window lay all of her once-small town, now sporting buildings taller than old-day Manehattan's. Just like Canterlot before it, the presence of a princess had transformed it into a bustling city, scarcely a trace of the original earth-pony architecture left, save the old town district surrounding Sugar Cube corner, filled with eclectic shops. Twilight hadn't gone to old town in over forty years. The familiar was more painful than the different.
As Twilight rocked Rainbow, humming softly, the filly slowly stopped squirming and her breaths slowly settled into the rythym of sleep. It was strange, the conflicting images of her friends in her mind. The old memories, half buried by time, but still strong as steel, of Rainbow Dash the brash athlete, the jokester against the new memories and experiences of Rainbow Dash the absconder of cribs. Sometimes she felt like she could almost sense the pictures of their faces in their mind fading, being layered over with these new ones like fresh paint.
After putting Dash to bed in her crib beside those of the other sleeping elements, Twilight returned to the window seat. They were all asleep, so, for the time being, she could take a brief rest. Even with she stamina of an Alicorn, five days awake could take a toll on anypony.
Leaning against the window, glass warm where the sun struck the pane, Twilight gazed outside, eyes slowly drifting downward across Ponyville, to her castle courtyard-
Twilight's eyes shot wide open.
Celestia. Luna. The protection spells would be useless. At least one hundred gaurds. Enough to take down a dragon. 
Her mind seemed to go into slow motion, thousands of thoughts racing though her head. Each of them passing through her mind in the instant it took for her wings to snap outwards, the little gust of wind created ruffling her mane. The visitor bell was ringing. Spike always answered the door. He was downstairs. She had seconds, maybe less.
Get the girls and get to Spike. Twilight took a step forward. Then get out. Another step. Get as far away as possible. She paused, lit up her horn. Galloping would be too slow.
Celestia couldn't have them.
One second
In a flash of light, Twilight appeared the girls room, scooping each filly up in her magic. Her eyes darted to the supplies around the room. She could need them. Lips pursed. No time. She blinked to the second floor balcony over looking the entryway, glanced down at the foals in her magic.
Pinkie Pie was waking up. She stretched out a curious hoof, wide blue eyes blinking as they shook off sleep, tiny pink face scrunching up slightly as her eyes traveled the scene, as if unsure whether or not it warranted crying or not. She made a burbling noise, apparently deciding to save her cries until more information could be gathered, then looked to Twilight inquisitively, stretching both hooves towards her, a giggle escaping her mouth.
Twilight looked away. No time. Spike's claw was on the door.
Two seconds
Another blink. Directly next to Spike. The doorknob turned. 
Arm still opening the door, Spike turned to her, expression morphing into one of abject perplexment. As she watched his brows furrowed down, green eyes squinting in consternation. He dropped his grip on the doorknob as he turned to look at her more fully, leaving it to swing slowly open. She looked back up at him, expression wild, wings flared, the girls floating beside her in bubbles of magic. His muzzle wrinkled slightly, head tilting to the side like a confused dog mouth opening to form a single confused syllable.
"Twi?"
Teleporting six ponies and a dragon would be strenuous. 
Spike's gaze flicked back to the door, eyes widening in surprise.
Three seconds
She could do it.
The last thing Twilight saw before her surroundings disappeared from around her was Celestia's face, gazing in astonishment at the five infants floating her magic.
Then she was gone.
> II
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Celestia, guiding spirit, protector, and Grand Diarch of Equestria, Ex Solis Invictus, bit her the inside of her cheek. Hard.
She walked through what must have been the nursery, looking carefully at each of the five little cribs, all five carefully stocked with soft blankets and pillows and stuffed toys. She pulled one out, a light grey pony with a string mane, donning a pair of tiny blue trousers. It floated and danced like a thing almost alive in the golden glow of her magic. A soft sound escaped from her mouth, a quick exhale, a cross between a sigh and a sob, punctuating the stillness of the castle, 
Not the original of course. The design was rather ubiquitous, something that could be seen anywhere, and he original Smarty Pants would have been over three hundred years old...but for a second, she had almost thought in was.
The corner of her mouth twitched upwards slightly. Still she bit down on her cheek.
It had been so long ago, when Twilight had come under her care, cheerfully dragging that doll behind her wherever she went. Over three hundred years.
A wonderful, terrible, time.
Still gently toting the toy in her magic, Celestia found herself walking through a long hallway to a pair of double doors. Magically sealed. They swung open gently as she snapped the enchanted bonds, bringing with them a gust of stale air, in stark contrast to the warm scents of life that filled the rest of the castle. Lavender potpourri, filling little pots scattered around the house, the fragrance of Twilight's favorite Earl Grey, a half-pot of which sat cooling on a table upstairs, faintly, the smell of baby powder, and, just underneath that, a familiar black currant shampoo.
None of it permeated this room, sealed up like a crypt.
Inside were Seven thrones, six large, one tiny, all covered in several centuries worth of dust.
Even for somepony as old as Celestia, sometimes the time seemed like an eternity.
The coppery taste of blood filled her mouth.
"Sister?"
With a barely choked back yelp, Celestia turned to the door, the faux-Smarty Pants dropping to the floor, wings twitching half open as if preparing to carry her into the air.
"Luna," she exhaled, shoulders relaxing
"I located the book, Twilight hid it well." The darker alicorn spoke softly, her tone reserved and measured, as always. Even though her sister had long since picked up modern speech, she had always preferred to remain formal in tone and in language. Sometimes Celestia wondered if the slightly anachronistic dialect was Luna's way of preserving her past, a small piece of her that would not succumb to the ever changing culture of pony kind. 
She enjoyed listening to her sister talk.
Golden glow enveloping her horn, Celestia gently took the tome, her magic shaking off the last remnants of the concealing spell that had been applied to it and flipping it open to the spell Twilight had used, staring at it darkly.
"Are you alright, Sister?" 
Celestia did not respond.
"Tia." Luna spoke, more insistently this time. The words accompanied by a soft nicker as she leaned her head her sister's "It's okay."
"We should have destroyed this." 
"It might be needed again to protect Equestria."
"At what cost?" Celestia shouted, rounding on Luna, wings unfurling, air kicking up plumes of dust from the thrones surrounding them "How many times do they have to die?"
"Nopony blames you for those sacrifices."
"You did," Celestia said softly.
"That was a long time ago. You know I understand now."
"I do."
"You shouldn't."
"She does" 
"Twilight Sparkle will come around as well"
"After a thousand years on the moon?" Celestia's face contorted into a mask of disgust, voice cracking.
Luna flinched slightly at the sharpness of the retort "You did to me what you had to. I was a danger to myself, and to you and-"
"And it was my fault! You had every right to despise me. She has every right to despise me!"
"For saving her life?"
Celestia deflated, shoulder's slumping, wings slowly curling back to her sides, gaze traveling about the throne room "For taking everything else."
	
> III
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was raining outside the Castle of the Two Sisters. It was also raining inside the Castle of the Two Sisters, except for a single room armed with protective spells, and filled with supplies, the warmth of a small magical fire, five foals, a princess and a dragon.
None were in excellent moods.
"I don't know, okay?" Twilight said, her whispered voice as fierce as possible. "I don't know!"
Even the small outburst caused two of the five foals nestled against her side to start squalling softly and Twilight quickly lifted them in her magic, gently rocking them until they settled once more.
Spike gave a soft sigh, the rumble vibrating though their small dry haven and into the expanse of the empty castle. Long ago, they had considered turning it into a tourist attraction, but the Everfree was too dangerous for it to be practical, and the project had been scrapped. The abandoned castle had been Twilight's emergency bolt hole of choice for years, a place to escape, and a place Celestia never thought to look for her. Much too close to home, and filled with far too many painful memories. It was unexpected, and perfect.
The room was stocked with food, water, toiletries, several hundred thousand bits, stocked on several different pre-paid crystals, as well as some recently added bags of diapers and dehydrated baby formula. Twilight had always liked to be prepared.
"We can't stay in the Everfree forever, you know." Spike said softly.
"Well I know that!" the alicorn snapped as quietly as possible, before putting her hooves over her head. "I just need to think"
"Hey..." Spike reached out to put a claw on Twilight's shoulder.
"I know, I know I'm being hysterical." She pushed the touch away. "I'm alright, I'm okay, I'm okay!"
Pushing herself up to almost a sitting position she took several seconds to breathe deeply, just until the walls of the room stopped seeming so close. Stumbling, she attempted to get to her hooves, wings fluffing outward in an awkward attempt to balance herself. Rarity woke up, and immediately began to whimper, several of the other fillies beginning to stir soon after.
Spike stood up, and, picking up Rarity in one arm and reaching the other out to Twilight.
"You're alright, Twi. It's okay. Everything's okay." He said, gently pushing her back to a sitting position. "It's all okay"
"I just- Everything is- I don't know..." She struggled to stand against his claw, stringing together a few breathy half sentences.
"Shhhh...Shhhhh...."
Finally, with Spike's soft ministrations, Twilight lowered herself back to the ground, tucking her forelegs up to her chest, breaths steadying once more. There was a long silence.
"Thank you, Spike," the soft murmur broke the quiet, as Twilight looked up, eyes clearer. "I...I'm sorry."
"Don't worry, Twi." The dragon's soothing baritone voice was warm "That's what I'm here for"
A small smile graced Twilight's face, before she gave a sigh, expression turning to thoughtful focus. "Alright, a plan."
Reaching out with her magic, she rummaged around until she found a small hinged box made of dark wood. Biting her lip, Twilight considered it through narrowed eyes.
"Do you think..." She spoke slowly, "this would be a good use for the Favor?"
"Is that the best option?" Spike queried back.
"I knew this would happen eventually, so I have some preparations, but putting them into effect would take months at best. He could do it in hours"
"Do you trust him though?"
"I don't know...but his silence could be stipulated in the Favor." Twilight folded back her ears "Besides, I don't think he would be eager help Celestia."
Spike and Twilight regarded each other for a moment.
"Alright." he said.
Surrounding the fillies in a soundproofing spell, so they wouldn't be woken, Twilight opened the box, taking out a delicate blue sphere. She raised it above her head, took a deep breath, then smashed it on the ground. The instant it hit, It dissolved into a glittering puff of smoke and then into nothing. For a moment, there was silence.
Then a presence settled into the room, slowly, Twilight looked up.
"Why hello there, Sparkle!" A cheery voice greeted, it's owner lounging in a solid gold chaise on the ceiling.
"Discord." Her voice was wary, measured.
"Ah! I've missed you!" The draconequus somersaulted down from the ceiling, to stop directly in front of her and 3 inches off the ground. "You look fabulous, not a day over three hundred, let me tell you. Not a wrinkle in sigh-"
"Cut the games." annoyance now distinctly flavoring her tone, Twilight flattened her lips into a thin line.
A pout crossed Discord's face. "And here I thought we were friends." Ignoring  the darkening in Twilight's expression he continued, "I know we had a bit of a falling out...but..." There was a pointed pause. "I think you've come to see the truth, isn't that right?"
A stormy silence filled the room as he muttered, "You can't say I didn't try to warn you"
A low, menacing, growl emanated from Spike "She said, cut the games." 
Discord didn't even look the dragon's way, instead meeting Twilight's gaze "So you have come around then." A grin spread across his face, before he planted a paw on it in mock surprise "Oh! But where are my manners?"
With a snap of his eagle talons a cake materialized, covered in pink frosting, decorated with gum paste pacifiers, and sporting the words Congratulations On Your Quintuplets!
"My treat for the proud mummy, and my, aren't they just adorable..." In a flash of light, Fluttershy appeared cradled in his arms, cooing gently as two butterflies materialized in front of her nose and flittered gently above her. Discord's expression was almost gentle.
Shy was immediately snatched up in Twilight's magic, a sound almost like a snarl emanating from the alicorn. "Don't touch them!"
Lion paw and eagle claw raised placatingly. "Alright, alright..."
Twilight never took her eyes off Discord as she returned Fluttershy to her side, slowly spreading a protective wing over her and the other foals. She narrowed her eyes.
"No need to elaborate. I see how it is." After his catty tone and expression merited no reaction, Discord caved. A suit jacket materialized onto his serpentine frame, and a briefcase into his arms, and after adjusting his tie, he folded his arms on his newly appeared mahogany desk in a business-like manner. "So what do you want, Princess? I'm assuming you didn't call me for a friendly chat."
"I need your help setting up some aliases. Me, Spike, and the girls, that's all. Not airtight, just believable. I trust you can do that quickly and without Celestia catching on?" 
"Under Celly's nose? Oh, ho, ho!" A chuckle burst from Discord, before he stroked his beard suspiciously, squinting his eyes. "Are you sure you're really Twilight? Not some pod-pony? Changeling perhaps?"
"Can you do it?" Twilight's voice hardened.
A scaly claw gave her a condescending pat on the head "Now there's the naive young Twilight again." Discord flashed her a grin, zipped open a hole in the wall and stepped through. As the hole closed itself, Discord voice came back to the group, "Try to give me a challenge next time."
The next morning, a strange looking group sat together in a small town cafe, talking with each other intensely. Two purple ponies, a male and female, sat in a booth opposite a large grey stallion. In a cluster of baby seats on the end of the table were no less than five foals of all different colors and races. Several ponies looked on curiously, a few even attempting to eavesdrop on whatever was being discussed but any serious thought into the matter was always hampered by sudden acute distraction. Did they leave the stove on? That coffee smelled amazing. Was that waitress mare hitting on them? Where was their pancake platter anyway?
Discord gave a low whistle. "Color me impressed. Joint illusion and diversion spells? Not too shabby."
"I've picked up a lot." Twilight's expression was distinctly blasé.
"Well, let me show you what I've done."
In a puff of smoke, a folder appeared, and Discord flipped it open, spreading out several papers on the table for Twilight to see.
"I picked some common names that were similar to your own, just to make things a bit easier." He used his flexible tail to separate and push several papers towards her, then clapped his paws together and made a stage magician-esqe gesture with his arms. Despite the fact that the diner was lit by windows, somehow the lights around them dimmed so he could narrate in a more dramatic spotlight. "Without further ado, allow me to narrate your life story."
Twilight's eye roll at that moment was quite possibly the most impressive in recorded history.
"Your new name is Twilight Prose, a twenty six year old aspiring writer, who worked several odd jobs while trying to pen your future novel. One such job was foalsitting for a group of close knit families, all of whom you were very close with, and all of whom had young foals of about the same age. One of the occasions you were sitting for them was the fateful day of the Fitte's Magic Corp. disaster."
A wince crossed Twilight's face. The accident had destroyed nearly a block in Canterlot several weeks ago when a volatile magical artifact had destabilized in the middle of being transported to the other side of the city. Several restaurants and other shops had been entirely obliterated. The tragedy had then been transformed into a hot-button issue into the safety and practicality of the newer developments into magic power and technology.
Discord continued without missing a beat. "All five foals were orphaned in the incident, and you made it your mission to gain custody of the foals so they wouldn't be separated by the system, and would be raised together as their families intended. The legal battle was settled in record time, thanks to everyone being incredibly touched by your story, and now you have decided to move to a small town and start over with your brother," he gestured to Spike, "Emerald Stone, to help you raise little Pinkie Berry, Shy Leaf, Rare Heart, Rainbow Dancer, and Applejack."
Twilight slowly covered her face with her hooves. "Discord...nopony, is ever going to believe that. Ever. It’s absolutely ridiculous!"
"Oh ye of little faith." Discord grinned, "if anyone chose to look into your story, they would find it completely airtight. They could talk to the judge who granted you custody, look up the five families killed in the disaster, even find records of you attending several writing seminars. In fact, you'll find ponies who vaguely remember hearing about it, though they aren't sure where..."
Twilight pursed her lips.
"You're welcome, by the way." Discord prompted.
"That still won't stop Celestia from catching on in a hot second. The names are practically the same, you didn't even change Applejack's!"
A grin from Discord. "You forget how good I am at hiding things. All those names? Even yours? They're everywhere. Unique as dirt. Did you know there are over seven hundred Rainbow Dancers in this county alone?" A smug expression crossed his face. "In fact, I think I've outdone myself. This town is pretty tiny, and not too immersed in magictech, so you shouldn't have to worry about too many pictures or documents of your little family getting into the word, and you should have individual recognition covered with your library of perception manipulation spells. I'll keep Celestia looking in all the wrong places and as long as you-" An eagle talon booped Twilight on the nose, "don't do anything stupid....you're golden."
Twilight made a grudging expression. "I hate to admit it...but you're good, Discord"
"Aren't I always." The draconequus gave a theatrical bow, he handed her a card with a handwritten address on it. "Look for Seaside Library and a pony named Banned Books. They've agreed to let you stay in the loft above the place until you can find a home."
Discord gave a quick salute and raised a paw to snap himself into a puff of smoke, before pausing. "Oh...and, Sparkle?"
Twilight looked up, "hmm?"
"Take care of yourself, eh?"
A tiny smile tugged at Twilight's lips. "I'll try...thanks."
Then Discord was gone.
Slowly, Twilight stood up, picked up the foals in her magic, and distributed them between her and Spike's back, comfortably nestled between their saddlebags. They had nothing else. A nervous quietness hung between them.
"So...how do I look as a stallion?" Spike asked, he shook his green mane and gave an awkward laugh.
"You look fine Spike." Twilight said softly, before nudging him in the ribs and added with a sardonic smirk "We'll have to beat the mares away with a stick"
They both chuckled, an actual laugh this time, then walked to the door, pausing there. Twilight took a deep breath, leaning her shoulder against Spike's. "Here we go."
Then she stepped outside.
> IV
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Year 1004, Celestial Era - 353 years ago 



Discord watched as Twilight slumped down the hall, head low, wings hanging loosely at her sides. By Starswirl’s Beard, did she look like Tartarus. He snaked down the pillar he had been curled around and furrowed his brows, watching as she continued down the hall. Poor thing was really taking it hard.
He didn't even remember her looking that depressed when he had reversed her element and she had been trudging around all dull grey colored, with tears dripping down her face and landing on the ground in the shape of broken hearts. He had added that touch himself. Dear Celly had told him that he shouldn't be proud of any of his actions while messing with the lives of other ponies, but he had liked that one. Very poignant.
Now Twilight just resembled somepony who had just gotten into a particularly nasty run in with the bad end of a minotaur. It was positively depressing. Turns out having all your friends die can turn you into a real downer. Really, who'd have known?
Not that Discord was unsympathetic per se. He had just been around the block enough times to know that, inevitably, without fail, neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night would stay ponies from doing what they they did best. Dying.
Ponies died. It was a fact of life. No need to get all fussed about it. Honestly.
Sure, he had been close with Shy. She was a sweet little thing, nice to talk to, just about the only pony who would put up with him for any extended period of time. Though really it was probably because she had gotten so much practice putting up with that tiny monstrosity Angel Bunny. Never had a name been more unfitting. The point was though, she had been a good friend. 
Then she died. 
He would remember her, but anything more than that would be pointless. Wouldn't make her any less dead, at any rate. Besides, there was nothing he could have done. By the time he'd come into the picture, there had been no stopping Tia.
Twilight clearly didn't see things the way he did though, moping about like that. She would learn though. By the sixteenth or seventeenth dead friend she would hardly feel a thing. Being around the other princesses would help too. Gather enough immortals in one place, and eventually they'll start to resemble a group of vultures flocking around a decomposing body composed solely of cynicism. A feeding frenzy of ennui and disenchantment. Which is why Discord was leaving.
That kind of thinking was unhealthy for a long lived creature such as himself. That was the sort of thing that had lead to the downfall of the rest of the draconequui. Discord gave a little shudder from ears to tail-tip before putting it out of his mind. Suffice to say, the entire thing was about as cheery as a funeral...an analogy he could confirm very well, having been at one recently.
Sure, he had managed to keep his lively spark despite being older than than Sunbutt, Loudmouth, Bubblegum, and Miss.Crybaby over there combined, but he had found himself to be the exception when it came to that sort of thing. Enough time around this place Twilight would be as jaded as old Tia and Lulu in no time flat. Soon she'd be fake smiling and offering platitudes and slowly shriveling up inside and-
...And he didn't like that idea very much.
With a snap of his fingers, he blinked directly in front of Twilight. "Hello!"
The alicorn gave a squeak, plopping directly back onto her star emblazoned flank. She blinked up at him dully, mouth slightly open, face blank, without even the grace to look annoyed.
She closed her eyes, opened them slowly, took a moment to rearrange herself. She picked herself up into a scant approximation of standing, hunched, head barely lifted enough to look Discord.  "Look, Discord..." her voice was tiredly flat "I really appreciate you saying hi, I just- I really need to be alone right now."
Discord grinned, "That's great! Because I'm leaving! And so are you!" With a deafening noise of about seventy three steamer trunks, twenty six duffel bags, three TSA compliant carry-on’s, and a fanny pack falling to earth, Discord was quickly was surrounded by a pile of luggage taller than himself and large enough to fit in a moderately sized tour van, which was convenient, as, after a short pause, one of those dropped from the ceiling too, rattling the entire hall. In another instant, a camera had slung itself about Discord’s neck,  and his horns were stabbing neatly through the top of a baseball cap. Reaching into his fanny pack, he pulled out a bottle of sunscreen and sprayed a healthy amount onto himself, filling the palace with the smell of pools and beaches and miserable summer camping trips. 
Twilight coughed violently, squinching up her eyes "I...Wait. What?"
"We're going to see the world, look at the sights! What's the point of immortality and wings if you don't use them to see the world? Ammirite?" An Equish to Griffonian dictionary appeared hovering in front of him, along with several others, and he made a show of paging busily through them "Better brush up on your languages Twily. How's your Saddle Arabian? Know what البرسيم و ذكي means?”
Twilight just stared at him, eyebrows furrowed, head tilted ever so slightly to the side like a bemused dog. Discord gave a dismissing wave of his claw “Well, best you don’t anyways. Innocent ears and all that...If any strange ponies in Tubuck start shouting that at your from across the street,  just say no.”
"What?"
Discord had no delusions about being benevolent. He was not a good samaritan, or particularly altruistic. He was a nuisance at his best, dangerous at his worst, and usually had a penchant for causing trouble, even restricted as he was to mostly harmless trouble. Despite all that, he needed to get Twilight out of there.
Something about seeing the huffy, impatient, snarky, know-it-all reduced to a gluttonous buzzard of disillusionment and self-pity just didn't sit well with him. He grabbed Twilight, held her out at arm's length in front of him.
"Twilight, trust me on this one, you don't want to stay here." He shook his head emphatically, pulling her to his side and gesturing dramatically outward with his eagle claw. She wriggled out of his grasp, looking offput "No, it's best you leave to become a wandering nomad or something. Or maybe a cave hermit, dispensing out wise advice to anypony brave enough to climb up to her mountainous abode"
Hovering in the air with his limbs tucked in lotus position, and wearing an expression of the utmost inner peace, he gave his beard a quick tug, unrolling it to the floor like a parchment scroll. His low peaceful humming filled the room, only to be interrupted as he cracked open an eye and sniffed at Twilight’s offended look. Being a cave hermit wasn't a bad gig. He had done that for a couple thousand years, though his advice had proven to be less than stellar on several occasions.
King Silver's famous "Chicken Decree" had been a riot, though.
...Literally.
"I'm not going to go live in a cave, Discord!" Twilight glared at him "I have duties, responsibilities!"
"There's nothing here for you anymore, but duties and responsibilities."
Now she furrowed her brows "That's not true, I mean, after..." her voice wavered. "But I still have my family, I have Celestia, and Lun- What?"
"What?" He quickly composed his expression into a mask of neutrality.
Twilight recoiled slightly “What the hay is that?”
Discord removed the carved mask from his face and regarded it. It was a little creepy.  A quick flick of the wrist threw it offscreen. “So anyways…”
Twilight wasn’t biting, she narrowed her eyes "You were making a face." 
"No I wasn't."
"Yes you were, I was talking about Celestia and Luna and- there it was again!" Twilight pointed wildly.
"There what was again?" Discord gave her his best confused look.
"The face. You just made that face!"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Discord." Twilight took a step forward, voice lowering.
Discord looked away "I really shouldn't say."
"Tell me."
"No."
"Tell me."
"No."
"You tell me right now!" There was flare of light as Twilight's horn lit up threateningly.
""Okay! Alright." Discord raised his claws "All I'm saying is that, well..."
Twilight pursed her lips "Go on."
"In a court of law, one might consider that it was possible that Celestia could have been slightly involved in- the deaths of all of your friends" Discord gave a little wince, "Or, really, directly responsible for them, but-"
"What." Twilight cut him off, face expressionless.
"I mean, who'd have thunk it, eh?"
"Discord?" Twilight regarded him coolly, head tilted slightly to one side. "What is wrong with you?" her voice was flat, soft.
"Look, I know it probably sounds a bit crazy-"
"I lost the five ponies who meant the world to me this month, Discord." She said quietly, looking down at the ground "These past few weeks have been the worst of my entire life, and-" She stopped, the words catching, and Discord watched as she  swallowed furiously past her trembling voice, hooves shuffling, wings fluffing at her sides "And now,” she finally continued, the words heavy “You. You have the gall to suggest that Celestia, the pony who practically raised me, mur-killed them."
Discord drew himself up, growling slightly “Well I figured it was something you would want to know” he said, annoyance tinging his voice. He was just trying to give her some important and honest information, but there she was blaming him for that. Maybe it had been a bit badly planned, maybe he wasn’t the best when it came to things like, well, tact, but he was just trying to help her. Honestly, she could be so unreasonab-
“You thought I'd want to know.” The words dripped with scorn as Twilight looked up at Discord, staring him straight in the eyes with utter contempt, her voice almost a whisper, but filled with venom "After all the years of being reformed” her laughter at the word was joyless “You still don’t understand a thing about how ponies work, do you?”
"I-" Discord took a few steps backwards, flinching slightly.
Twilight gave a small, choked sob.
"Do you think this is funny?" she screamed, the fur on her cheeks damp with tears. "Do you think this is some big joke?"
"Twilight, if you'd let me explain..." 
"Just go, Discord." She slumped slightly, all the fire leaving her in one breath. "I don't care anymore, just go away"
Discord winced. That hadn’t gone as planned. No. He should have known that Twilight wouldn't believe a word of it. Not against Celestia, and certainly not from him. He flicked his tail. This was the exact reason he didn’t get into pony affairs. No, they just offed eachother and made eachother immortal and then dumped it all him. And Faust help you if you tried do something fun, like turn them into plants. This was why he stayed out of things. He raised up his claws in resigned defeat. “Alright, I’m going.”
Twilight gave no response, to busy in a valiant, but ultimately failing effort to cry quietly.
Poor girl. It would be an ugly scene when she found out the truth for herself. Discord sighed.
“Look. Just take this, okay?” He opened his paw and inside was a small wooden box. Cracking it open with his claws to show a small glass sphere, milky blue, with mist swirling gently inside. “I owe you. From back a while ago. With Tirek. If you ever need a Favor, just break this pretentious little glass thing,” Discord waved it around helpfully. “Dramatically, if possible." He gave a little grin. "I'll do what I can."
Twilight wouldn’t even look at him as he placed the box on the floor beside her. “I don’t want your favor.”
That made Discord smirk a little “I’d like to see you try to get rid of it.” His favors had a tendency to follow ponies around. Indefinitely.  He made a big show of turning smartly on his heel before adding over his shoulder "And actually...it's Favor, with a capital "F." Sounds more formal that way."
"Go to Tartarus."
"Goodbye, Sparkle." Discord wasn't one for sympathy, but if Twilight had looked up at that moment she might have seen something like pity on his face.
There was no reply as he snapped his claws and disappeared from the hall.
	
> V
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
Misty Point was a sleepy little town, shrouded by a thin sheath of fog shepherded in by the sea breeze, and smelling of evergreen.
As Twilight stepped out the door, the faint cry of gulls and the not so dissimilar squawking of ponies browsing and haggling drifted to her from across the street.  A small artisan's market, set up beside an equally small grocery store, was the source of the noise, the haphazard cluster of booths and tents growing out into the little parking lot like moss on a tree. To her right, a rocky hill rose up, topped by a verdant crown of trees. In the distance, if she concentrated, she could hear the sea. Twilight took a slow, deep inhale of the cool air, and regarded her surroundings with a small smile on her face. The late afternoon sun hung low towards the horizon, casting a diffuse glow on the scenery through the veil of clouds. If nothing else, Discord had a good eye for scenery.
A pony passed beside them, and she startled, shrinking back slightly. He gave her a polite smile, eyes flashing concern only briefly at her wide eyed expression and went on his way, leaving Twilight to unravel the ropes that had just knotted in her stomach. There was no need to worry, she assured herself, really. The spells blanketing her, Spike, and the girls were many, and sound. 
Spike's was a full transformation, like that she had learned years ago. Back thenThen she had only been able to change to a much, much simpler anatomy, like that of the Breezies, but over the years she had managed to work up to more complex metamorphosis. Intense boredom can do great things for your learning.
The magic on her and the girls was were less extensive, but in some ways more complex. Her wings were veiled in an illusion, and there was a slight memory distortion surrounding her as well, so if somepony who saw her was asked to describe her later, the best they could do would be would be vague. The most important spell, however, worked on altering perception. Every time a pony saw her, the enchantment was feeding directly to their brains that she was absolutely, certainly not Twilight Sparkle. They would see her hair, her color, her eyes, her cutie mark, but the connection of her looking like Twilight Sparkle would never be registered. This pony was absolutely, certainly, definitely not Twilight, after all. Like the perception blindness trick, with the pegasai dancers, everypony would be too busy counting the number of loop-de-loops they performed to see the pony in a bear costume walking in the background.
It was a useful little charm- a slight variation to a spell that, if performed while saying something, would forcibly plant that statement, as long as it wasn’t too ridiculous, as a fact in the brain of it’s target. The original wasn’t a very nice spell, and probably should be classified as borderline Dark Magic, something she honestly shouldn’t have been touching in her usual state of mind, but Twilight didn’t feel all that guilty about it. Her modifications were much kinder, and besides, she had ample reason to believe that the head of Equestria used the full force, unchanged version of the spell everyday. In fact, he had reason to believe it had been used repeatedly on her since she was a filly.
Twilight was very good at learning from observation.
She pulled herself up, walked down the street. She was just another pony, going about her business, living her life. Her normal life. As her and Spike walked down the street, she looked at the shops; a small store selling kites, a bed and breakfast called "The Lost Whale", a bakery.
"How come I had to change completely?" Spike grumbled, after the fourth time stumbling on recently acquired hooves. He fluffed his lavender wings in a huff, having just recently mastered folding them properly. Twilight wasn't entirely sure how well the magic that powered his dragon flight would translate into his pony body, but she believed he would be able to fly, or... once he figured out how to on different wings, at least.
"Even with the perception spell, a dragon would have been too noticeable." She said, unworried about anypony listening in on the strange conversation. Those who tried would be beset by the sudden thought that they had left their oven on. "Even though they would be convinced you were a pony, there would still be some part of them that registered the difference. Dragons are a predator after all, so you would be setting off alarm bells in the back of everypony's head and they wouldn't know why." 
Spike made a face and nodded. "You're the magic guru, so I'll trust you on that one-" there was an infinitesimal pause as he struggled against a small smirk, "Egghead."
Twilight rolled her eyes, before adjusting her wings and retorting haughtily, chin in the air, "Scales-for-brains."
"Featherduster." Spike stuck his tongue out, then looked down at it with an almost baffled expression "....Thpony toungths are sthrange."
A snort of laughter escaped Twilight, and she shook her head, grinning and muttering something under her breath.
"What was that?" Spike's eyebrows lifted, an amused expression dancing across his face.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Twilight teased with a flick of her tail.
"Oh really? Because I'm pretty sure you said something"
"Hearing voices?" her brows furrowed in mock concern as she added matter-of-factly, "You should probably see someone about that."
They passed a small store selling cooking implements, and rounded a corner. A small smile curled on Twilight's lips. "Lizard Face."
They both burst into laughter, Twilight's light giggles mixing with the low chuckles from Spike, making the town surrounding them seem just a bit less foreign. She took small comfort in the warm familiarity between them, letting it settle over her like a well loved blanket. Despite everything, she still had Spike. She always had Spike. Back before, when everything was only just starting to fall to pieces, she had suspected that Spike was one of the few things keeping her sane.
Of course, she had also held Celestia in that same regard... you can't always place your trust wisely.
She quickly brushed that thought away though, and kept smiling softly, if only for the sake of her oldest and closest friend. She knew it made him happy.
They turned down a small street, the gentle noise of their hooves down the sidewalks adding soft percussion to the growing sound of waves. Small shingled houses lines the streets, painted soft greys and whites and faded blues. Squinting at the addresses, Twilight guided them to a two story building at the end of the little road, whitewashed and similar to the rest of them apart from the sign that adorned it's front. Hoofpainted pictures of books adorned it's corners, flanking the artistically faded words "Seaside Library".
Though Twilight had known she had been staying in a library, her situation hadn't truly struck her until that moment; staying in a small, unfamiliar town, filled with ponies she didn't yet know, her only aspect of familiarity being the library she happened to be taking residence in. 
Well didn't that sound familiar.
"If only it were a tree." She mumbled to Spike, who chuckled appreciatively. The Golden Oak Library, though destroyed in Tirek's attack, had been healed and grown back through diligent earth pony magic long ago. It was a library once more, five stories of library, to be exact, two of which were underground, and the largest non digital collection of books and documents in Equestria save for the Royal Canterlot Archives. Now named The Twilight Sparkle Royal Library in her honor, even the entrance hall (an entire hall!) was grand and stately, and a life sized marble bust of herself was displayed proudly in a glass case for all to see as they stepped through it's proud doors. It had long ago ceased to be her library.
This one in front of them, at least, seemed suitably humble. 
Twilight liked to think that libraries were best when they didn't get all pretentious about themselves.
According to the sign, the Seaside Library was closed today, but Twilight raised a hoof and knocked firmly on the door, unruffled. She was expected. She pursed her lips and waited, hooves crossed primly, wings folded in a business like manner, turning the library card idly in her magic.
"Hello there!"
Twilight gave a sharp yelp and nearly jumped straight back into Spike, the knowledge of the three foals nestled on her back the only thing keeping her hooves firmly on the ground, and preventing all of them from tumbling to the pavement in an awkward mess. That didn't, however, stop her from snapping her wings straight outwards and catching him right in the nose with primary. The ex-dragon stumbled, and nearly fell over as he whipped a hoof to his now stinging muzzle with a vivid curse. Twilight turned swiftly to grab his shoulder and steady him, nearly tripped over herself in the process, meeting Spike's eye as they both danced precariously on the edge of toppling over, before finally regaining her equilibrium. Both let out out a small exhale.
Straightening herself with as much aplomb as she could manage, Twilight turned purposefully to the pony who had spoken, straight faced except for her ever so slightly twitching left eye.
He was a unicorn stallion, beige colored, with an unkempt, rusty brown mane brushed haphazardly out of his eyes, a pair of garden shears held loosely in pale green magic, and a barely concealed grin on his face.
"Sorry about that!" he said, still biting back a smile, and sounding only barely apologetic "I didn't mean to, er..." here he could not hold back a chuckle, looking at Twilight and Spike's still rather disheveled state, green eyes practically oozing amusement "...startle... you."
Now, Twilight had made a lot of progress from her old friendless bookworm ways when she had moved to Ponyville. Socially, she had positively blossomed, becoming more open, more friendly, laughing louder and far, far more often. However, in the three centuries since then, all of that had slipped back inside her., She had become, reluctant, penning those qualities and barricading them in for everyone except a special, very special few. The incident with Celestia, well, that had just locked the gates. She was not so good with meeting new friends even in the best of situations.
This was not the best of situations.
She already did not like this pony. Not even a little.
Twilight lifted her head, expression cool, "I assume you're Banned Books?"
Banned Books gave her an affable smile, "That would be correct." 
There was a long silence. In the distance, seabirds squawked and chattered.
"...I really am sorry for scaring you like that." He scuffed a hoof on the ground, chuckle sounding a great deal more awkward.
"It's fine." Twilight looked him straight in the eye, expression impassive.
She still didn't like him. 
"...Weellll." Banned Books broke the impromptu staring contest, fleeing out from under Twilight's gaze. "Why don't we head inside!"
He opened the door, shaking off the awkwardness as he put on a grin and gestured broadly with a hoof, "Tada!"
Interest sparking in her eyes, Twilight stepped halfways into the library, ears perked. It was cosy, lined with neat rows of wooden shelves, with several comfortable looking chairs scattered about. Several standing lamps waited ready to provide light should the already ample amount of it streaming through the many windows fail. Unable to help herself, she closed her eyes and inhaled, the smell of paper and binding, with just the faintest hint of- Was that lavender? Yes, she thought so - taking her to someplace safe, and gentle, and comfortable. A smile spread on her face.
The moment was broken as two snickers sounded in unison from behind her.
Twilight immediately stiffened, ears swiveling, neck pulling back, wings snapping tight to her sides. She strode stiffly past the threshold. This might smell like the safe, comfortable place in her mind, but it wasn't. That place was gone.
"So, I take it you like libraries?" Banned Books said casually, while Spike maintained an admirably straight face behind him.
"I’m a big reader." Twilight said flatly. She could see Spike struggling valiantly against a grin out of the corner of her eyes, and losing by no small margin. She vowed to turn him into an iguana, rather than a pony, next time.
The group settled into a cluster of chairs, Twilight tapping her hooves uncomfortably the whole time. as she distributed the foals amongst her and Spike's laps. Couldn’t Discord have found her an apartment? He was a reality warping chaos god for Celestia's sake, he could have at least booked her at the Bed and Breakfeast. She supposed she would have to make an effort to be cordial though, at least until she found her own place to stay.
"Well, it's a pleasure to have you in my library Twilight Prose!" Banned Books said, before turning to Spike "And...Emerald Stone, correct?"
Spike nodded, extending a hoof as well.
"And the little ones?" Banned Books nodded towards the girls, who Twilight was busy trying to bottle feed, now that they were awake and moving. All five of them crying at once was not a pleasant experience.
Nodding to each one respectively, Twilight rattled off "Rare Heart, Rainbow, Pinkie, Applejack, and Shy."
Banned Books nodded slowly, pursing his lips, and looking impressed "Mighty altruistic of you to take them in like that."
"She has a big ego- I mean heart." Spike said, snickering to himself at his own joke.
Twilight whapped him on the head with a baby bottle, eliciting a yelp and a glower.
Banned Books smirked. "Nice big brother you have there." 
Spike instantly  puffed up, grinning like a madstallion.
"Little brother." Twilight corrected pointedly. "So, you don't stay in the loft?"
"Nope." Banned Books said "I already had a house in town before I started tending the library, so it will be nice to have a use for it now."
"Well, thank you for letting us stay here, and...sorry for such short notice"
"No problem," Banned Books waved her off. "It's to be expected from Discord, I swear, he shows up and three AM yammering about a friend who needs a place to stay and-"
"You know Discord?" Twilight cut him off, head cocked to the side.
Sure, she had known that Discord had set her up at this place, but she hadn't expected him to actually know her host. Discord was more of the "manipulating from afar" type, and usually got things done without direct contact.
"Are you guys..." She said slowly "Friends?"
"Yeah, I met him when I was working at Canterlot. Funny guy. Of course, I didn't know he was a draconequus at the time...He was helping me with, well, it's a long story." He coughed "Anyways, he'll pop in every once in a while to make trouble."
Twilight stared at Banned Books as he casually rambled. Discord, masquerading as a pony? Making friends? 
The idea seemed ridiculous, but what had she thought he would do? Retreat to some distant mountain and be alone for hundreds of years? Twilight winced slightly. That's exactly what she had thought he would do, actually. Then she eyed her host curiously, wondering exactly what type of ponies would be the kind Discord would befriend.
"How did you meet Discord?" Banned Books looked at her expectantly,
"It's...a long story." Twilight parroted the line Banned Books had used voice soft. The conversation continued. Spike was talking about...about...Twilight wasn't really paying attention. With alarming quickness, an overwhelming tiredness began to drag at her body, pushing past the morning coffee she had guzzled less than an hour before, and reminding her she hadn't slept in over one hundred and twenty eight hours. Blinking quickly, she pulled herself up, trying to focus her fuzzy thoughts on what to do, without much success. She stood up suddenly, handing off the girls to Spike. "Could you point me to the restroom?" she looked at Banned Books inquiringly.
"Just off to the left."
Rather unsteadily. Twilight walked over to the small door, pushed inside, and locked it. She went to the counter, splashed her face with water. She sat down. She...

Twilight stood on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the Everfree forest.
"What do you see Dash?"
She called up to her friend,who was hovering in the air above her.
"I dunno." Dash alighted next to her with a shrug.
"Somethin’ funny, that's for sure!" AJ pulled her hat tighter on her head, frowning. "Reckon it's trouble?"
From behind her, Fluttershy squeaked.
The entire group squinted, trying to see past the mist  that seemed to be permeating everything.
"Oooh. Spooky!" Pinkie bounced up and down brightly as Rarity put a steadying hoof on her shoulder.
"Pinkie, Darling, Twilight's trying to concentrate."
"Girls, I think we should head back to Ponyvi-"
A great rumbling interrupted Twilight's sentence, as the ground began to shift under their hooves.
"Girls!" Twilight cried, backing away from the cliff edge.
With terrifying suddenness, it began to crumble apart, falling away to the earth below. Rarity toppled over the edge with a surprised scream, and Pinkie scrambled to get to solid earth, AJ had a tree branch gripped tightly in her jaw, expression fearful. Soon gravity worked to drag both of them downwards.
"Don't worry!" Rainbow Dash called "I'll get them!"
She dived down below the cliff, out of sight, weaving through tumbling boulders. 
Twilight watched in horror as everything grew silent once more. Tendrils of mist curled around her.
"Rainbow Dash!" She called desperately "Rarity! Pinkie- Anypony!"
The only reply were her own sobs, echoed back at her.
"No. No no no no."
"Twilight." the voice came from nowhere, and everywhere, and suddenly it was there, right next to her. Twilight's head snapped up.
"Luna." she breathed, looking up at the dark alicorn. They stood there for a moment, staring at eachother. Then, swiftly, they wrapped each other in a tense but close hug. After a few long seconds, Twilight pulled away, expression tight "You shouldn't be here... I put up dream wards and barriers and-"
Luna raised her head proudly, "Twilight, I am the mistress of the night and the dreamworld." She said with a small smile, gaze cool "If I cannot get into a dream, it is because I am not trying."
"What do you want, Luna?" Twilight asked quietly. Luna did not answer, instead turning to turning to stare at her for a long while.
"Why do you want so badly to keep me out? I have been playing mediator between you and Celestia for a long while." She looked at Twilight searchingly, the slightest bit of hurt  visible in the little furrows of her brow, and the line of her mouth   "Am I no longer welcome in that role?"
Of course she answered one question with another. Twilight should have been used to that by now.
"No." She pursed her lips slightly "I just know that you're going to try to get information out of me. “You always do."
Luna smiled at her in her usual, mysterious manner, "You know me too well." The smile dropped, and the princess composed herself in a more serious manner. "I would like to plead on the case of my sister, as I also, always do."
"Luna, please, I don't want to-"
"No, Twilight." Luna's tone was as firm as steel. She held herself tall, head lowered, gaze downward, hooves wide apart, wings twitching half open,  almost in a fighting stance. For a moment she looked imperious, unmoving, mighty, her true age and power bleeding into visibility in the dream world. Then she shrunk back down, eyes gentling. "Merely, hear me out. You do not know the whole story, Twilight."
Twilight was silent. Luna began to open her mouth, taking the lack of response as a signal of consent, when Twilight suddenly began to speak.
"You know what I do know, Luna?" She snapped "I know that she used me. She used me like a pawn. Like my life meant nothing. I know she used me from the very start so she could throw my expendable, meaningless little life away for her own means."
Luna opened her mouth, protesting, "But then-"
"She changed her mind. I know." A rueful smile spread across Twilight's face, and she spat out her words like they poison, bitterness heavy on her tongue. "Your sister decided that, actually, she'd like to use me a little bit longer."
The last sentence came out like a slap, and there was a pause, a moment where all the anger, all the hurt, all the confusion, shined out from Twilight's eyes like a beacon, and was traced on every line on her brow. Then Twilight's shoulders dropped, and she lifted her head, a bark of not-quite laughter escaping her mouth. The expression on her face almost incredulous, as if she could barely believe what she was saying. Her words were soft, but somehow almost harsher than her last ones.
"So she sacrificed the lives of my friends to have me as a toy for the rest of eternity."
Twilight looked up at Luna, eyes daring her to respond.
The night princess just stood there, ears folded back, her expression formed into a frown. She said nothing. Twilight just continued staring, drawing herself up back, eyes narrowing, lip curling, as if insulted. It was her turn to be imperious now.
"I think I know enough."
Luna tilted her head to the side, regarding Twilight from under furrowed brows, looking resigned "Very well then.” tThere was a slight pause. “I'm sorry."
The feeling of mental probing that came then was intense, and immediate Twilight's eyes widened.
"John Jacob Jingleheimershmidt!" She sang loudly "His name is my name too!"
Luna's expression was patronizing "Seriously?"
"Whenever we go out, the ponies always shout, there goes John Jacob Jingleheimershmidt! Da da da da da da da!"
Though rather foolish sounding, singing simple repetitives songs were one of the best defenses against mind reading, as probing spells, even when cast by powerful magic wielders, couldn't access the memories or deeper parts of the brain, and only succeeded in poking around the little conscious thoughts, and inner monologues that floated close to the surface. The best way to keep anything useful from popping up there was filling it with the most useless information possible.
It was a stand off.
"John Jacob Jingleheimershmidt!"
"Stop that."
"His name is my name too! Whenever we go out, the ponies always shout, there goes John Jacob Jingleheimershmidt! Da da da da da da da!"
Luna narrowed her eyes, horn glowing brighter as Twilight continued singing
"His name is my name too! Whevever we go out the people always shout-"

There was a loud knock on the bathroom door. "Twilight?"
"JOHN JACOB JINGLEHEIMERSHMIDT!" Twilight shouted, sitting bolt upright. Her head whipped around as she looked confusedly at her surroundings, then she relaxed.
"You okay in there?" Spike asked. Twilight could almost hear the bemused expression he was wearing.
"Yes Spi- I mean Emerald" she replied, correcting herself swiftly.
She unlocked the door, and Spike stepped inside, wings fluffed at his sides, and gave her a thorough looking over "What happened?" he asked.
"I..." Twilight rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof, giving him a sheepish smile, "I...Think I fell asleep."
"In a bathroom."
"Well what else was I supposed to do?" Twilight snapped defensively, "Fall asleep during the middle of the conversation?"
Spike gave her his best deadpan gaze "You could have asked Banned Books to show you up to the loft. You know, the one in the library?"
Twilight rolled her eyes, brushing past him.
"It it has a bed, you know." Spike called after her, before trotting to catch up as she approached the area they were sitting before.
"But... what was with the Jingleheimer-" he began to mutter, before Twilight stopped him with a sideways glance.
"I'll tell you later."
Banned Books looked up at them, expression questioning, but seemingly unwilling to ask aloud.
"So...." He said slowly, "Would you like to see where you'll be staying?"
He lead them up a stairway into a little loft, with a bed to one side, a little counter with a sink, minifridge and hot plate to the other, and a door that Twilight assumed led to a bathroom. A mattress had been inflated to sit beside the back, and the girls had already been taken up by Spike, and were sleeping soundly in a crib. The far wall of the room was taken up by a large fabric curtain
"See? Bed." Spike muttered sideways to Twilight, before being jabbed under the ribs with a wing. Giving a decidedly girly yelp, he turned to glower at his attacker.
"Serves you right for being such a wise-"
"Did you say something?" Banned Books asked, turning to look at her.
"Nope." Twilight said, quickly straightened herself. Spike gave her a return poke in the side with his wing, which she pointedly ignored.
"Well, feel free to make yourself at home." Banned Books continued "I was thinking of heading to town for dinner, if you'd like to come along."
"We already ate, but thanks." Twilight said. Heading off Spike's almost certain affirmative. That dragon ate like a, well, dragon.
"Alright, then." Banned Books said, heading towards the door  "I'll see you tomorrow."
The minute the door shut, Spike shot to his feet, shouting "Dibs on first shower!"
Twilight stood up "That not fai-"
"Nope. Called it."
She slumped back down "Fine. Don't use all the hot water."
Flopping on the bed, Twilight was relieved at the very least, to have some time to think, listening to the background noise of running water. 
Oh, Luna.
Despite the attempt at breaking into her mind, the subversion, the fact that she sided with her sister, and always would. Twilight had never found herself to be able to blame her along with Celestia. Everything had already been set in motion, irrevocably, by the time Luna had returned from her imprisonment, so she couldn't really been considered complicit in what had been done. Twilight could try to be angry with Luna for not telling her, keeping her in the dark, but, really, would she have believed the princess if she had? Her defending of Celestia, despite everything, despite all the lies, all the manipulation...well...they were family, bound together. Try as she might, Twilight could not hold it against Luna, to try, however futilely, to try and win forgiveness for her sister.
Twilight sighed softly. She would need to cast stronger spells, to keep Luna, her old friend, out, before she slept again. Maybe even block dreaming altogether. Dreams were useful, for sorting, learning, understanding, but she couldn't risk Celestia finding out where she was. 
It had been a year, almost, since the day when her entire, arranged little world crumbled apart. She couldn't go back. 
The running water turned off.
"Twilight?" Spike's voice came from behind the little door, sounding slightly unsteady.
"What?"
"A little bit of help?"
Brows furrowing, Twilight walked over to the door, pushing it open.
Spike was hunched inside the little bathroom, in dragon form, and covering the floor and counter, spilling out of the bathtub, were scrolls.
"I-" Spike coughed up another roll of parchment in a gout for green fire "Thought you cast a spell to block these!"
Twilight winced, the transformation spell on Spike had been crafted to block any sort of dragon magic, including fire breathing, which would be harmful to a pony body for obvious reasons, and she had disabled the magical link between Spike and Celestia long ago. She reached out with her magic, feeling with her mind. The connection had been reestablished with incredible force, her transformation magic, which had been an inadvertent obstacle in the way of that connection, had been completely torn to shreds in the process. She could sense the tattered shreds of magic still clinging to Spike dissolve as another puff of fire signified the arrival of another letter.
Sun and Moon, Celestia was determined.
"I did."
Twilight grabbed it in her magic and opened it, looking at the short sentence, scrawled rather sloppily on the page, but the horn writing recognizable nonetheless.
"I'll repair the transformation spell and cast heavier blockers." she said slowly, looking at the letter, as a dart of magic shot of to retrieve a pen from her saddlebags. "Just, send this first, okay?"
Laying the letter out on the counter, she penned her answer in one bold, cursive stroke underneath the first and only line of the missive.



In Canterlot, Celestia slowly unrolled a scroll in her magic, still hot from the magical green fire that had carried it to her.

Twilight, please, Forgive me.

No.
	
	
> VI
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Year 1000, Celestial Era





Celestia looked at the letter and hesitated. She paced, rustled her wings, bit her lip. Everytime she tried to send it, she just...couldn't.
It had been already written out, ready to go. When Twilight's letter had arrived, she picked it up, gotten ready to send it, then dropped it right on the floor.
Now she stared at it like it was a poisonous snake, coiled and ready to strike.
My dearest and most faithful student, Twilight.
It had to be done. There was no other way, or at least, none that she hadn't already tried. Celestia's mind traveled to the village where Cadence had lived. All those ponies killed. For nothing. The element’s wouldn’t even connect with the stupid, useless-
She hadn’t known. She hadn’t known what it would do.
It would just be one this time. Just one pony.
She still couldn't send the letter.
You know that I value your diligence and trust you completely.
She couldn't get the picture out of her mind, of Twilight, her bright, curious, capable Twilight, of all the life being slowly drained from her. It would take years, the process, starting almost unnoticeably and then building and building until everything just- stopped. The Elements were powerful, too powerful, and Twilight would be right in crossfire.
Kindness, Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, they were different, gentler. Magic was the channel, focusing all that raw energy right through the body of it’s host, literally stripping their life from them.
Just one time channeling that much magic would catch up to a mortal, even a powerful one, within years. She had seen that for herself, a long time ago. More would just make it go faster.
It would not be a pleasant end. She knew that firsthoof too.
But you simply must stop reading those dusty old books!
It didn't matter. It couldn't matter.
This was the whole reason, after all, her entire purpose for taking in, training...caring for...Twilight. Her sole motivation for taking a personal student. It was for this, every single thing was for this!
The others had been carefully nudged into being in the right place at the right time. Everything was ready.
Still she hesitated.
There was another possibility...If Twilight wasn’t mortal, if she was-
No. That came with a price, a steep one. Making someone immortal had consequences, that power had to come from somewhere. 
Someponies, really
Her way was a simple trade off. One for one. 
One was an acceptable loss.
She tried to tell herself, at least.
My dear Twilight, there is more to a young pony's life than studying...
Celestia felt ill. Good ponies didn't use other ponies. Good ponies didn't fashion other ponies, like chipping out a form from stone, piece by piece, into their pawns. Into sacrificial lambs. She had believed she was a good pony, long ago. She didn't any more.
It was for Luna, she reminded herself. For Luna.
Celestia had tried not to let herself get too attached to her student.
Until this moment, she had foolishly thought she had been successful.
...so I'm sending you to supervise preparations in this year's Summer Sun Celebration location: Ponyville.
A celebration fashioned to honor her mistakes. Funny how things worked out that way.
Would they be so proud of their ruler if they knew what she had done, what she was about to do?
Celestia doubted it.
Would Twilight still love her if she knew?
Yes. That was the worst part.
If at that moment, she ripped up that letter, teleported to Twilight, and told her she would have to sacrifice herself to defeat Nightmare Moon, Celestia held no uncertainties that she would be met with a brave face, and an even braver nod.
"What do I need to do?" She would say, with a look of pure determination in her eyes, and Celestia wouldn't be able to meet them. Not once. Somehow, paradoxically, it would be easier to lead her unknowingly to her demise, than look her in the eyes right then.
She took the letter in her magic and regarded it, blank-faced. This was the price that she had to pay to get her sister back. The price that somepony else would have to pay, really. If Celestia could do it in her place, she would! In a heartbeat! In an instant!
That changed nothing though, because she couldn't. That weight rested on her conscience like the moon. The moon and a village full of ponies plus five twice, and one, one little unicorn.
All her fault.
And I have one more essential task left for you.
The letter disappeared, and Celestia let out a soft breath.
Sometimes life as a ruler required her making tough decisions. It had been banish her sister, or let the land be covered in eternal night. Before that it was turn an old friend to stone, or risk the kingdom being turned into a sump of madness. Before that, it was make an unthinkable sacrifice, or let a pony she had come to love die. She wondered if she had made the right decision, all of those times, often.
This choice however, was the hardest she'd ever made.
But really, in the end, it was simple. To get her sister back, the Elements of Harmony had to be used, and to use the Elements...
Make some friends!
Twilight Sparkle had to die.

> VII
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Twilight closed her eyes, letting the current of her magic guide the stack of books up into a swirling dance, each circling, swooping, into its proper place. She could sense the entire room around her when she focused of her magic like this, every crack in every wooden shelf, every minute wrinkle on every page of every single book, every single strand in the pile of the carpet she stood on. When she focused on her magic, on feeling with it, it was like seeing the world seamlessly, from every angle at once. Sorting books was as relaxing to her as a massage, or a warm bath. 
She wasn't sorting the whole library of course...unfortunately. Twilight at least possessed the social knowledge to tear apart and reshelve somepony's entire library without asking permission first. She supposed the curators of the Royal Canterlot Archives hadn't been all that upset when she had rearranged the entire forbidden wing after a particularly bad day, but then again, she doubted any of them would have the pluck to tell off a princess.
In the Seaside library, there had been a perfectly serviceable cart of return books that needed to be replaced on the shelves...And a few books strewn about that needed to be returned to their proper spots...And maybe Twilight was also halfway through putting the entire Foal's section in perfect order after having already organized the entire fiction section.
She had woken up at four in the morning, and hadn't been able to get back to sleep. She had been bored.
Twilight suspected it was around eight thirty now, judging from the light creeping through the blinds. She turned to get a better look, and immediately gave a choked yelp, all the books tumbling free from her magic and slamming to the floor as gravity reclaimed them.
Leaning against the open door to the library, Banned Books blinked slowly, a hint of amusement on his face "Mornin." he drawled, raising an eyebrow curiously.
Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Spike barreling down the stairs with the speed of a small freight train, obviously still mostly asleep, but apparently ready to duke it out with any would be assailants. He skidded to a halt at the bottom of the steps, and squinted at the situation, before slowly turning to stumble back to bed, muttering something that sounded a great deal like "Every Celestia-Damned time."
As the bedroom door shut once more, Twilight resumed her rebuttal.
"How long were you standing there?" She shrilled, heart still pounding.
Jumpy as a cat, Spike always like to tease her.
It had only been getting worse.
"Not long" Banned Books waved a hoof "I didn't want to startle you." A small, wry smile spread on his face "A rather futile endeavor, it seems."
Twilight turned her focus to gathering the dropped books, shoulders raised, lips pursed tight, wings fluffed up like bristle brushes at her side...Not that anyone but her or Spike could have observed. As Banned Books trotted over to help, smiling affably, she wanted to scream internally.
The poor stallion was just trying to be nice, the more reasonable part of her brain rationalized, but the rest of her would have to be dragged kicking and screaming into any sort of interaction. 
It was just this panic. It overwhelmed everything. She knew she was being unreasonable. She knew the fear was completely unfounded, that she should ignore it, overcome it. She just couldn’t though. She couldn’t do it. 
"I should really thank you for re-organizing" Banned Books began grabbing tomes in his own magic as he talked "It's been too long since I've gone through the children's section..."
As he continued, Twilight felt an animalistic urge to flee welling up inside of her. It tugged at her throat, tightening her breathing. She wanted desperately to teleport, somewhere, anywhere, and had to tamp the rising energy in her horn as it prepared to whisk her away. Her wings, too, expressed their desire to be away and airborne, tips twitching and fluttering out from her sides like trapped creatures. 
"It's okay. I've got it." She barked, buckling to the irrational impulse. Neglecting the graceful flow of telekinetic force from before, and opting for speed, she scooped up all the fallen books and shoved them into their proper places with a single burst of magic, before spitting out some reason to exit, and escaping to the sanctuary of the small room upstairs, to the right of the bedroom. It was a sort of makeshift living room, home to a thick loveseat that swallowed up anypony who sat it, a magivision set, and a small play pen, filled with soft toys. Twilight curled herself up on the couch, under the blanket that was resting on it's cushions, digging for the remote. At least her forceful reshelving wouldn't have been noticed as out of the usual. Too vain to limit herself to simple telekinetics, Twilight had simply used charms to dissuade any perception of her magical prowess as strange.
She had been living in Misty Point, Seaside Library for two months, though! She should be able to handle a simple conversation with some state of calm. She couldn't though. Not with Banned Books, despite his futile efforts to be nice to her, and certainly not with strangers. Twilight had been forced to send Spike grocery shopping for the past months because being around the handful of ponies going about at the supermarket made her feel like there wasn't enough oxygen to breathe.
The girls wouldn't be up for another hour or so. Usually Rainbow started causing a fuss around nine, and soon everypony was up. Armed with the youthful magic surges typical in pony infants, the quintuplets were always on the edge of gaining the upperhoof in the never ending battle of Please-Don't-Destroy-the-Library. 
Wresting the controller from the couch's cushy grasp, Twilight turned on the magivision, and winced. News coverage of the continuing search for the Princess. Of course. It seemed like the Media just couldn't put the no-longer-current event to rest, despite objectively more interesting stories, like the continuing investigation into the Fitte's Corp disaster, or the recent laws legalizing wider use of synthetic magic implants. She imagined a certain somepony had something to do with the unusual focus by the media, which usually flitted spastically from one hot button issue to the next like Rainbow Dash on coffee.
The official story was that a radical group of ponies had targeted Princess Twilight for her stance on certain magic regulation laws.. The attack had been foiled midway through, and the perpetrators captured, but Twilight had disappeared. Celestia had warned in a press conference that the missing princess was probably confused and disoriented, maybe hurt, and if anypony recognized her, they should alert the royal guard immediately.
Twilight had her own hotline number. She felt sorry for the poor government officials who had to answer the endless prank calls Discord was making to it. He had insisted the practice was necessary to ensure Twilight’s tracks were covered, but she suspected he just enjoyed being a nuisance.
A soft knock at the open door made her look up, expecting a recently awoken Spike. Instead, Banned Books stood in the doorway, smiling with awkward cheerfulness. With a cup of coffee held in his magic, he held out a second mug hesitantly, as if offering food to a feral animal that might bolt or attack at any moment.
Celestia, Twilight felt terrible but a part of her was screaming to bury her head in the blanket and play dead. What was wrong with her? Why was she being so irrational?
Instead, she smiled half-heartedly and accepted the drink, taking a bitter gulp from the cup. Coffee was hard to resist, and she really had missed it during her eleven months holed up in her castle. Hot or cold, straight black coffee had been her energy source of choice for the past three hundred and fifty years, and she suspected it would remain so for a long time.
Anxiety tugged at her chest, but she firmly pushed it down, gritting her teeth.
Banned Books sipped his coffee quietly, watching at the news anchor talked about the latest in the large series of phony Sparkles ponies had been phoning in in an attempt to lay claim to the rather astronomical award now attached to her name.
"Shame about the Princess." Banned Book's remarked, absently stirring the spoon in his cup "She was always my favorite when I was a kid."
Twilight looked at him as if he had just told her he was the long lost heir to the throne of Saddle Arabia.
"What?"
Banned Books turned to her, eyebrows raised "You're telling me you never had a favorite princess growing up? You know, that one princess you just  idolized as a foal?”
"Celestia." Twilight said, almost unthinkingly. She remembered her first summer sun celebration, seeing, seeing her future mentor take off into the air, pulling the sun with her, looking to all the world like some otherworldly goddess. Like she had been crafted from light itself. "...She just seemed so...wonderful."
"Yeah, she was most of my friend's favorite..." Banned Books chuckled "Mostly because we were little colts, and she was pretty."
The whole conversation seemed so surreal to Twilight. She had always been aware that, despite the country run mostly by parliament and elections, she and the other princesses were treated as symbols and guides to Equestria. However, she had never really given too much thought to the almost religious reverence given to herself, and to the ponies around her. She had never really thought about little foals looking at pictures of the princesses and playing with dolls of then and reading magazines and books about their lives...and picking favorites.  Like they were fictional entities, completely separated from their lives, only to be observed. Which they were...in a way.
"Why..." she asked softly "Was Twilight your favorite?"
"Oh!" Banned Book's eyes lit up "This is a great story. You see, one time, when I was a little colt, I snuck into the forbidden wing of the Canterlot archive."
"Seriously?" Twilight choked, thinking back to herself as a filly, wandering around the Canterlot library whenever she didn't have school. A born rule follower, she had skirted away from that restricted section like it housed the plague as a filly, despite her curiosity.
"Well, me and all my friends when I was young were a bunch of little dweebs, and being dweebs and colts, we had collectively decided that sneaking into the forbidden wing was the coolest possible thing to do. It was the ultimate combination of books and youthful rebellion. So I slipped in at the heel of a scholar-"
Twilight gave a loud squawk "Do you realize how many ways you could have killed yourself?"
She thought of the careless researcher she had seen open up a book of Screaming Runes once, and shuddered slightly.
Banned Books laughed "I know...I know... But I haven't gotten to the best part. I wasn't two feet into the library when I ran straight into Princess Twilight. Not thirty seconds into my rebellious escapade and I headbutted one of the four highest authorities in the land right on the shins!" He chuckled, shaking his head "I had never been so terrified in my life."
Twilight blinked. She didn't remember that. She didn't remember that at all. She furrowed her brows slightly, trying to recall a day what, fifteen, twenty years ago? The past two hundred seemed like a blur.
"All the professors and researcher ponies in there immediately start freaking out, but the Princess just holds up a hoof, all cool and collected and says 'I'll handle this', and scoops me up in her magic. I was convinced I was going to die, or be thrown in the royal dungeons, so I start bawling my eyes out, telling her I only wanted to read more interesting books, and she just plops me down on the floor, looks me straight in the eyes and tells me that if I wanted unrestricted access, I'd have to either become a princess, or the Archive Loremaster first. Then she gets this little smile and says that it takes a minimum ten years of working in the archives to even apply for Loremaster, and even longer to become a princess, so I had better get started right away.” He paused, sighing “...Then she had me help the librarian reshelve for the rest of the weekend."
Twilight laughed. Son of a nag, she thought, that sure sounded like her. The memory now was sneaking back into clarity. An errand to grab some texts for personal research. A scrawny colt, frozen at her feet like a spooked animal. A twinge of guilt tugged at her chest for not remembering the moment. It wasn’t as if her memory was going either, she just...hadn’t considered it important enough to remember.
Banned Books smiled "The next day, I found this massive box of books on my front porch. None of them from the public archive, most of them way above my reading level, and with a note saying 'For the next time you feel tempted to sneak into the forbidden wing.'" he laughed "They were great, after the ten or so reads it took me to understand them.”
"Let me guess." Twilight said sardonically, covering up her growing discomfort. "Then, inspired, you rose through the ranks to become Loremaster and  made snow-pegasai in restricted texts all day."
"Well...yeah!" Banned Books said "Without the snow-pegasai part, mostly it was organizing, and delegating tasks, and-"
"You're kidding." Twilight said, leaning forward. Though as a princess, some could say she was a tad above it, a part of her still got excited at her foal-hood dream job. 
At the same time, another part of her cringed. She had influenced this pony’s life, for Celestia’s sake, and yet the memory had been tossed out like any other trivial, meaningless event. Completely insignificant. Something about that struck her as wrong.
"Nope. For real. Coltscout's honor. Turns out the restricted wing is pretty boring; all the books that aren’t incredibly dry research novels will kill you with horrifying black magic. Not really much fun."
Twilight snapped back into the conversation, cocking her head "Then… If you’re the archive’s Loremaster, what in Equestria are you doing here?"
Loremaster for an Archive like Canterlot’s was no small position, it was an honor, not to mentioning paying well, as you would expect from a job spent mostly babysitting volatile tomes of ancient spells.
“Was the Loremaster.” The smile on Banned Book's face wavered and fell, and Twilight immediately snapped a hoof to her mouth, knowing she had said the wrong thing. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"
Of course. Of course she had said something stupid. It hadn’t been going too terribly either. Maybe not great, but for a little while she hadn't felt the pressing need to transform herself into a potted plant, or cast an invisibility spell. Magic lent an incredible amount of spells ripe for the abuse of an antisocial sorceress. Now even the slightly open window was looking like an appealing exit to the situation. The room was too small, the TV was too loud, she needed to get out. She needed to get out right now-
"No, it's okay." The smile was back, if a bit strained, a bit evasive. "I just needed a change of pace. Somewhere different."
Twilight sat stock still, shoulders raised, the fur on her back and neck bristling. With effort, she raised her coffee mug to her face and took a too large gulp. She realized it had been a bad move as she nearly choked, anxiety hiking up another frantic notch as she resisted a sputtering coughing fit. Her hooves began to shake, and she felt the mug listing and wavering in her magic as her focus slipped. 
Twilight looked at the window with increasing calculation in her gaze. If she teleported in this state she would probably and end up blinking up into a tree, or in the ocean, or inside somepony. Nope, window was the best option. She would erase Banned Book's memory of the incident later or something. 
"...You alright there?"
No. No. Twilight, with great effort, forced her panic down.
"Yeah... I'm fine." She swallowed back a stutter. What had he even been saying before? Twilight struggled to recall. Finally, her mind latched back on to the thread of conversation.
"I can relate...um...It's beautiful here."
She had only briefly been to the seaside, and hiked about the woods only once, but the landscape held a serene charm, and an almost tangible aura of peace. Though not having been there long, Twilight could admit a genuine love for the serene little town. The thought of it eased her, if only slightly.
"Yeah." Banned Books smiled fondly "A little quiet at times, but beautiful."
"Quiet?" Twilight squeaked.
"I dunno, maybe I just can't appreciate the calm like some." Banned Book's turned, smiling "It's been nice having you guys around though...Livelier."
Lively was certainly one word to describe it.
As she opened her mouth sputter some sort of reply, or more probably just to scream, a long drawn out "TWIIII-YEEE!", sounded from the adjacent room. Foals usually started speaking and stringing together proper words around four months of age, and so far Rainbow had proved to be the quickest learner. She only had "Twi-ye" "Spie" and "No" mastered so far, but she usually managed to get the rest across through shrieks and excitedly waving her chubby little hooves. Twilight had never been so grateful for Rainbow Dash's ability to interrupt conversations.
In as normal a voice as she could muster, Twilight excused herself "Duty calls, it seems." Using her magic to refold the blanket she had been curled under, she attempted to wriggle free from the couch's pillowy maw, having sunk impressively into the cushions since first sitting down. Banned Books reached out and pulled her to her hooves, smiling.
Twilight forced a little smile in return, then bolted like a rabbit.
Walking into the adjacent room, she shut the door, then sat down, pressing her trembling hooves hard against the carpet. After a few shaky breaths, she pushed herself back upright. While she would have liked to stay there longer, she had more pressing matters to deal with. Trotting over, she pulled Rainbow from her crib. The little filly giggled, fluttering her tiny wings. From the other cribs came the small, gentle noises of waking, mostly drowned out by Spike, still snoring on the air mattress.
Twilight gently roused the others, scooping them up in her magic as they yawned and cooed.
As she gazed out through the window, she sent streams of magic out to grab bottles from the fridge, the sparkling aura turning from pink to orange as she muttered a warming spell under her breath.
She sat down on the bed, folding her legs underneath her, and setting the foals down next to her. Though being in the same room as Spike and her foals- the girls...calmed her down, she was still trembling slightly, and didn't want to even take the chance that her levitation might falter. 
Rainbow immediately set to burrowing underneath the blankets like a groundhog, snuggling herself into the down comforter. From her tiny fort, she batted a hoof at Twilight's long mane, pulling a genuine laugh from her. Her hair measuring almost to the floor, Twilight kept a spell on it to make the strands almost friction-less and prevent tangles. To her satisfaction, it also had added bonus in preventing tiny hooves and mouths from grabbing hold and pulling.
Pinkie clambered up Twilight's back, squealing happily in her ear before rolling down and onto the comforter. After the filly had turned up without explanation, in a closet, between two books on a bookshelf, in the neighbors house, on the roof, and once, inside a large apple pie, Twilight had placed a tracking spell on her for easier retrieval. She doubted however, that it would convince the local bakery to let her back in. The logical part of her rationalized that Pinkie might have some underlying, unicorn heritage, causing the rare but not unheard of condition where a pony displayed the magic of another race instead of, or occasionally alongside, their own. During the strong magic surges common in foal hood, even during adulthood, if strong enough, it could easily result in some extra sensory ability. Spontaneous teleportation? Maybe. By a stretch.
A much larger part of her suspected that the cause was just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie.
Rarity, possessing a healthy amount of aplomb and dignity even as a foal, sat primly at Twilight's hooves and gave a delicate yawn. Twilight was glad she seemed to be in a good mood today. At odds with her usual air of temperance, Rarity's tantrums were characterized by an incredible amount of screaming, at a pitch that made Twilight pity any whales or dolphins that happened to be swimming by the coastline.
She swirled the bottles, testing the warm liquid on her foreleg before distributing them. Fluttershy then Rainbow, Rarity, and Pinkie. Applejack, snuggled underneath Twilight's wing, looked up at her with wide eyes as she held the bottle out enticingly. Finally, the little filly opened her mouth, scooting out from her favorite hiding spot just far enough to for the rubber nib with her tiny orange hooves. Eventually Twilight would have to shield her wings from even the girls' eyes, so they wouldn't talk to their friends about their alicorn caretaker. For the moment, however, they remained a veritable playground for the fillies, who seemed enamored by the shiny, golden-pink tipped feathers.
Fluttershy scooted herself further into her spot, nestled between Twilight's forelegs. Unlike Rainbow or Pinkie, who would wriggle about like seaponies on land if made to sit still for more than a few minutes, Fluttershy would happily be held for hours. Twilight smiled, tucking a little strand of pink hair behind the filly's ear.
When the empty bottles were taken and floated to the sink, and the girls were burped, Twilight  allowed herself thought. It was a luxury, one Twilight could easily get caught up in, so to keep herself focused, she tried to regulate it as best she could. Short term goals accomplished for the moment, Twilight turned her mind to long term to-do’s, in order of importance. 
In a month, the previous owners of the house down the street would be moving out, and Twilight's little family would be moving in. The paperwork was all signed. Getting her own home...check. 
She would need to keep checking and patching the various spells on herself, Spike, and the girls, but she had performed a thorough inspection and maintenance last week so they would be good for another month at least. Check on that one too, she guessed, for the time being.
Discord had been keeping her up to date on his work to keep Celestia off her tail, the latest being a month ago in the form of a small piece of paper, which she had woken up to find rolled into a ball and stuffed in her ear. If she didn’t hear from him again in a week or two, she would have to check in to make sure everything was alright…
And so on, and so on, finally dwindling to things like: Get some sleep maybe, eat something today, and don't forget to drink water, you keep doing that; no, coffee doesn't count. Over the past centuries, Twilight admitted she had gotten into some bad habits. Her alicorn metabolism could take a real beating, and sometimes, without the normal cues that told a pony when they hadn't slept or ate or had any water in the past seventy two hours, Twilight just forgot.
She held up a hoof, still shaking slightly, and frowned. The panics had been getting worse. They had been bad for decades, but lately...the nightmares, the shaking, the nausea, the overwhelming fear, seemed more often present than not. Social interaction, loud noises, small spaces, even the dark, all seemed to trigger an irrational, uncontrollable panic. 
She couldn’t keep ignoring it.
“Nee!” Rarity shrieked loudly as Dash tackled her over, and bounded away, play bowing like an energetic puppy. Rarity pushed herself back into a seating position with a whine as the pegasus bounded around her excitedly. Dash reached out with a hoof, bopping her sibling...friend, on the nose, and giggling at the the testy squawk in response.
Exiting from her thoughts and putting on a soft smile, Twilight scooped up Rainbow in her magic, and placed her over by Pinkie, who was usually more forthcoming to a wrestling match. Rough and tumble play was important to the development of young ponies, but she could tell it would turn nasty if Rainbow continued harassing Rarity. Twilight wasn’t in the mood for screaming at the moment.
Rarity huffed demurely, as if to declare it was about time, and then flopped over on top of Fluttershy, across Twilight’s forelegs, begging for attention. A strand of magic combed through the filly’s hair, and Rarity giggled, reaching her hooves to catch the sparkling light.
Underneath her, Flutters mewled in protest, squirming, and soon the pair were engaged in a play fight of their own, Rarity being much more eager to engage with a gentler opponent. These brawls had worried Twilight at first, but after consulting several books on foal development in the library, she had discovered that it was common, a lingering trait from the days when the early practice of skills in evasion, magical talent, and “combat” with hooves would have proved a vital edge in escaping predators.
Stretching her hooves languidly, and setting her head down on the bed, she turned to watch with a little smile as Rainbow and Pinkie jumped and danced around each other, playing a game with rules they were born knowing, passed down from the days when the world was much less cozy a place. The objective, from what Twilight had observed, seemed to be knocking the other pony over. Magic was used, whether it be pegasus flight or unicorn telekinesis or the inherent strength and good balance in earth ponies. The only rule seemed to be that playing nice was enforced at all times. Hoof blows were always pulled to gentle bats and taps, and infractions scolded with angry, high-pitched yelps from the receiving party, and admonishments from Twilight or Spike. She liked to think of herself as the referee.
The girls had tired themselves out after about an hour, so Twilight swaddled each of them and returned them to their cribs, the soft noise of her murmuring them to sleep finally causing Spike to stir.
“Hnnn...Waazzat?” He rolled over and blinked his eyes, stretching.
“Just putting the girls down for a nap” Twilight said quietly, walking back to the bed and stretching out onto it. Spike raised his head from the floor to rest his chin on the edge of the mattress, smiling sleepily at her.
“Morning.”
Twilight nickered quietly. “More like afternoon, Sleepyhead.”
Spike flicked his eyes to the bedside clock, “It is eleven.”
“I’m allowed to hyperbolize.”
Twilight huffed, then sighed softly, resting her head on her hooves.
“Everything okay?” Spike furrowed his brows, tilting his head slightly.
Twilight mentally considered her answer. 
Yes, if she interpreted “Okay” as being judged on her own mental norms. This was her usual state of mind. However, if he meant “Okay” as judged by medical standards, the answer was a bit more iffy.
Celestia, what in the world was she doing? Her mind was hers, she should be able to control it! Why was she so-
“I’m fine.” Twilight smiled. “I was just up early is all.”
Shaking off the last bits of sleep, Spike stretched, standing up “Here” He pulled the bed sheets over her “I’ll take the girls into the next room, and you get some shut-eye in here. Catch up on your sleep. Maybe take it easy for a few days?”
“It’’s okay.” Twilight laughed, picked herself up off the bed, and gave Spike an affectionate nuzzle “You worry too much.”
“And you rest too little,” Spike shot back, before softening “It’s just...You don’t need to carry everything on your shoulders. I’m here to help” he reached out a wing, curling it around her shoulder. It wasn’t quite the same as being wrapped in a dragon wing, but the feathers were comforting.
“I couldn’t do it without you,” Twilight murmured, leaning into the embrace. For being the little brother, Spike sure took a lot more care of her than the other way around.
“I’m going to go get ready.” Spike gently folded his wing, smiling at her. “Just try and relax, okay?”
Twilight nodded, as he walked into the bathroom and closed the door. She let out a soft breath.
She thought about her time on the throne, about the massive gap she had felt growing between herself and the rest of the world...and how she had taken it with her. It protected her from her fears, but it also made them stronger. If she really wanted, Twilight could stay isolated. Once she got her permanent home, she could go out as little as possible, send Spike out for groceries, home school the girls. She could never talk to anyone outside her little family, and feel safe, and never have to look  across that dizzying canyon again.
Wouldn’t that be easy? Wouldn’t that be nice?
Sitting down on the bed, biting her lip gently, Twilight added a new goal to her mental checklist. This whole time she had been trying to train herself to put up with new ponies, trying to quell her anxiety to the point where she could casually brush them off...But that was still walling herself in, hiding from her fears. That wasn’t what she wanted.
She needed to make some friends.
> VIII
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Year 1000, Celestial Era - 357 years ago.



It was around two in the morning the day of Twilight’s ascension, when the small group of ponies gathered outside the library began to disperse with soft '”Goodnight's” and covered yawns. Though the past day had been extraordinary, even life changing, it had been collectively decided that any further pondering of its events (and the consequences thereof) could be postponed until tomorrow. Miracles of nature, no matter how spectacular, could only take precedence over sleep for so long. Only, Twilight, the one pony with probably the strongest excuse to collapse into sleep, lingered. Many times she moved slowly over to the library door, only to pause, step away from it again, indecision flitting across her face.
“Twilight.” Celestia said gently, touching a hoof to her student’s shoulder. She raised her brows ever so slightly. It was always easy to tell when her student had something on her mind.
The mare froze, almost guiltily, under her gaze. She half-smiled, nervously, shifting her new wings awkwardly at her sides. She didn’t even quite know how to fold them properly, yet.
“I’m sorry, I just..I had some questions.” Twilight took a small step closer, ducking her head.
Celestia smiled warmly at her, delighting in the way that Twilight’s hesitant smile followed suit, growing easier, and more comfortable. Today, Celestia decided, was going to be a great day.  .She felt as if she were made of light, as if she could fly without even flapping her wings. In the sky, the stars were out in full force. Twilight’s friends were slowly picking their way back to their beds while, all around the town was asleep, unaware of the world, unaware of how beautiful, how wonderful this day was - Iit took some force for Celestia to restrain her racing thoughts, and maintain a soft, composed smile.
“No need to apologise, Twilight.” Celestia chuckled quietly, a fraction of the joyful laugh bubbling inside her. “Ask away.”
“Oh! Um...Well…” Twilight’s ears flicked as she shifted her weight restlessly between her hooves. “I’m not even sure where to start really. I don’t even know...Hhas this ever happened before? What was that star place? Why are there pictures of my entire life up there? Why did this happen?”
Twilight stopped, eyes wide. “Oh my gosh., Iis this some sort of circle of life thing? Are you dying?! Am I going to have to replace you? Because I don’t feel comfortable with-”
“Twilight.” Celestia stepped forward, shushing her gently.
Twilight’s eyes focused on the golden clad hoof pressed softly against her muzzle, and her cheeks flushed pink underneath her fur as she gave an embarrassed little chuckle. “...Sorry”
“That’s quite alright.” Celestia had no trouble relating. She could remember being in her young student’s position, many, many centuries ago. So confused, so excited. It had been incredible... and then terrible, more terrible than she could imagine. She should have guessed, she should have known what was going to happen, it was all her fault, and she just kept making it worse, over and over again, hundreds of years, and- With effort, Celestia dragged herself away from the memories.
Carefully, Celestia lay an iridescent white wing over Twilight, feeling her snuggle up close to her side. She closed her eyes, brushing away all the negativityin her mind to embrace the simple joy in this moment, for however long it lasted. Twilight was safe, and in this small moment that was all that mattered.
“I just can’t believe this is happening.” Twilight murmured softly. “That I’m…I mean,, I’m not even sure that I’m qualified.”
Celestia couldn’t believe it was real either. She hardly knew what to do. She wanted to laugh, to cry, to  gratefully kiss every single feather on those beautiful, beautiful wings. Instead, she wrapped her feathers closer around Twilight, tilted her head to gaze at her, and said, with complete conviction, “Twilight, there is no one I know more deserving to be a princess than you. Not me, not anypony that I have met over the entire course of my life. Don’t ever doubt that.”
For the past ten years, Twilight had been the brightest thing in Celestia’s life. She had been the little light that had kept her going through endless court sessions, and guilt ridden Summer Sun Celebrations, the eager filly that never failed to make her smile.
Twilight had saved her sister.
Twilight had saved her.
There was nothing Celestia could ever do to repay that.
Twilight blinked up at her, eyes filled with tears, her mouth a little ‘o’ of surprise, and Celestia thought of everything leading up to this moment:

Twilight, in the old castle, almost glowing with happiness, with Luna lying safely next to her.

Luna, storming into the hall after her first Nightmare Night in Ponyville, and shaking her head, teary eyed, as she said “Her? It had to be her? Of all ponies?”

Her own anger at Cadance and Shining Armour’s wedding, clinging desperately at any excuse to be disappointed in Twilight, at any chance to lessen the blow she knew was coming.

Her guilt...the very next day, when she found out just how very wrong she had been.

The terrible certainty she had felt when Twilight had returned from the Crystal Empire, that, should the little unicorn die, some part inside herself would shatter, and not even her immortality would be able to save her then.

That was the day she had decided. Her entire life she had watched herself destroy the things she loved most. But not this time. Not Twilight. Tears prickled at Celestia’s eyes as she continued.
“I know you, Twilight, and I know that you’re going to do great things... Not just because you’ve been my student all these years, but because you’ve been my closest friend, too”
With a quiet sob, but a large smile, Twilight threw her hooves around Celestia’s neck, wet tears dappling her fur. Apparently, Celestia realized, she had not been the only one struggling to keep her composure. With a shaky laugh, Celestia began cry too, letting all the relief pour out of her. She had been so close to losing her.
The day she had brought Discord to Ponyville, she felt Twilight’s magic, already withering, dying. Twilight had probably thought  that she was just getting out of practice, or maybe hadn’t slept as good as she normally did. She would have realized something was wrong by the time her magic sputtered out entirely, in about a month or so, but by then her muscles would have already started atrophying, her bones eating themselves from the inside, as her severely depleted life force ran dry.
Most unicorns believed that magic was replenishable, constantly being reabsorbed from the world around them,. This was only mostly true. Most unicorns could never manage to use all of their magic supply in one go, so the inaccuracy would never affect them. All of the ponies that were powerful enough knew very well that some magic wasn’t replaceable. Twilight herself had been taught and repeatedly warned about how using over ambitious spells would burn straight through her standing magic, and tap deeper into her own, non-renewable  life force, stripping literal years from her.
Twilight had just never thought of using the elements of harmony as casting a spell. Or just how overly ambitious using the elements really was.
Celestia did though. She had learned the hard way, many years ago, and she knew how close Twilight had come to death. Twilight shifted in her hug, nuzzling further into her embrace and causing another rush of tears to come from both of them. Pressing her cheek against Twilight’s, she could feel Twilight’s renewed magic, pulsing stronger than ever before. If she concentrated, Celestia could even feel the unicorn’s life force, hot, brighter than any mortal pony’s, and nearly blinding relative to the shrunken husk it had been just days before. It was wonderful.
It took a long time for the two mares to stop crying, but even when the last tears had finally dried, they both stayed where they were, Twilight with forelegs wrapped around Celestia, the princess’s great white wings shrouding her like a blanket. For a few minutes, they just sat there, soaking in the quiet. 
As Twilight lay her head, eyes closed, against Celestia’s shoulder, Celestia could feel her trembling softly. Maybe from emotion, but more likely, with exhaustion. Growing a new pair of limbs, not to mentions several inches in height, wasn’t exactly easy on a body. Though part of her wished to stay with Twilight forever, Celestia closed her eyes. With a light of her horn, and a brief flash of light, they were in Twilight’s room, with the brand new alicorn set snug in the covers of her bed. Twilight let out a small mewl of surprise, before quickly realizing exactly how tired she felt, and wriggling further under the covers. A little smile crossed over Celestia’s face as she leaned over the bed, and smoothed down Twilight’s mane with a hoof.
“Thank you.” Twilight murmured softly, a far-off  little smile on her face. “Thank you for everything.” 
As if it shouldn’t be the other way around. As if she wasn’t the one that Celestia should be thanking.
Celestia’s eyes softened. “Sleep well...Twilight.”
She doubted her student even heard her.
The library door shut with hardly a sound as Celestia stepped outside and spread her wings. The flight to Canterlot wasn’t exactly short, and she could have just as easily teleported to her chambers, but sometimes the simple pleasure of flying trumped convenience. In the cool, early morning air, with the wind rushing through her feathers and hair, it was easy, at least for a little while, to let her mind rest. On this occasion, however, she was barely two wingbeats into the trip, when trouble arrived, floating lazily on it’s back beside her, and grinning like a snake.
“Well, wasn’t that just adorable.” Discord cooed, twisting around so he was no longer upside down, and paddling his legs to propel himself through the air. His small, mismatched wings were folded neatly at his sides.
Celestia lifted her gaze away from him, to the horizon, and sped up significantly.
It was no use. In the blink of an eye, Discord was in front of her, this time inside a gigantic soap bubble.
“Celly, dear-” he began, voice wavy, and distorted through the shimmering film. Reaching out a claw, he drew a little circle on the inside of the bubble, and neatly tapped it out, where it tumbled to the earth below, and shattered like a pane of glass. “That’s much better.”
You could have cut yourself on his smile.
“I just wanted to congratulate you. Really. Well done! Good job! ” he stretched lazily, “Stellar scheming, on your part., I couldn’t have done it better myself.”
Celestia narrowed her eyes, and hissed. “It wasn’t a scheme.”
Discord widened his eyes, the bubble around him popping loudly. “Not a scheme?! Oh ho! Silly me…” He shook his head, a large yellow dunce cap materializing between his horns. “Here I thought all this cloak and dagger stuff implied it was some sort of... secret plan. You know...getting me to switch around some cutie marks, stir up some of my usual chaos, create a fake crisis that could realistically warrant an ascension, that sort of thing.”
Celestia clenched her teeth together. It had been a necessary falsehood, for everypony’s well being. If she thought there wasn’t enough time, if she thought Twilight might not last until the preparations were finished, she would have scrapped the smoke and mirrors to ascend her in a heartbeat. Things were just smoother with them, easier. Twilight would suffer less in the end.
“Now that I know that it wasn’t a scheme though. Well! I had you all wrong, Celestia!” Discord put a paw to his face dramatically. “Just imagine, me, thinking that you were some sort of lying, manipulating-”
Discord was swiftly cut off as he was muzzled by several bands of glowing energy. Celestia yanked his face very close to hers.
“Think very carefully about finishing that next sentence.” She hissed, teeth clenched.
“Fine. Fine! Alright!” Discord rubbed his snout sorely as her magic released him.
They flew in silence for a little while, the only noises the faint whistle of wind through Celestia’s wings, and whatever mode of locomotion happened to strike Discord’s  fancy that minute, including, but not limited to: Jogging in midair, lounging on a floating rug, turning himself into a kite, and pedaling through the clouds on a little broomstick while humming to himself. Celestia took a deep breath. Any second now...
“A real shame though...” Discord said slowly. “About Twilight’s friends.”
“I told you,” Celestia snipped coolly, “I have a plan for that.”
“Hrr--Scheme-cff!” Discord coughed loudly into his paw, before smiling unpleasantly at her. “Celestia, friend. You and I both know that returning the elements to the tree isn’t going to work. The damage has already been done.” He folded his arms, and grumbled. “Not that I won’t help you out with that act too. I don’t really have much of a choice, do I?”
Celestia glared at him “It will work.”she said firmly, desperately. “Besides, what do you care? Didn’t you say the reincarnations would be soulless simulacrums? What was the phrase you used, “Empty flesh sacks with the faces of friends”? I remember that pretty distinctly.”
Discord paused, his face tightening into a frown. The face on the duck shaped life preserver that he was bobbing through the air in glowered as well.“I was wrong...it’s like...it’s just like she’s alive again.”
Celestia’s expression softened. “Fluttershy is a lovely girl, isn’t she? Really, a dead ringer for Pansy. They all are. A little different here and there, but with the same…” She waved a hoof vaguely, searching for the right word, “soul. I guess.”
“Yeah.” Discord said quietly.
“It would really be terrible,” Celestia continued, slowly, “Iif you didn’t stay reformed, if you went around making trouble. It would probably break her heart to have to see you in stone again, given how much she trusts you. Such  a sweet mare….You write each other letters, don’t you?”
Discord nodded.
“That’s nice.” Celestia's warm smile did nothing to thaw her eyes. 
The only noise from Discord came from his spontaneously deflating life preserver. He didn’t even try to reinflate it the entire way back to Canterlot.
She closed her eyes, and sighed. Everything was okay. Twilight was okay. Everything was going to be fine.
	
	
> IX
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
“Finally, after climbing up the mountain…” Twilight said slowly, waving a hoof for dramatic effect, “the ponies reached the cave of the nemean lion. Only he could help them defeat the evil king.”

Twilight had a gift for storytelling and since she had started reading to the girls before they could understand what she was saying that by now, with the girls’ second birthday coming up fast, it had long become ingrained in the daily routine for them to gather on the bed in a big multicolored huddle and listen to her describe whatever new, exciting adventure had happened to strike her fancy that day. Sometimes she told stories from her old life, sometimes she borrowed from childhood favorites like Daring Do, she even threw in a literary classic (with foal-friendly revisions, of course) every once in a while, just to change things up. It had become one of her favorite parts of the day, and, judging from the tantrums thrown on the rare occasions she’d been forced to skip it, a favorite of the girls as well.

“They stepped towards the mouth of the cave.,” Twilight continued, her voice low, “and peered inside.”

All the girls jumped and squealed, as, from behind them, Spike gave a very convincing growl, grinning from ear to ear.
Twilight huffed, rolling her eyes, as her baby brother fell to the floor laughing. Despite his pony appearance, he could still sniff out gemstones like nobody’s business, and even pull off a pretty terrifying roar if he felt like it. So of course he'd decided to put it to good use in plenty of juvenile pranking. 
“Spike!” All the girls chorused, squealing and giggling as they clambered off the bed and all over their honorary uncle. Twilight leaned in to give him a friendly nuzzle.
“How’s Ideal Cut doing?” she said, cracking a smile, as Spike scooped up the girls in his forelegs and back-flopped onto the bed.
“Good, good. He was just telling me today how his daughter just  applied to graduate school, looking to get a doctorate in applied magic.” He rolled onto his side as the girls bounded excitedly around him on the comforter. “Keeps begging me to come on full time, he says I have the best eye for diamonds around.”
Twilight smirked, chuckling, “Tell him I’ll fight him for you.”
Not that she could probably do it with a clean conscience. Ideal Cut was probably the nicest older gentlestallion you could ever meet, and he treated Spike more like a son than an employee, despite the fact that he could only work mornings, and even then only once or twice a week, thanks to Twilight.
She smiled, slightly guiltily, “...But seriously, you could always take him up on it if you really wanted to.” 
Twilight didn’t think either of them had expected this when they had wandered into the local jewelry shop out of curiosity, and struck up a conversation with the owner, but before they knew it Spike had found a craft that he had a real interest in, and a job offer on top of that. Since Ideal Cut was nice enough to let him work part time, it seemed like a win- win for everypony, but Twilight still felt a bit responsible for taking his time away from something he really enjoyed.
Spike grinned at her “No way you’re getting rid of me that easy.” He joked, shoving her in the shoulder ”...It can wait a year or two. Helping you out is my top priority.”
Twilight wondered how she had even made it to that first magic exam without Spike around.
However, there wasn’t much time to ponder that quandary, for story time had gone interrupted for too long, and unrest was beginning to spread through the ranks.
“But wha ‘bout the lioooooonnn?” Rainbow piped up, flopping dramatically to her belly.
“Well...” Twilight began, trying to remember where she left off.
“No.” She was interrupted by Fluttershy, who shook her little head earnestly, curled up in a tiny ball “No lions.”
“You don’t want to hear what happens?” Twilight asked gently, leaning down towards her, brows slightly furrowed. Despite trying her best not to dwell on it, she worried sometimes about the little changes she saw in the girls. Just the other day, Fluttershy had been scared out of her mind when the neighbor’s new dog barked at them through the fence, and she always seemed more frightened than charmed by all the sea life during their occasional visits to the beach. Twilight had to wonder whether she was doing something wrong.
“No lions.” Fluttershy reiterated firmly, eyes shining with the threat of tears as she added a tiny sniffle for emphasis.
“Alright, then.” Twilight conceded, with a small sigh. “What story would you like to hear?”
Fluttershy perked right up, tiny wings fluttering. “Puffy Fluffy!” She chirruped.
“Are you sure thats-”
“PUFFY FLUFFY!”
There was a collective protest from the rest of the girls.
“Hey, hey. Don’t worry.” Twilight interceded “Since Shy gets to pick this story, each of you will have a turn to pick your own favorite story all this week.”
Spike gave her a pleading look. She just shook her head in resignation and shrugged her shoulders at him.
“Puffy Fluffy, “ Twilight began, rather unenthusiastically, “Was the fluffiest pony in all of Equestria. Every day she frolicked through the clovers, and picked out the prettiest flowers. Her best friend, Cloudy Poof, liked picking flowers too. One day, they decided to have a contest to see who could pick the prettiest flower-”
“Please.” Spike mouthed at her, “Anything but Puffy Fluffy. Anything.”
“She had already picked all the flowers in the meadow, so Puffy Fluffy went into sparkling forest to see if there were any flowers in there.”
Twilight scolded Rainbow Dash, who had been smacking her face repeatedly against a pillow. 
She had come up with the story of Puffy Fluffy on the spot a few months ago when Shy had demanded “a really really really really nice story”. She had been so foolish. Puffy Fluffy was a monster. Puffy Fluffy was her greatest mistake.
“Then, Puffy Fluffy ran into a flock of breezies. The lead breezie said her name was Buzzy. Buzzy was so happy to have a visitor in their forest that she started to sing a song.”
Twilight paused, and glanced at Fluttershy, who nodded eagerly. Twilight’s shoulders slumped.
“The sparkle forest welcomes you! We hope that you will like it too!”
Fluttershy stopped her, shaking her head, “No!” she pointed a hoof, “Spike too!”
“Oh...I don’t know if I can...” Spike began to scoot off the bed, shaking his head, “I have to...um…”
A stream of magenta magic ensnared itself around his tail and tugged him gently, but firmly back into place. Twilight refused to suffer alone.
“...Sing for you!” Spike finished weakly, settling back down on the bed with a helpless smile.
And so the ballad of Puffy Fluffy continued. It took almost an hour, and at least four brief musical numbers before the cursed story finally ended. Both Spike and Rainbow Dash tried to escape, twice, and by the time story time finally wrapped up the only ones left smiling were Fluttershy, because she had won, and Pinkie Pie, because she never stopped smiling.
“Remind me again why you created that story?” Spike asked pointedly, as they herded the girls into the playroom.
"Yeah, yeah, rub it in.” Twilight stuck her tongue out and threw a stuffed toy at him, before sitting down on the floor and watching the girls raced to grab blocks and toy cars and dinosaurs from the big chest in the corner. As much as the Seaside library had grown on Twilight, sucker for literature that she was, there was just no comparison to the space they had here. It was wonderful. Besides, the library was just a minute’s walk down the street.
“I’ll make up for that atrocity with something more interesting tomorrow.” She yawned, stretching out her forelegs “I was thinking ‘A Hearth's Warming Carol’, maybe. It’s not December anymore, but still…” 
Spike sat down next to her, “I hate to break it to you Twi, but you promised the girls you’d let them each pick a story.”
Twilight winced. AJ and Rainbow’s would probably be alright, since they liked adventure stories. Rarity’s pick would probably be a princess story, so a little boring, but not to bad, and Pinkie…
“Not it on reading Hamster Huey!” Twilight said loudly, seconds before Spike did the same.
Spike glowered at Twilight, who smiled smugly. Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie wasn’t quite as bad as Puffy Fluffy , but it was close. Besides, she really didn’t want to have to do the Happy Hamster Hop.
“Pleeease?” She cajoled, making her best Fluttershy eyes.
Spike conceded “Fine...” He chuckled, rolling his eyes. “The things I suffer for you, Twilight.”
She smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder.
For about twenty minutes, play time went smoothly. Twilight was even able to sneak in some shut eye while Spike kept an eye on things. Then Rainbow Dash hit Rarity in the face with a stuffed poodle and the ensuing chaos ended with Rainbow in time out, four out of five of the girls crying, and Twilight being shaken awake by a rather frazzled looking Spike to lend a hoof with damage control.... Spike was a great peacekeeper most of the time, but when things really got hairy, Twilight had the advantage of telekinesis. 
“You should probably head downstairs.” He said to Twilight as they put the last of the toys back in the chest. “I’ll go ahead and get the girls squared away for their nap.”
She glanced at the clock. Spike was right, it was nearly five.
“Just don’t set the house on fire before I get down there!” he called as she trotted down to the first floor.
“No promises!”
Honestly, if anypony could manage to screw up a simple spaghetti and hayballs that badly, it would be her. Over three hundred years and she still couldn’t cook. Smiling and shaking her head, Twilight pulled her mane into a sloppy bun and had just started a pot of water boiling on the stove when the doorbell rang.
Since taking care of the girls was a full time job, neither Twilight nor Spike had time to get out much, but they had worked out a pretty decent solution. With a simple baby-monitoring spell to make sure everything was alright upstairs, they had about a three hour window to make and eat dinner while the girls were down for their evening nap, and it was easy enough to have friends over to join them every once in a while.
Due to Twilight being, well, Twilight, it was friend...singular...but it was progress.
She swung open the door with a spark of her horn, and smiled at Banned Books.
“Hey, how’s it go-”
The greeting was interrupted by the sound of Spike tripping loudly down the stairs, shouting the word ‘cookies’ with the inflection of a curse (both he and Twilight had been trying their best not to add any expletives to the girl’s quickly growing vocabulary) and scrambling after something over the kitchen tiles. With startling speed, a pink blur darted between Twilight’s hooves, gave a little skip, and wrapped a pair of tiny arms around Banned Book’s foreleg.
“Friend!” Pinkie announced happily, releasing her grip in order to bounce up and down a few times. Though she had only just recently mastered it's proper pronunciation, “friend” was far and out Pinkie’s favorite word, and she said it probably thirty times a day, at least. Twilight supposed that, by a slim margin, it was better than “fun!”
Banned Books broke into a grin. “Hey there, Pinkie Ber!“ he said, scooping the bounding filly up. “How’s it going?”
Pinkie giggled brightly.
The nickname was Book’s invention, but Spike had picked it up, and  now even Twilight had found herself using it occasionally. This was surprising, considering how little she’d taken to the new names; frequently using abbreviations like “Shy” and “Rainbow”  in order to avoid them. Still she had to wonder whether there would ever come a day where “Pinkie”, in her thoughts at least, would be followed by “Berry” instead of “Pie”
“Oh, good!” Spike poked his head out the door, grinning sheepishly. “You caught her.”
“Sure you don’t need any help up there?” Twilight teased, as she handed Pinkie over to him.
He just chuckled and rolled his eyes. Both of them knew well enough that Pinkie was in a class all her own when it came to the fine art of getting into trouble, and could be ungodly slippery when she felt like it...Twilight had been in Spike’s same situation at least a few times herself.
While Spike made his way up the stairs for take two of nap time, Twilight and Banned Books walked over to the kitchen.
“Spaghetti and Hayballs,” Twilight lit her horn and began pulling ingredients from the pantry, smiling wryly. “I figured that something simple would be best, considering what happened last time.”
They shared a chuckle, remembering the expression on Spike’s face after he had left to use the restroom and returned to find the entire kitchen and both ponies inside covered head to hoof in egg yolk.
Spike was the only pony allowed to prepare souffle in their household from then on.
“...Probably a smart choice.” Banned Books snickered, unlatching his saddlebags and pulling out a bottle in his magic. He usually brought drinks whenever the three had dinner. Setting aside one of the ciders for Spike, he popped open the cap on his own, and then tossed the lone bottle of soda over to Twilight. 
“For the teetotaler.” he grinned playfully.
Even in her younger years, Twilight never been much of a drinker, and the disinterest had only increased over the years. Besides, even minorly impaired critical thinking was never a good idea when you had magic capable of leveling buildings. She just raised an eyebrow at him, “Do you really want me cooking tipsy?”
Banned Books winced, and tilted his bottle to concede. “...Fair point.”
“Alright!” Spike bounded down the stairs and swung into the kitchen. “You can start the party now, guys.”
Making dinner was the kind of comforting, repetitive, task that always relaxed Twilight. She had no talent for the finer techniques, and no eye for the subtleties, but she could happily chop or knead or peel for hours. It was like sorting books. You got into a rhythm. She and Books were mostly just assistants to Spike anyway when it came to cooking, cutting veggies and measuring ingredients while he handled everything remotely nuanced. All in all it worked out pretty well.
When the group made dinner, the kitchen was always warm and pleasantly filled with idle talk. Twilight still wasn’t the best conversationalist by any means, but it was getting easier to fall into the swing of chatter and joking. 

It was nice.

They were just finishing rolling the hayballs when the first roll of thunder rumbled through the windows. Twilight trotted over to the window to see that the sky had been coated by a massive storm cloud, almost black in color, and flashing ominously towards the center. Fat raindrops began to fall down, striking like hooves against the window pane. Twilight frowned and turned away.
“Unscheduled storm.” She walked back to the kitchen. “Looks like a bad one too.”
“From the reactor?” Banned Books craned his head to take a look.
“Probably.”
There were only two downsides to living in Misty Point. The first was that the humidity could get a tad oppressive in the summer, the second was the arcane reactor that sat sixty or so miles down the coast.  Arcane power was a fairly recent advancement, pioneered by the Fittes’ Magic Corporation five or so decades back, and relied on extracting magic from the many ancient artifacts scattered across Equus. Hay-bale sized crystals that could turn ponies mad, hulking monoliths that hummed and glowed at night, pools of still water hidden deep inside a cave with odd properties when touched, all remains of a time before even Celestia’s memory, filled with strange and powerful magic. Since most of these prehistoric fragments were volatile, and dangerous to nearby populations left where they were, nearly everypony agreed it was best for them to be unearthed or uprooted or drained and turned into safe, useful energy.
Nearly.
The princesses’ opposition to the practice had been overruled by majority in tribunal. 
Outside, the thunder rumbled louder, and Twilight jumped slightly, squeaking. Not unlike the wild rainclouds that would still occasionally roll into Ponyville under the influence of the Everfree’s wild magic, the rogue storms that plagued Misty Point and the nearby countryside seemed be caused by magical residue from the reactor seeping into the atmosphere and clouds. However, while uncontrolled weather from the Everfree would at their worst, cause an unexpected shower, the storms here were much more violent.
“Can’t the city start a petition or something?” Twilight grumbled, glancing with concern out the window. 
Banned Books grimaced, flicking his tail “Officially, Fittes denies all connection of the storms to their reactors.” He rolled his eyes. “No surprise. Goddess knows that they’re already under heavy fire for…oh...um. Sorry.”
‘It’s okay.” Twilight nodded awkwardly. Considering that the Fittes’ Corp tragedy in Canterlot played a large role in her fictitious past, most ponies treated it like a very sensitive subject for her. 
“It just...it doesn’t feel right. What they’re doing.” She said, wrinkling her brow. She knew that she wasn’t unbiased, that she had the habit of past through rose-tinted glasses, and, especially these past few decades, a strong tendency towards cynicism about the future. That didn’t stop the fact that the things they did in the Arkane reactors gave her the heebie jeebies. Twilight had been around during their development, she had seen entire process in action start to finish. It was ingenious, brilliant in it’s simplicity, completely revolutionary, the sort of science that made you wish you had been clever enough to think of it. She really wanted to like it. She had wanted to like it so badly...but she just hadn’t been able to get past how wrong it felt. The magic in these artifacts was so  complex and intricate, and they were just just stripping it down to the magical equivalent of scrap.
Banned Books nodded, frowning “Maybe it's my inner history buff, but the idea of sucking the magic from millennia old relics for power just seems a bit…”
“Like melting down a beautifully crafted gold crown into bullion?” Twilight finished.
“Exactly!...I mean, not quite. They are dangerous...so maybe it’s more like tearing down a historical, but structurally unstable, building?”
“Hmm...” Twilight furrowed her brows trying to think of a more apt comparison.
Their opinions didn’t always align, but when it came to literature, history, and certain political topics, Twilight and Books could chatter and debate endlessly. Given the frankly ridiculous amount of books Twilight had read over the years, covering nearly every subject matter one could think of, she had not met a pony in recent memory who could match her in sheer, crystallized knowledge...but Banned Books came pretty close.
He flicked his tail, frowning. “Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the more volatile books in the Canterlot Archives start to be snatched up for extraction.”
“No, no, I know there's definitely some legislation in place keeping them from seizing any historical documents.” Twilight said firmly. 
Damn right there was. She had made sure of it a couple of years earlier.
“For now.” Banned Books said, “But there was definitely some debate among the staff when I was there about the feasibility of making text only copies of the more dangerous books. It would cost to get them all transcripted, but not as much as the magical safeguards do, and then they could sell the originals off.”
Twilight balked “But...they couldn’t!”
Banned Books nodded, slowly, sadly. “For now, they can’t. With the new loremaster, I think it’s only a matter of time.”
She wondered again, why he had left the position in Canterlot.  He had never elaborated on his friendship with Discord or the reason he had quit, and Twilight, who was standing on her own unstable backstory of mystery and just-barely-plausible lies, had never asked. She suspected there was some sort of unspoken mutual agreement between the two of them that neither of them would try digging into the other's past. It was sort of relieving, in a way. 
Sometimes when you went digging for answers, you didn’t like what you found.
Spike, who had been listening quietly to the conversation, chose this moment to yawn loudly. Since the time before Celestia, dragons had always been a nomadic and solitary species, and though Spike had been raised by ponies, and spent most of his life surrounded by them, he still carried a handful of the traits typical of his kin. Namely: A total and complete disinterest in politics.
Despite having accompanied Twilight through several council meetings, summits, and policy discussions throughout the years, and even having served as a fellow delegate with her on a diplomacy mission to Draconia, he might as well have been staring at a wall the whole time. The rhetoric, the buzzwords, the whole song and dance, it was all greek to Spike.
Twilight stopped herself and blushed slightly. “Sorry, Spike.” she laughed.
“No problem.” Spike grinned. He’d sat through worse during Twilight’s years in the throne.
The conversation drifted off to other subjects, and Twilight took a moment to relax.
She had to stop letting such silly things bother her so much. Oh no! Arkane reactors were annoying! Well, waahh, guess she should have stayed princess then. She chuckled at herself
Besides, Twilight reasoned, she was probably just being paranoid. All of the Arcane reactors were all located in unpopulated areas, so with the unlucky exception of the eighty or so ponies living in Misty Point, the storms always blew themselves out before they could cause any trouble or reach even any moderately sized towns. There was a reason nopony but the meteorologists kicked up a fuss about them. 
Spike was just pulling the hayballs out of the oven when the doorbell rang, and all three ponies turned to look at each other questioningly. Spike shrugged. Twilight trotted to go get it, wondering who in the world would be crazy enough to go out in the storm. 
She reached the entryway just in time to see Discord already halfway inside, the door having inexplicably swung upwards like a cat flap to receive him. He ducked the rest of the way in, letting the door flap shut behind him, and fixed Twilight with a winning smile.
“Howdy.”
Twilight just stared at the slowly spreading stain on her carpet, courtesy of the seemingly impossible amount of water hemorrhaging out from Discord’s sodden coat, and smiled thinly back.
Ah, yes. Discord. Discord would be crazy enough.
	
	




	

> X
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hearth's Warming, twelve days previous

Luna walked through the streets of Canterlot, relishing the cold bite in the wind, and the crisp crunch of snow underhoof. Perhaps it hadn’t been the best day, and maybe it hadn’t been the best year, but she couldn’t help but take a small pleasure at the way her breath frosted in the air in front of her. There was just something about the winter that she loved, all the silence and the solitude and the snow

Of course, on Hearth's Warming eve, in Equestria’s capital, there was very little of the first two to be found. The streets were filled with ponies, the windows with light, the air with merry laughter and distant floating song. It was beautiful, but a different sort of beauty than the kind found on a mountain, when the snow fell in sheets and the whole world was hush. Luna supposed it was her more outdated sensibilities.

Already, a small throng of ponies had started to trail her at a distance, tittering amongst themselves at the sight of their much more solitary princess. She just lifted her head in a dignified manner, and continued towards the blazing lights of the Canterlot Operahouse.

While in other towns, the Hearth’s Warming play was just a fun little tradition, the Hearth’s Warming Pageant  in Canterlot was spectacular yearly production. The actors were some of the best in Equestria, the sets were beautiful, the music wonderfully written and beautifully sung. Other cities tried to keep their own pageants up to par, but the only true one could be found in Canterlot, attended by the princesses themselves.

Normally, Celestia would have accompanied her, biting her tongue and forcing a smile for what had to be her least favorite holiday, but the past two years, ever since Twilight had gone, she had declined. Even though it meant that Luna had to go alone (Iit would be scandalous if neither princess showed up), she didn't blame  Celestia for her decision. It had been hard enough on her dear sister before.

She climbed the steps to her box seat, flanked by guards, as the orchestra warmed up in front of the stage. The hall was packed, like usual, but Luna got to watch in comfort. The likes of her private room, with it’s padded, cushion laden couch, and every thinkable amenity, were not available to even the most well funded of the Canterlot elite. She was gracious, of course, but none of it could quite suppress the fact that she would rather not be there. Luna just wished that the whole Hearth’s Warming story had faded into obscurity, like most everything else from the time before Discord. Just like Celestia had intended it to. Instead, Hearth’s Warming had clung stubbornly to the memory of ponies, changing, yes, but remaining just true enough that Luna had been forced to see her sister biting back tears every time they put on the stupid, flamboyant production, painful memories shining behind her eyes.

Luna waited, the babble of the ponies below her fading to a soft drone as she lost herself in thought. Then, silence. The curtain raised.

She had heard the whole opening spiel of the play so many times that she could have recited it by memory, had she wanted. Time before harmony, three tribes, strife, snowstorms, and so forth. Yes. She knew. She had lived it.

Then came the meeting of the leaders of the tribes, the arguing, the barbed comments and insinuations. There would be an entire musical number about it, Luna knew, all focusing on the pettiness and stupidity of the leaders. It took all her self control not to curl her lip in a disgusted sneer. She had known these ponies. Not as well as Celestia had, not even close, but she had known them well enough to see that they had been good, and noble, and kind. Of course time, time and the fickle memory of the public had twisted them, turned them into warped, laughable shadows of what they had been in real life. Luna bit her lip in frustration, watching it.

Her gaze settled on the pony playing Princess Platinum, who was currently speaking in a high, whining falsetto. No, no. Wrong. Platinum Polish was not that pony. 

Platinum had been a strong, charismatic pony, who had cared for everypony, a bit too much, probably. She had brought out the best in ponies, buffed even the most unlikely of individuals to a brilliant shine. When Platinum Polish spoke, ponies listened. She may not have been the best strategist, or tactician,  but she had made up for it ten fold with the sheer dedication she had put into her work. She had treated everyone as an equal, from her lady in waiting Clover sShine, to the lowliest unicorn peasant. Luna had been too young to have really known her, but she could still remember seeing Platinum in the castle, and the enormous respect she had felt for her then.

She sighed and shook her head, as actress portraying Hurricane Flash took center stage and began to sing, cuing the beginning of the first musical number in the program “Different and Strange”. Even though she knew how much it hurt her sister to force herself through the Hearth’s Warming Play each year, Luna half-wished that Celestia were there with her, if only so they could suffer together.

Hurricane Flash stormed about the stage, singing, stomping, and puffing her wings out aggressively as others began to join in in chorus. The actress had clearly spent time mastering the angry, hot headed, unsympathetic demeanor always seen in the character, year after year. All wrong, wrong, wrong.

Hurricane had been bold, yes, she had never backed down from a fight, yes. Hurricane had been taught from a filly’s age that might meant right. All true. But Hurricane was also the bravest pony you would ever meet. She would have fought a dragon with her bare hooves if it meant protecting her friends. She would have died rather than let anything harm her fellow ponies. Hurricane hadn’t worked her way to Commander’s rank by luck, or accident. She was a leader, and she inspired the respect, and even love, from the ponies she commanded. Luna had only met her once, but she had known from that very first meeting that Hurricane was the kind of pony that other ponies strove to be like.

As the pegasi finished their chorus, the earth ponies, and the pony playing Chancellor Puddinghead, began their portion of the song. Chancellor Puddinghead pranced about the stage, tripping over herself, and making slapstick jokes, and singing a whole verse about chocolate before one of the other earth ponies tapped her on the shoulder and reminded her that  they were talking about the snowstorm. Luna grimaced. They were definitely playing up the “village idiot” shtick this year.

Pudding Pie, though she had often been called puddinghead, had been a sweet, good hearted pony, who wanted nothing more than to keep the people of her village happy. Even though her special talent had been baking. If Luna was to be honest, Pudding really never should have been in politics. But when her father (who had possessed a talent more conducive to leadership) was killed by a manticore, it had fallen on her withers, as his eldest daughter, to take up his mantle...And she tried. She tried so hard.

Nopony put more of their heart and soul into leading than Pudding Pie did because, despite her inexperience, and lack of skill, she couldn’t stand to see the ponies in her community suffer. So “Puddinghead”, the chancellor/baker tried her best. Again, and again, and again. When Luna had first met her, she had almost been able to see the goodness in her, shining out like a light.

Did Hurricane and Platinum and Puddinghead fight? Of course. They were three different ponies, who were scared out of their minds, scared for their people, and carried several hundred years of tribal tension ever-present on their backs. When the three met to discuss the storm, they fought like dogs. They fought for what they believed was a noble course of action in a dark, frightening time. They didn’t fight like they did onstage, just shouting angrily because they were petty, or cruel, or stupid.

The musical number ended, the audience applauded, and Luna grit her teeth. As she watched, the lights went down, and there was a quiet shuffling as the stage hoofs worked to change the set pieces. Then the spotlight blazed on again, now setting the scene in the pegasus city, where Commander Hurricane was screaming something at the terrified Private Pansy. On stage, the two were total opposites.

In life though, the two had been like family. Pansy Bloom’s mother had been an earth pony, an incredibly rarity in those days, and it had marked her as a subject of ridicule and derision from the moment her father had brought her to the clouds. Everything from her earth pony name, to her weak flying skills, to her reserved nature, had just set her further apart from the other pegasi. All except Hurricane Flash. None of the other pegasai could fathom why the commander kept a private who couldn’t fight, with the special talent of hospitality of all things, as her second of command in the military, but Commander Hurricane wasn’t the type to abandon a friend.

None of the six founders of Equestria had been.

The lights went down, and the scene changed to the unicorn capital, spotlight shining on the actress playing the part Clover the Clever. As the apprentice to Starswirl the Bearded, she was fittingly introduced through a song about magic.

Starswirl himself was a footnote, really, in the Hearth’s Warming play. His name was dropped a cursory two times throughout the course of the play, and then he was never mentioned again. Luna supposed it was because they didn’t have much to go on. Starswirl’s research and spells had survived the millennia, but his personal life had faded into obscurity. She suspected the only reason he was mentioned at all was as a shout out to his small following of magic geeks. It was a shame, really...or maybe not. He had not exactly been an...easy...pony, in life.

There was no denying his brilliance of course. Starswirl had been a genius, plain and simple, and anypony who claimed otherwise was dead wrong. He was the founding father of modern magic, and had a hoof in over half of spells today. Every single pony who ever broke a bone had Starswirl to thank for the healing charm that mended it. Over the millennia, the only unicorn that had even come close to his power was Twilight Sparkle.

That being said, most of the magic buffs who worshipped Starswirl’s name would have been sorely disappointed by their idol in the flesh. He probably wouldn’t have even bothered coming out of his lab to greet them. Luna remembered how, for many years,  he had coldly rebuffed the affection of even one of his only friends, Clover the Clever.

Luna, though, Luna had known Starswirl well, and not just the cold, uncaring side he displayed to most of the world. He had been a good pony, really. Though not many other than Clover Shine might have agreed with her on the fact. Not many ponies, even at the time, knew the reason he had been shut in his lab all the time, the reason he threw himself so wholeheartedly into magic. Only a very select few knew that the spells he had created were just happy accidents, the unintentional by-products from his never ending research into his true goal: saving his little sister’s life.

Moonglow, eight years his younger, had been born with a rare disorder, one still untreatable even over one thousand years later, which caused her immune system to attack her own natural magic. Instead of the normal magic surges that occurred in unicorn foals, she had seizures as her body fought the energy that was trying to be channeled through her horn. At the age of five, Moonglow had been fitted with an inhibitor ring to prevent the attacks, but that didn’t solve the bigger problem. Her body had also been busy eating away at her own life force, the latent supply of magic all ponies are born with, that connects them to the universe, and keeps them alive.
Eventually, left unchecked, it would kill her. But Starswirl wasn’t the kind of pony who took no for an answer.

Luna closed her eyes, a small shiver running down her spine. No, Starswirl had been a pony of contradictions, capable of both boundless love, and uncaring cruelty, filled with equal amounts of kindness and spite. He was a pony who had spent his whole life balanced on a razor’s edge between light and darkness, who had been both exalted by his greatness and trapped by it.  It was probably for the best that most of him had been lost from history, because while Luna had loved him, she knew that others would not. She wasn’t sure if she could have stood seeing him twisted like Platinum, or Hurricane, or Pudding pPie.

Sighing, Luna gathered herself and looked back to the stage, now in the earth pony village. At least, she thought, they had gotten Smart Cookie about right. She had been just about the same. Practical, level-headed, the perfect down to earth mind to balance out Pudding Pie’s flighty idealism. Those two had been made for each other, really. A perfectly paired set of friends.


Luna smiled, just slightly, her eyes softening. They had done Clover the Clever pretty decently too. Out of all of Equestria’s founders, Luna had known Clover Shine the best, and she was just as smart, and resourceful, and kind a pony as they had portrayed. Probably just a little bit better actually...tThey had met when they were just fillies, both of them, and even though Clover was older, they had been fast friends since that very first moment. Clover had been different. She didn’t act all gruff and stern like Starswirl, or loud and mean like the other foals in the castle, she had been the only one who had treated Luna like a pony, and not the strange anomaly everypony else had seemed to think she was. It had felt, Luna remembered, as if her life had suddenly opened up. All thanks to Clover.

Luna bit her lip, blinking. She didn’t know why she was getting so worked up, she had seen this awful pageant nearly four hundred times and she’d probably see it thousands more until the Equestria crumbled or the story was finally worn fully away from ponies’ memories. Whichever came first. Maybe it was just the timing of the thing. The second year anniversary of Twilight’s disappearance was only a month or so away, and Celestia hadn’t been taking it well. Just last week marked one of her and Luna’s uglier fights in recent memory, and while things had stabilized, Luna could see Celestia slowly fraying. She wished that she could just erase the whole, ugly situation. Rip it from everypony’s memory like all the other ugly things they had ripped from history. Luna couldn't even tell what was right anymore. Nothing was right. Nopony was right. Right had simply ceased to make sense to Luna ever since the time before Discord, where everything had gone wrong and just gotten worse by the century. All she knew is that when Twilight had been around, Celestia had been the happiest that Luna had seen her since they were both young, and now Twilight was gone and her sister was falling apart at the seams. Luna just wanted everything to be right again. She just wanted to go back to before Twilight, before Nightmare moon, before Discord, before the Celestia-damned Elements of Harmony, to when things had been okay.

Luna sobbed softly, wings shaking slightly. She closed her eyes and pressed her hooves to her damp cheeks, ears flat against her head, whimpering slightly. Then she remembered herself. Swiftly wiping her eyes, Luna horn and turned to her guard, his concerned expression instantly turning blank the forgetfulness hit him. She mumbled a soft apology as his eyes crossed and then refocused.

“Did you say something, Princess?”

“...No...N-nothing. Thank you.” 

Wiping her eyes with a hoof, Luna returned her focus to the play. It was just about wrapped up, thank Celestia. All the ponies were coming out on stage to sing the final song of the play, the Heart Carol. There was no denying that it was certainly a cheerful note to end the pageant with. Nopony really knew what happened to the founders after that. There was nothing in the history books, no mention of them anywhere other than their single adventure defeating the windigoes. Many ponies doubted that they had ever existed at all, except as a cautionary tale about compromise and acceptance. Again, Luna thought it was probably for the best. She felt that, if ponies knew what happened in those years after Hearth’s Warming eve, they might not think of Clover as a hero. They certainly wouldn’t portray her as kindly in her Christmas pageant.

Luna wouldn’t have blamed their judgement, but at the same time, she disagreed. Clover had been a good pony. She had been a hero.

Clover hadn't known, when she and her friends discovered the magical source of that fire they had conjured, the giant crystalline tree buried deep inside the cave, that it would tear apart their lives. She hadn't known, when she devised a spell to harness that ancient magic to defend their young Equestria from monsters, that her ‘Elements of Harmony’ would suck the very life from her as she used them. She hadn't known, when she asked their friends to help her with a spell she thought could save her life, that she would be cutting her ties to mortality, and sentencing them to early deaths. She hadn't known, when she married Starswirl, that it would fall apart as soon as they discovered that her spell wouldn’t work on his sister, that he would turn to much a much darker power to save Moonglow’s life...that he would succeed.

Maybe she should have known, she should have guessed, she should have been more careful, but Luna couldn’t hate her for it. She just couldn’t. 

Because, from the moment they met in Platinum's castle, the young apprentice and the sick, outcast filly, to the moment Clover married her brother, to the moment they met again, both carrying wings and heavy hearts, they had been more than sisters by friendship, or sisters by marriage, or sisters by fate. Moonglow and Clover might as well have been sisters by blood.