Twilight Sparkle has been on a ROLL solving friendship problems lately, but there are some lines even she won't cross for a friend. At least, that WAS the case, until she became inspired by Rainbow Dash's antics; nice knowing you, Twilight!
Things have been going pretty well for Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, lately. She's been resolving friendship problems left and right, and even Rainbow Dash has gotten in on the action, helping Twilight perpetuate her mad schemes (or just outright overriding them). As bold as Twilight has been, though, there are some lines she won't cross, even in the name of helping a friend.
Or she wouldn't, until now. Seeing Rainbow Dash's boldness in handling problems has inspired Twilight to bring her schemes to the next level, weaving a scheme of political intrigue, betrayal, forgiveness, pie, heartbreak, and oxford commas.
This insanity can be read on its own, or you can see the stories that led up to this tragic conclusion:
Twilight rubbed her hooves together, her expression a crazed smile, as she read over the letter, and began talking to herself.
"Good... good... all of the pieces have come together. We may have done some crazy things lately, but this latest scheme is the boldest yet!"
At that moment, Rainbow Dash wandered into the room – specifically, the conference hall in Twilight's crystal castle – wearing a disappointed frown.
"Hey, I told you I like the crazy-scheming part!"
"It's not my fault! You were off pranking with Luna and Pinkie Pie!"
Rainbow Dash sighed, a small grin forming.
"Yeah, okay. Do I at least have a part in the plan?"
"I'm sorry, Rainbow. You won't be available... because the plan takes place..."
Twilight drew herself up onto her hind legs, breathing in deeply and putting on her most imperious voice while gazing at the ceiling.
"... Tomorrow!"
"Oh. Yeah, I'll be busy then. Wait, how did you know that?!"
Twilight sat back down on her throne as she winked slyly at Rainbow Dash.
"Because it's all a part of my plan!"
"... Huh? You planned for me to help Luna tomorrow?"
"Of course! And since you cannot help in my scheme tomorrow, you must help today..."
And with that, Twilight beckoned Rainbow Dash over to her, and began whispering her part in the scheme into her ear, even though no one was listening in anyway.
~
Rainbow Dash paced the conference room, frowning.
"Are you really sure this is a good idea, Twilight?"
"Not exactly... but, hey, what's the worst that could happen? Besides, it was you that inspired the idea – deal with problems directly, right?"
"Heh, yeah, okay, but like... I don't think it's exactly the same. I mean, is this even, like... legal?"
Twilight made a sort of vague gesture and some awkward hoof motions. Dash facehoofed and continued.
"Okay, look... I'll back you up, but you should assume the worst, and like... set up some kind of backup plan, y'know? Don't try a crazy stunt without a cloud to crash into."
Twilight beamed at her friend. Dash had demonstrated a thoughtful and strategic mind that Twilight had hardly suspected in their weeks scheming together; Twilight had begun respecting her friend in an entirely new light as a result, and she began to wonder if, perhaps, the pegasus was far more mature than she had ever realized. Perhaps, under all of that competitiveness and energy, there was a mind Twilight could find kinship with...
"You know, Dash, you're right. That's a really good point. I'll go ahe—"
"YES!"
Dash flew into the air and hoof-pumped, a huge grin forming. Twilight just tilted her head slightly, confused.
"What?"
"You said it was a good point! By my count, that makes twenty-six 'good' points and ten 'fair' points for me! You've only had twenty-five 'good' points and eleven 'fair' points this week, so I'm ahead now!"
Or perhaps not.
"Dash, you really shouldn't be... keeping score like that. I mean, I'm glad that you're trying to be a more considerate speaker, but it's not a competition. I mean, if anything, when you set the other pony up for a 'good point', that's even better than making one yourself!"
Dash sank to the floor, frowning.
"Aww... that's a really good point."
Twilight facehoofed.
~
Twilight silently flew down to the balcony. It was early morning – precisely a half-hour before the sun was scheduled to rise. Everypony else had done their parts, and Dash was with Luna preparing for the day, so that just left Twilight's part to be done. The hard part. The dangerous part. Twilight snickered to herself, gently pulling her cloak's hood over her head.
Alright. Time to put these new spells to use!
Twilight unlocked the balcony door using an unlocking spell she had mastered just for the occasion, and quietly crept into the bedroom. She gently fluttered her wings, suspending her just an inch over the floor, and glided over to the large bed. There, Celestia slept peacefully, unaware of the danger lurking above her. Twilight grinned manically, and began to concentrate on her next spell.
"Muuuh...?"
Celestia's eyes fluttered open. Twilight felt like her heart stopped. Celestia gently tilted her head up to look at her, and Twilight froze her movements completely, though the spell she had been preparing stayed charged on the end of her horn. She expected that Celestia would freak out on seeing a stranger in her bedroom, prepared herself for violence. Instead, Celestia just blinked a couple of times at her, and then nuzzled into her pillow a bit, her muffled voice floating up to Twilight.
"Twilight? What are you doing here?"
"Uhh... abducting you."
Celestia snorted, and began snickering. Twilight frowned contentiously and finished charging her spell, and then tapped Celestia with a hoof. With a brilliant flash of purple light, they were gone, re-appearing in a specially-prepared carriage on the outskirts of Canterlot. Twilight's eyes bobbled around for a few seconds from the exertion, while Celestia jumped in surprise, bumping against the top of the carriage. Celestia settled into the cushioned seat, rubbing her horn, while she gave Twilight an incredulous look.
"Twilight?! What's going on?"
"I told you! I am abducting you! At least, sort of. Here, hold on a second."
Twilight leaned out of the carriage door, glancing around. She sighed, and then turned back to Celestia.
"One second, it looks like the others are having trouble."
Twilight concentrated, closing her eyes, her horn lighting up in a shimmer of light, before igniting into a purple flame for a few seconds. As the glow died down, the sun began to rise. Twilight opened her eyes and rubbed her head a bit, while Celestia just chuckled.
"I thought I felt someone trying to raise the sun. That was what woke me up."
"Seriously? Aww... I didn't plan for that."
Celestia smirked at Twilight's somewhat pouty expression.
"The best plans are flexible, Twilight."
"Oh, I know! This one's flexible!"
Celestia slowly raised an eyebrow. It seemed to her that Twilight was a bit out of sorts after helping the 'others' – Celestia assumed Cadance and Luna – raise the sun.
"And... what is the plan?"
"Oh, right! Well, uh, you know how you rarely have time off?"
"... Yes?"
"We arranged a vacation for you today!"
"Ah! I see. And who's 'we'?"
"Luna, Cadance, Pinkie Pie and I! Oh, and Rainbow Dash; she's helping Luna carry out your duties for the day!"
Twilight smiled at Celestia expectantly; this was the part where Celestia would try to turn down the generous offer, and Twilight had a speech prepared just for that occasion.
"Well, that sounds lovely. I'm very touched by the gesture, Twilight."
Twilight smirked, and made a small circular gesture with her hoof.
"But...?"
Celestia laid her head down on the cushion, closing her eyes.
"But nothing! Thank you very much."
Twilight sat there, confused for a few moments, before she remembered to signal the carriage driver. She rapped on the side of the carriage, and it took off. She found herself staring at Celestia, who was quickly settling in under the blanket Twilight had left there in case Celestia needed to get a little more sleep.
"So... that's it? You don't even want to know where we're going?"
"I think I'd prefer to be surprised."
"But... you really don't mind?"
Celestia cracked open an eye, grinning at Twilight.
"I figured you all must have had a pretty good reason to work together on something like this. If you think it's what's best, a day off couldn't hurt things too much."
"Aww... I had a speech and everything! I was going to threaten you with a paperwork nightmare if you decided to work today!"
"Ooh, foalnapping and extortion? My, my. Whatever has become of my innocent student?"
"She realized that princesses can grant royal pardons!"
Celestia smirked, but then frowned. Twilight caught her thought process, and grinned, nodding enthusiastically and giving voice to it.
"Ah, you get it! The law states that a princess can't pardon her own crimes, but it says nothing about pardoning another princess!"
"Those laws weren't written with multiple reigning princesses in mind..."
"I know! Don't worry, Luna's supposed to fix that today."
Celestia laughed faintly as she buried her face into her pillow. Twilight laughed a bit, too, as the carriage soared through the air. Celestia was missing one heck of a view out of the carriage window, but Twilight quietly drew the curtains closed, rendering the inside of the carriage dark enough to be more comfortable for Celestia's nap; she could catch the view on their way back, anyway.
"Hey, Celestia?"
"Mm?"
"You forgot high treason, since the crimes were committed against a princess."
Celestia snorted.
Librarian Twilight Plans For Everything Except Nothing
Celestia gently moved her limbs around, working the stiffness out of them as she slowly came to consciousness.
I feel like I've been sleeping for a few hours. I'd only meant to tease Twilight, not hold up the day like this...
Celestia suddenly shot a bit more awake, one eye cracking open, only to see sunlight pouring in through a gap in the curtains of a window.
Oh, right. I'm not literally holding up the day, today.
She forced open her other eye, and slowly sat up, stretching her neck a bit. She noticed her regalia gleaming in the sunlight on the unfamiliar nightstand next to her, and a wonderful aroma wafted up to her.
Is that... cinnamon? Apple cinnamon?
Celestia spared a glance behind her as she slid out of bed, and saw Twilight sitting at a table, pleasantly engrossed in a book. It seemed they were in a small hotel room. Celestia smiled at the sight, and silently donned her regalia before trotting over to the table. When she took her seat, Twilight finally noticed her, having a slightly startled reaction.
"Oh! You're awake!"
Twilight's horn almost instantly flickered to life, and two slices of steaming pie levitated from a small kitchenette area and onto the two plates on the table, one for each. Celestia smiled gently.
"This is very thoughtful of you, Twilight. Thank you."
Twilight waved a hoof dismissively, laughing nervously.
"Just trying to make up for disrupting your sleep! I, uh, didn't realize you needed so much more rest."
Celestia frowned gently.
"I didn't intend to push back the schedule. I apologize, I don't normally sleep in like this."
"No, it's perfectly fine! Sleeping in is, like... totally normal on a vacation. I think. I mean, you must have needed it – and don't worry about the 'schedule', we're fine. It's not like I planned out every minute of the day."
Twilight chuckled, but became slightly self-conscious when Celestia stared at her. After a few more seconds, she became slightly indignant.
"What? I didn't!"
"Changeling imposter!"
"What?! No! 'The best plans are flexible'! Right?!"
Celestia faux-glared at Twilight as her horn came to life. She charged up her horn in a theatrical display... only to use it to levitate some pie into her mouth. Twilight's wide-eyed expression slowly turned to one of wry amusement.
"Okay, maybe I deserved that. I actually did try to plan out every minute of the day, at first, but I realized that was silly. This is your vacation, Celestia. I – no, all of us – want you to have a good time."
Celestia smiled warmly as she ate another slice of pie in silence. It had been a long time since people had gone so far out of their way out of genuine concern for her well-being. Twilight beamed at her, and began eating and reading in silence as well. After a few moments of companionable silence, Celestia spoke up.
"Twilight, what prompted this?"
"Well, I had noticed that you rarely had time to talk any more, though I sorta thought that might just be relative to me. Luna made a comment to Rainbow a few days ago about how busy you kept yourself, and I asked into it."
Celestia sighed.
"I have been neglecting a few of my closer relationships. I tend to let myself be consumed by work..."
"Well, you have ruled over Equestria by yourself for a thousand years; that's got to be a little habit-forming. Thing is... well, to be honest, what sort of originally planted the idea was a newspaper article I read a couple of weeks ago."
"Oh? The same one that inspired the party for Luna?"
Twilight nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah, the one that called me the 'approachable' princess. At the time, I just wanted to remind ponies that all of us are approachable, but... well, you're pretty busy most of the time. So is Cadance, these days. As much as I wanted to refute the idea... it sort-of made sense. And then it hit me; as the Princess of Friendship, I do sometimes have to take care of things, and I do help in organizing some state events, but when I'm not, I should be organizing something else."
Celestia smirked.
"Your fellow princesses?"
Twilight shrugged helplessly.
"Sort of? I mean... someone has to make an effort to take care of you. I know you and Luna have each other – and Cadance and Shining Armor have each other, too – but... well..."
Twilight trailed off, uneasy. Celestia nodded, finishing her pie.
"I understand, Twilight. I'm not criticizing the idea; far from it, I'm grateful to have a friend like you. You're certainly right that a long life – and heavy responsibility – leads to falling into a bit of a... routine. I've had to try quite hard to avoid that, and it is something of a constant worry; it is a relief knowing that you're there, now, to... breathe life into things."
Twilight smiled bashfully, looking down at the table and contemplating for a few long moments. Celestia glanced into the kitchenette area, giving voice to her thoughts before her stomach did it for her.
"By the way, is there any more of this?"
Twilight's expression immediately turned into a sly smirk.
"Oh, you liked the pie, huh? Well, I have good news for you – there will be lots of pie today!"
Twilight hopped out of her chair, and trotted towards the door, levitating her own remaining pie in front of her. Celestia followed her, a quizzical expression forming. Twilight popped the door open and glanced back at her, sly expression now betraying some amusement as she spoke.
"By the way... how's your aim with a catapult?"
Librarian Twilight Plans For Everything Except Regrets
Celestia tracked the guard's movements through the air carefully; this one had been a great thorn in her side, and she would see him fall before day's end. The pegasus guard arced his movements around projectiles from Celestia's allies, Cadance and Shining Armor, and went into a high-speed dive; now was the time to strike! Celestia stomped on the catapult, hurling a projectile with deadly accuracy at the guard's target; the Crystal Heart! Forced to make an impossible choice between allowing the Heart to fall to the ground, or allowing himself to be struck, the guard chose to clasp the heart to his chest and take the full brunt of the impact upon his back.
The resulting pie splatter was spectacular, and elicited an uproarious laugh out of everyone gathered. The guard stood up, chuckling to himself as he held up his Crystal Heart – or, more accurately, a rock-candy replica of the Crystal Heart. Shining Armor trotted up to the recruit with a wide grin, offering him congratulations for being the last pony standing – and a member of the only team to have its Crystal Heart go unshattered; naturally, they celebrated this accomplishment by cracking it open and handing out the pieces. Celestia chuckled at the display as she stepped away from her artillery station, coming to a rest beside Twilight on the sidelines.
"I must admit, Twilight, that when you said there would be pie today, I had thought of an entirely different sort of vacation."
Twilight smirked as she jotted down a few final notes on the soldiers' performance.
"I know better than to structure a day out around trying to one-up the Canterlot castle kitchen staff."
Celestia adopted a smirk of her own, quirking an eyebrow down at her former student.
"I see I have indeed taught you well, Twilight."
Twilight snorted in amusement at Celestia's unexpected tone, nearly ruining her page in the process.
"Oh, yeah, several years of magical tutelage that amounted to just knowing how to plan a day off! Though I suppose... getting to know a pony well enough to know what they'd like to do on their day off, and that they need a day off, qualifies."
"But I didn't teach you that, Twilight."
"You stuck me in Ponyville. Near Pinkie Pie. Just living near her is like a compulsory party planning course!"
Celestia smiled at that, and the two lapsed into companionable silence as Twilight finished her notes. Celestia watched the soldiers pack up and begin leaving the station, Shining Armor and Cadance among them.
"It was truly a pleasure to get a chance to spend time with those two, Twilight. Thank you for arranging a day for us."
"Oh, they day wasn't just for that."
Celestia glanced at Twilight, quizzical expression turning to more sincere puzzlement when she realized that Twilight was serious.
"There's more planned?"
"Of course! It's only mid-afternoon, after all."
"I see. Well, I look forward to it, then. Given the arrangements, I had simply assumed you organized all of this just so I could see my niece again."
"Oh, that was a nice bonus, but like I said, Celestia, today was just about getting you a day off."
"And so giving me a chance to show Luna I trust her, by letting her take over my duties for a day?"
"Bonus."
"And getting a few hours in with your brother and Cadance?"
"Bonus!"
"... And what of what's still planned?"
"Well... have you ever come up with a plan where the bonus stuff ends up being sorta the focus?"
Celestia looked back out across the field, a somewhat surprised, amused expression taking hold.
"Oh my. It seems you've put quite a lot of thought into all of this, combining all of these little tasks into one plan."
"Oh! I'm sorry, that wasn't a mistake, was it? I mean, I didn't want to give the impression that your day off was unimportant enough that I'd try scheduling it with other stuff, I just figured it worked better this way, and I—"
Celestia looked over at her student, her amused expression taking on a slightly sympathetic aspect as she saw Twilight scramble to explain herself. Celestia took the first pause she heard.
"That isn't what I meant, Twilight. I was simply reflecting on how... aware you are of the needs of your friends. You know that there are some friendship problems that can be wrapped up neatly, all at once..."
Twilight knew a prompt from her teacher when she heard one.
"But most of them aren't like that. Most of what drives ponies apart is... well, it's just stuff like time, distance, other priorities getting in the way..."
Celestia nodded, her gaze growing distant and regretful.
"It's very easy for ponies to lose sight of what's important, even when it's right in front of us. We can miss the most obvious signs that something is wrong... or we can just let something go by inches, letting the crisis-of-the-day take away each and every day we should have spent with our loved ones. Few regrets bite home like looking back and realizing how dismissive we were of those we cared about. How dismissive we were of those who cared about us."
Twilight nodded, her gaze falling to the ground.
"I know. I thought I missed Shining Armor and Cadance, but... I didn't really know how much guilt that carried until I restored my friendship with Moondancer."
Twilight sighed, pawing at the ground a bit as she turned their conversation over in her mind. She began to wonder if her plans for the rest of the day were a terrible idea.
"... Celestia? Is there any way to keep that from happening?"
Celestia looked over, eyes sliding back into focus, and then closed her eyes and smiled warmly at Twilight.
"Twilight, wasn't that the idea of what we're doing today, my apparent need to take a day off aside?"
"Well, yes. I figured it was a good chance to let everypony strengthen those bonds."
"Exactly! You're wondering what can keep ponies from drifting apart, but that's silly, because"—Celestia tapped the tip of Twilight's horn with a hoof as she spoke—"the answer... is you."
Twilight went for a smirk, but her smile ended up far more genuine than that. She silently decided that her plan was worth pursuing after all.
I shuffled on my cushion, trying to keep my nerves down. I was still unsure of this whole idea; the nervous twitch in my legs told me that we shouldn't be doing this, but Twilight had rightly pointed out that we couldn't avoid this forever.
I didn't want to avoid this forever.
I tried distracting myself by thinking of what I would say, or by doing magical exercises. Neither worked; I couldn't stop the rising sense of dread in me. Of all of the people I had disappointed, there had been just one I really couldn't face.
I heard voices out in the hall; after a moment, I identified them as Twilight and Celestia. I did my best to compose myself as I heard Celestia's distinctive hoofsteps approach, and tried to put away my doubts that seeing me would ruin Celestia's day off.
The door slowly opened. Celestia stepped inside, a look of pleasant anticipation on her face to see what Twilight had planned for her – a look which died when she saw me. Her expression fell into a look of surprise, and there was a moment of silence as she realized what Twilight had arranged.
"Sunset...?"
I nodded, mustering a smile, and slowly standing up to greet her. I was so nervous that it felt like my leg was trying to shake itself off, and I felt my smile wavering with uncertainty. I began to speak, but cut off when I realized she was approached me very quickly. Before I understood what she was doing, she had swept me up into her hooves, her wings, and held me tight against her. I felt myself relax into the gesture before I even realized what was happening, though my mind was racing with questions.
"Sunset. Sunset..."
Her voice was cracking, and the sound sent daggers of ice through my chest. Even at my most spiteful and wicked, I'd never honestly believed I could hurt her like this, even if I had sometimes wanted to. I certainly didn't think, by the time I left, that she even cared about my absence. I hugged her back, trying to think of what I could say to help – to assuage the damage I had caused. Instead, I felt a cold sensation on the back of my neck, and I heard her start speaking - and realized she was crying.
"I'm so sorry. Sunset, I'm so, so sorry."
My eyes shot open, and I felt my breath catch for a second. I had come with some idea of what to expect, and this didn't resemble that scenario at all!
"You're... you're sorry?! I was the one who—"
Celestia just pulled me in tighter, and I felt her breath hitching. I stayed there with her, as she rocked back and forth slightly, for a short while, before I gently pulled back a bit - not out of the embrace, but enough to look her in the eyes – and see how full of regret they were.
"Celestia... why?! I was the one who stormed out, who wouldn't listen to reason – I was blinded by, by ambition, a-and I was angry, I hoped I would hurt you when I left... you shouldn't be sorry, you should be angry! I was a complete failure!"
Celestia's mouth twisted through a variety of expressions as I spoke, and she glanced away from me, staring at a fairly wall for a few seconds before screwing her eyes shut. She pulled me back close, and nuzzled the top of my head as she spoke. I hadn't ever thought about how much I missed being close to her until that moment.
"Sunset, I've heard about your situation from Twilight; how you've been a good friend, a staunch ally... somepony with compassion and sincerity. I thought I saw those traits in you, but I... I lost faith in you. Your ambition was so strong, I convinced myself that I could not... I gave up. I became impatient, and I gave up on something so important to me..."
"I didn't give you a choice, though!"
"Think of the other Twilight, Sunset – the one from the human world. What of her? Was she a failure, a monster?"
"Of course not! She was pushed into what she did, she didn't see an alternative! It's not like she had friends to turn to – and that's partially my fault too! I snapped at her!"
"You lacked friends as well, Sunset. Like her, you were ambitious – and like her, you... I failed you, as your teacher. As her teacher failed her. Neither of you saw an alternative... but I should have. I thought of your lack of friends as a failing on your part, without considering how it was eating away at you. I didn't understand how you were replacing the feeling of validation one receives from friends... with the feeling of ambition, of success."
I leaned against her, screwing my eyes shut. I wasn't sure what else to say. Everything felt so wrong; I didn't want to hear the person I had hurt so much apologize to me... and I knew she didn't, either. I thought back to those days, before I left... when I thought more power would fill the hole inside of me. When I felt so weak.
"I came here, to see you, because I felt ready to apologize. I felt ready to speak to you, because I thought I'd put all of that... behind me. It's something I've discussed with my friends... the way I lost control because of how jealous I was of Twilight. Some new girl who had just walked into everything I'd ever wanted... and who won respect, and adoration, without showing even a shred of that burning drive that had carried me so far. You're... not wrong about how badly I needed someone other than myself to tell me that I mattered."
"And I responded to that by pushing you away – by taking away the one pony you could have turned to."
"That wasn't your fault, though! I'd been... You can't blame yourself for just trying to help!"
I found myself getting a bit hysterical. The shakes had come back, though in a different way, and I all but collapsed on Celestia. I couldn't accept the idea that a mare who had only tried to give me the best in life could feel bad about what she had done. I felt her brush a hoof through my mane, as her voice gently reached my ears.
"I should have gone myself. I should have gone to find you, should have told you how I felt... or at least used the book we shared. I kept trying to convince myself that I should give you space – just like I convinced myself that you were beyond my help. Instead, I sent Twilight... I thought she would do better at getting through to you. And I was right, but not because of any animosity you had for me..."
Celestia's voice hitched. I remembered the old resentment I had felt towards her, the burning question that had plagued me those first years I spent in the human world. I had to know.
"I always expected that, one day, you would show up. Drag me back to Canterlot with, I don't know, a dozen guards, or... something. Why... why didn't you?"
"I couldn't bring myself to admit how much I cared. Not to you, not even to myself. All of this... all of it could have been avoided, if not for that. Twilight has had to fix so many of my mistakes... because of that simple cowardice."
I shook my head against her, as my eyes began to dry. A strange sort of calm had overtaken me as we spoke – perhaps I had simply all I could.
"Celestia... you're silly."
"What?"
"Your standards for yourself have—"
I realized that I was giving her the same speech that someone had recently given me. I smirked as I spoke further.
"... They've become unreasonable. The rest of us aren't entitled to your love. You aren't a bad pony for not being able to open up to others. If I hadn't been so wrapped up in my own problems, maybe I'd have seen it. And if that makes you a coward... what does it make the rest of us, hmm?"
I teasingly poked her in the barrel as we sat there. We passed a few moments in companionable silence, before she finally let out a contented sigh.
"Twilight was right. You've become a good friend, Sunset."
It's funny how time changes us. Hearing her say that made me feel better than any pair of wings would.
