When Celestia summons Twilight to Trottingham, she is thrilled to get some personal time with her mentor. But when she notices a familiar face acting strangely, it leads the Princesses to a discovery that transcends time.
Twilight is more than thrilled when Princess Celestia herself summons her to Trottingham to start a weeklong vacation just between the two of them. When both Princesses stumble upon a familiar Ponyville native, Twilight finds his strange actions suspicious. Especially when Celestia swears he's someone else. Someone way older than she thought.
Annnd once again, my beta reader is Uria the Sacred Beast!
Edit (8/22): *Blushes heavily* Th-thanks to everyone who came from Uria's page! And Uria himself for spreading the word! Edit (9/30): Added the "Alternate Universe" tag
I have Luna’s blessing to take off a week so that she may see what it was like to rule Equestria on my own in her absence. I have the utmost faith in her ability but would like some company on this break to help ease my nerves.
If you would like to join me, come to the Trottingham Hill Spa and Resort and ask for a mare named Prominence. She is my aid for this trip and will bring you straight to my private room. From there, we can discuss plans of what we’ll see.
I look forward to seeing you,
Princess Celestia’
---
Twilight scanned over the small letter again and again with her widened eyes.
“Princess Celestia wants me to go with her?!” Twilight grinned widely, “Ohmygosh! This is so sudden! It’ll be like everything I wanted from the Gala and more!” She danced on the tips of her hooves excitedly as her student and assistant both stared at her evenly.
“Uh, yeah.” Starlight said, “You’re kind of a Princess, and it’s not exactly like you do much of anything important.” Spike’s claw flew over his mouth, looking over at Twilight cautiously. Luckily for the unicorn, Twilight was too wrapped up in her excitement to care about her student’s blunt comment.
“Oh, what do I do? What should I pack?” Twilight was wandering in circles at this point, “ I should do something to impress her! SPIKE! I need a new spell to pull off!”
Spike shook his head with a sigh, “Twilight, seriously, it sounds like the Princess just wants to relax with you. Can you just calm down and accept that not everything is a test.”
Twilight froze. “A...test?” Her eyes went even wider, something Starlight found to be scarier than her villagers’ faked smiles. “What if it’s a test?! What if I have to write up an essay about how Starlight’s been doing with her friendship lessons?! Starlight! How are the lessons going?” She smiled nervously.
“Um, fine, I guess?” Starlight blinked, reeling herself back. She leaned into Spike, “...Is she always like this?”
“Um, okay, Twilight, can you relax? That’s what this whole thing with Celestia is supposed to be, isn’t it? Relaxing?” She stressed, pushing Twilight towards her bedroom door. “I mean, come on. You do need a break to relax, you’ve been stressed out recently.” Quite literally dragging Twilight through the door, Starlight threw a suitcase onto Twilight’s bed.
Twilight stopped struggling, “R-Right. Heh. There’s not going to be a test. Celestia wouldn’t do that to me.” She got up, going over to her dresser to frantically start packing.
Starlight dodged the clothing soaring over her head, a shoe nearly hitting her in the face as it arced in the general direction of the bed. “Though I really don’t know how Celestia plans on not being seen on her week off.”
“I don’t know, she probably rented out the entire resort or something,” Twilight said, hitting Starlight point blank with a sock. The other mare didn’t seem very impressed by this.
“...How about you aim where you’re magically slingshotting things.” Starlight stated in annoyance.
“Sorry, Starlight.” Twilight pulled the sock off of her student’s face, “I’m just nervous. The last time Celestia and I tried having ‘alone time’ in public was the Gala.”
“Yeah, and that worked out well!” Spike snickered before the sock landed on his face instead.
“...” Starlight let go of her aura, and the sock slid down Spike’s face, “Well, maybe, but I think this shows how much she wants to see you. Looks like she’s taken extra precautions this time.”
Twilight pawed at the ground with her hoof, “I sure hope you’re right, Starlight, because if it’s anything like the Gala, it’s not going to turn out well for me.”
“How, specifically?” Starlight asked. “I was never given the full rundown there.”
“Well… Every time I tried to talk to her, she’d get caught up in greeting another pony coming into the Gala.” Twilight said, “I barely talked to her that night at all.”
“So, it was an official thing?”
Twilight nodded. “I get that this isn’t official, but either we’ll have guards swarming everywhere trying to play border control or we’ll be in a swarm of ponies trying to talk to Celestia. She can’t rent everything out.”
“Well… Yeah.” Starlight admitted, scratching the back of her head. “But what are you going to do, just not go?”
“I… Well, of course I’m going to go. I’d disappoint her if I didn’t.” Twilight nodded, “Yeah. No matter what, I’m going.”
“Just don’t freak out. Like, in general. No freaking out.” Starlight said, raising an eyebrow. “This is for relaxing, and the last thing the Princess needs is to deal with a Twilight freakout.”
“...Right.” Twilight bit her lip, flinching a little, “Calm. Okay.” She pulled the suitcase over. “Are you two going to be alright without me?”
Starlight waved, “Pfft, we’ll be fiiiiine, right Spike?”
“We will?” Spike asked, blinking. “I’m visiting the Changelings this weekend.”
“Oookay, then, I’ll be fine. Even better.” Starlight replied. Twilight gave her a wary look. “Whaaaat? I’ll be fine! The girls are right around the corner.” Starlight huffed.
“Alright then. No friendship lessons until I’m back. At all.”
Starlight blushed, scratching the back of her head, “R-Right… Heh heh. That.”
“Okay. With that being said, have a good weekend, you two. I’ll be checking up on you later.” Twilight said.
“See ya, Twilight!” Spike called as they left her room, and Twilight headed down the castle’s hallway. Starlight was still pouting a little from the distrust, but she understood why.
---
The ride from Ponyville to Trottingham took a few hours, but Twilight took this time to catch up on some of the most recent books she had been sent and had bought. One in particular that had caught her eye was a text of illusion magic that had the magic community buzzing. She knew that Trixie, in particular, would be eating this one up, seeing that it was her preferred method of magic. Twilight hoped, anyway.
The text was informative on how the particular lengths of light could be utilized to make specific colors. Unicorns were always able to do this, of course, but it was never specifically spelled out why like this. Now, it all made sense.
That, naturally, led her to question why certain unicorns had certain colored magic, like how Shining’s was pink of all colors. She chuckled to herself at how embarrassed her older brother was of that fact in magic school. He had come to embrace it in the end, but the fact still remained.
More and more, Equestria was starting to understand the nuances of magic, and Twilight was happy to see it happen. But as her vision started to blur, and a pain rose up in her chest, she put her book down in confusion.
‘That was new…’ Twilight blinked, ‘I’ve never been trainsick before.’ The feeling disappeared as she put the book down. She stared at the cover with a confused expression, blinking at it. Even looking at it struck her with that strange feeling.
“Manehattan station!” Called the conductor, “End of the line!” Twilight sighed, gathering her things and stuffing the book back into her bag.
‘I’ll try again later.’ She trotted out of the train station with ease, suitcase balanced on her back. She was only about halfway there, but she quietly thanked The Scribe that Celestia had chosen an island to spend their vacation on. Sure, it was a little harder to get to because the train line didn’t reach over the Celestial Sea, but there were going to be fewer ponies to see them as they passed through Trottingham’s attractions.
Ponies didn’t bother her as she pushed through the Manehattan streets, but they did clear the way a little if they cared enough to see her passing by. The ferry to Trottingham wasn’t far now, but Twilight couldn’t help but ponder why so many ponies decided to live in such an overly crowded city like this. Sure, it was the leading city for Equestria’s advancement, but it was also dirty and, well, crowded. After living in Canterlot nearly her life, and Ponyville for the past few years, Twilight couldn’t imagine putting up with not having an actual house to live in. Then again, Rarity’s friend Coco Pommel didn’t seem bothered by it.
Shaking those thoughts off as simple differences, Twilight made her way onto her ferry. The boat ride was going to take a few hours and seemed pretty crowded. Finding that books now somehow made her sick in moving vehicles, she decided to just listen in on conversations and pony watch.
Her eyes drifted over to two unicorn mares talking amongst themselves. One had a Trottingham accent and the other a Manehattan.
“It’ll be good to be home.” The Trottingham mare said. “I can get back to my studies.”
“What,” The Manehattan mare scoffed in her own thick accent, “My place not good enough for ya?”
Her friend tittered, “Of course it is. I just want to get back to my own desk and notes. You know how it is.”
Twilight’s heart panged again with pain, and she grimaced hard to the floor. Was it really motion sickness that was doing this to her? She looked out uneasily at the coastline in front of them, trying to ignore the queasiness that settled in her stomach as she slowly watched it approach her.
---
Trottingham wasn’t exactly what Twilight thought it would be. The humidity wasn’t all that bad, but it was like a constant cloud hung over the city. There was very little sunlight peeking through the thick sheet of vapor, and the wind didn’t blow very much to drift the cloud away. It was an interesting change, considering the usual open fields and pure sunlight of Ponyville. It didn’t feel bad, though. Despite what would’ve been described as ‘gloomy weather’, the streets seemed to be filled with laughter and cheering as ponies sat around cracking jokes at each other as they downed healthy heapings of cider.
‘Pinkie would like this place.’ Twilight decided with a smile and a nod, moving on towards the resort.
Said resort was nothing flashy or huge, but instead had a homey feel about it. It reminded Twilight more of a bed and breakfast in Canterlot than any big fancy beachfront resort. She would’ve thought of this as a great place to just sit back and read in front of the hearth if books weren’t kind of a problem right now.
She blew out an annoyed breath, going inside. ‘Maybe Celestia can help me with that.’ Twilight decided, if for any reason than to raise her spirits. She wasn’t about to see Celestia looking like she was annoyed at her, or really didn’t want to be here. She really did!
“Excuse me, ahem. I’m looking for Prominence?” Twilight said to the mare at the front desk.
The mare looked at Twilight, then the clipboard in her hooves. “...Solar Prominence, Princess?” She asked, almost a bit startled.
“Yes.” Twilight nodded. ‘I, uh, guess? Celestia never gave me a full name.’
“...Right.” The mare blinked, “Second floor, room 207.” She passed Twilight a key with the room number on it.
“Um, thanks!” Twilight nodded, grabbing the key in her aura and stepped into the elevator. ‘...Why’d that mare look so confused?’ Twilight asked herself, cocking an eyebrow. She pressed the ‘2’ button on the elevator door, looking over at the other 5. ‘I guess Prominence has a separate room than the Princess? I mean, I guess that makes sense, but…’
DING! The doors opened to reveal the second floor, and Twilight went over and opened room 207.
It came equipped with two queen sized beds, a desk, a sofa, and a bathroom in the same little “hallway” as the entrance.
“Um, hello? Prominence?” Twilight called into the room, blinking as a green pegasus mare with a blue and white mane appeared from around the corner.
“Twilight! So glad you could make it!” The little mare grinned.
Twilight looked down at her, confused, “Um, Prominence, not to be rude, but where’s Princess Celestia? I was told to come to you first, but I really need to see the Princess urgently.”
“Is it an emergency?” Prominence asked.
“Well, no. I just need to talk to her.” Twilight said.
“Oh, good. I was worried about an emergency pulling us away.” Twilight jumped as Celestia’s voice began to come from the mare’s mouth. ‘Prominence’ giggled, “Oh, Twilight, you didn’t think I’d come to a vacation disguised, did you?”
“...Celestia? H-How did you do that?” Twilight’s mouth nearly fell open.
“Chroma Spell.” Celestia smiled up at her, now shorter. “It comes in handy a time or two.” She smirked, elbowing Twilight, “Trust me, I needed it to sneak out of the castle without being mobbed.”
“Wh-what about your guards?” Twilight asked, “Did you sneak away from them too?”
“No.” Celestia shook her head, “They’re on the parameters of the island, keeping watch from afar. Besides, with the two of us here, we can handle whatever the world throws at us.”
“But, um, your horn…” Twilight replied.
Celestia laughed, “It’s still there!” Her eyes flashed with her gold aura, levitating a pamphlet describing the attractions around Trottingham over to Twilight, “Just hidden.”
“That’s… That’s really cool!” Twilight beamed at Celestia, eyes shining with joy. “Can you show me how to cast it sometime?!”
“Sometime?” Celestia smirked up at her in amusement, “What better time than this trip? You and I have nothing but time to ourselves for a few days.”
Twilight blinked, “Oh yeah!” She put her hoof to her forehead, “Wow… It’ll really be only about us with you in de-” She paused. “Wait. What about me? Should I be in disguise too?”
“Probably not. You can easily wave me off as a new friend of yours.” Celestia smiled, “I take it that isn’t exactly uncommon of you.”
Twilight blushed brightly, “Well… No, it’s not. I guess it’ll still work.”
“Great! Then we should decide where to go in the morning.” Celestia pitched her voice back up to disguise it, “Then, we can go get some dinner for the evening.”
“Right.” Twilight nodded at her, still not used to the idea of looking down at Celestia. ‘I guess she just likes being small?’ Twilight asked herself, only half paying attention as her teacher went on about the sights here.
“Then there’s the old unicorn founder huts.” Celestia went on, not noticing her student’s mind drift elsewhere, “It’s nice to see they’ve kept them up, even if it’d be hard to keep them standing after a big shower.”
Twilight came back to her senses as Celestia came to one of her favorite words, “The University here has a fantastic library that I don’t doubt they’d let you into.” Celestia paused, smiling over at Twilight and waiting for the excitement. When nothing came, she just looked concerned.
“...Hey, Princess?” Twilight asked, “I, uh, did need your help about something.”
“Absolutely, Twilight.” Celestia nodded, the concerned expression not leaving.
“Do you get train sick?”
“Yes, why?”
Twilight grimaced, “What does it… feel like?”
“Um.” She paused, “Your vision blurs a little, and you start to feel nauseous, usually. Why?”
“So, nothing to do with your heart?” Celestia shook her head, and Twilight sighed, sitting on the bed, “It’s… It’s just a feeling I’ve gotten recently, and I thought it was just motion sickness at first, but…” She scratched the back of her head.
“A pain in your heart?” Celestia sat next to her, “Could be a lot of things. Homesickness, anxiety, longing… What caused it?”
“A book I was reading,” Twilight said simply.
“...Mmm, I’ll be honest: I have no idea.” She admitted, “I guess it’s just something for you to try and come to terms with.”
“It must’ve been anxiety.” Twilight reasoned fairly easily, “You know me, nervous at everything as always…” She gave a weak, joking smile as she readjusted herself on the side of the hotel bed.
“Well, whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll pass.” Celestia assured, brushing Twilight’s mane back a little, “Maybe starting with a bit of warm food will help. Come on,” She smiled, “I’ll buy us dinner.”
“Th-thanks, Princess.” Twilight nodded, getting up and following her.
She was right. This would pass soon enough. Twilight thought over the strange happenings of when those feelings had hit her on the way over, and how easily they could be explained by simple nerves. Now that she was here, all she needed to do was to enjoy spending quality time with Cele- Solar Prominence. It was just one weekend. Just one weekend alone with the disguised Princess. Nothing could go wrong. ...right?
Twilight awoke the next day feeling entirely refreshed. The feeling that had plagued her yesterday had passed by completely. Looking around with that first blurriness of being awake, she almost didn’t recognize where she was, nor the green pegasus sleeping in the bed beside hers.
“Nnnng…” She rolled over, slowly pulling herself up and stretching out. She felt awkward, just standing in the middle of she and the Princess’s room, trying to decide whether or not the Princess would be mad if she was woken up. Finally, Twilight decided to quickly take a shower before they went out today. From how Princess Celestia was talking last night, they had a full day of sightseeing ahead.
As the drops of bath water dripped from her snout, Twilight took the time to ponder about the strange feeling again. Sure, it had just been nerves, but it seemed… different from her normal anxiety. She couldn’t deny that she was a nervous and anxious mare, that had always been so. But normally, nerves came with shaking and a heat flash. That hadn’t happened.
A knock sounded on the door. “Twilight? Ahhhhhh~” A yawn cut Celestia off mid-sentence, “Aaaare you almost done in there?”
“A-Almost done, Princess!” Twilight called back, and Celestia sighed softly to herself from the other side of the door.
“Right.” Celestia shook her head, going over and splaying out onto her bed, closing her eyes again.
Twilight trotted out happily, “Okay, done Prin-”
“-Please stop calling me just ‘Princess’, Twilight.” Celestia said wearily, ears folded, “Call me Celestia at least.”
“Oh, um,” Twilight had never heard her mentor’s tone grow so sad, “Alright, Celestia.” She almost tripped up again. ‘Princess’ just flew so easily to her tongue when she saw Celestia. It was what she had called her teacher for years.
Celestia got up from her bed, trotting towards the bathroom, “Thank you, Twilight. The formality really isn’t needed.” She shook her head again as the door closed.
Twilight just stared at the door, dumbfounded and confused. What had brought that up so suddenly?
It was when Twilight heard the shower that she decided to put her mind to other matters. Specifically, she pulled the book from yesterday into her aura. She sat down on the edge of her bed, staring at it intensely, running her eyes over every detail of the cover. “Illusionary Studies of Magic Volume III”, written by “C. Starview”.
When nothing came this time, Twilight attempted to open up the book to the page she had been reading on the train.
Past the section of the light lengths, the author had gone into detail about how the specific lengths of light had been utilized without any proper knowledge of how such a simple trick worked. Unicorns simply created a simple beam of light and stretched it to the length of the desired color, before holding it in-
“AUGH!” Twilight covered her eyes with her hooves as the pain and blurriness set in again. The book fell from her lap with a loud THUNK.
“Twilight?” Celestia’s muffled concern was heard through the wall between the bathroom and bedroom.
“I-I’m fine! No worries!” Twilight said, scooping up the book in her aura and sliding it back into place on top of her suitcase. “Guess I’m not reading that this trip.” She sighed, settling onto the sofa to wait for Celestia to finish her shower. That was where Celestia found her when she returned.
“Did you need to sleep longer?” Celestia asked. “Excited as I am, we’re in no big rush today.”
Twilight got up. “No! I’m ready when you are.” She nodded eagerly.
“Alright then!” Celestia nodded, “Let’s go.”
“Um, to breakfast, right?” Twilight asked.
“...Oh. Right. Breakfast.” Celestia blushed, already opening the door to their room.
---
Twilight and Celestia took the day out, taking in the sights of Trottingham. Said sights were okay, Twilight thought, but what truly made them special was the way Celestia reacted to them all. Either she’d squeal silently to Twilight, or just gasp happily in recognition of the monuments.Then she’d lean in close, telling Twilight all about the histories of these places and what they had meant to her. It all came to the end when they arrived at a Trottingham Flea Market.
“Oh! Twilight, I’ll be right back.” Prominence said as they were perched on a bench, “I’m regretting not trying to haggle down that souvenir salespony. This might take awhile.” She joked.
Twilight giggled, “Alright. I’ll be here.” As Prominence trotted off, Twilight decided quickly to pony watch again. It was like her friendship senses were trying to zone in on any possible problems she could find in the crowd. Instead of a friendship problem, though, she spotted a familiar face.
“...Comet?” Twilight tilted her head. “HEY! COMET TAIL!” The blue and yellow stallion whirled around at his name being yelled, and Twilight waved her hooves frantically to catch his attention.
He trotted over with a grin, “Twilight! Hey! It’s been awhile, how’re you and the girls?”
“We’ve been alright. Trying not to be swept back by saving Equestria every week and all.” Twilight nodded back, “What are you doing in Trottingham?”
“Visiting friends.” He smiled, “They’re… eccentric, for sure, but hey, we all deal with Pinkie almost on a daily basis.” He joked, “So it’s expected.”
“You have two Pinkie Pie friends?” Twilight laughed, “Geesh, the world hasn’t exploded yet! How do you manage that?”
“Okay, that comparison is a bit too far.” Comet smirked, “They’re not that loud, they just like to voice their opinions. Loudly. Well, at least one of them does.”
“Well, trust me when I say that one Pinkie Pie is all this world needs.” Twilight chuckled, “I love her like a sister, but everypony needs a breather from that mare.”
“Absolutely true.” Comet laughed with her, and the two sat down on the bench.
“So, anything going on around Ponyville recently?” Twilight asked him.
“Nothing too huge. The CMC are still causing trouble-”
“-what else is new?” Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile.
“There’s a new hotel opening up on the edge of town.”
Twilight blinked, “Really?”
“Yeah.” He elbowed her, “I guess Ponyville’s own Princess is bringing in some curious tourists, eh?”
Twilight blushed, “Oh, gosh, I don’t exactly want to become a crowd-pulling attraction.”
“And you never really will be. You mean more to our town than just that.” Comet assured her, “You’re a hero, clearly, and our friend.”
“Aww, thanks Comet.” Twilight smiled genuinely at him. “So. How’s the stargazing been going?”
Comet nodded thoughtfully, “Pretty good, pretty good. Princess Luna’s been showing us some gorgeous nights.”
“I still say you need to talk to her! She’d love the appreciation!” Twilight urged, “I mean, she’s in Ponyville every Nightmare Night. I’m sure if you just walk up to-”
Now Comet blushed, “Noooo, no, no, no!” He insisted, shaking his head quickly.
Twilight stared at him, befuddled at the sudden outburst, “Why not?”
“It’s just…” Comet bit his lip, “It’s hard to ta-”
“Comet Tail the Starry-Eyed?” Looking over, they noticed that Prominence was standing but a few feet away, having stopped to gawk at the stallion. “Is… Is that you?”
Comet froze, his back to Prominence. Twilight saw his face quickly shift from nervous to confused.
“Uh, me?” He asked, whirling around, sudden, complete confidence in his voice.
She nodded, “Yes, you! I’d recognise you anywhere!”
“You must be confusing me with someone else.” He said simply, looking over at Twilight, “Is… This a new friend of yours?”
“Yeah…” Twilight cocked an eyebrow at Prominence, “Comet Tail, this is Prominence. Prominence, who are you talking about?”
“Him.” Prominence motioned at Comet, who had suddenly disappeared without another word. “...Twilight. Follow me. Now.” She burst off into a full-on run, and Twilight followed awkwardly.
“Wait, wait, what’s going on? Why’s that name so important?!” Twilight called as she attempted to keep up, barely dodging around stands and racks of merchandise. She swore mentally. She’d never get used to these wings.
“I’m telling you!” Prominence called back, “He’s an ancient mage! I’m amazed I didn’t notice him before!”
“WHAT?! NO! I know Comet! He lives in Ponyville!” Twilight slid under a table, pulling the white tablecloth to the side as she stumbled out, causing knick-knacks to scatter all around and a shopkeep to angrily shout after her. “S-sorry, sir! No famous, ancient mage would try to hide out in Ponyville!”
“Clearly he was trying to hide out in plain sight, and I’m mad that it worked! He didn’t even try disguising his cutie mark!” Prominence said with a huff, rounding a corner.
Twilight did so as well, “I really think you’re overreacting, Ce-Prominence!” She stumbled, seeing Comet in the distance. They were closing in on him, but he was charging his horn for another teleport.
Clearly, not if Celestia had anything to say about it. A table off to the side of him slid, top-up right into his path. While it didn’t trip Comet completely, it did enough to both slow him down and break his concentration on his spell, and the aura gathering on his horn fizzled out. In desperation, he rounded the corner, and Prominence slid to a stop right before it, holding a hoof to signal Twilight to do the same.
Twilight huffed, taking in heavy breaths to keep from falling over. “Can you take… One second. To tell me why chasing. After my friend. Was a good idea?”
Celestia hushed her, before motioning her on again. “I’ll explain later.”
Twilight followed with a grimace this time, the two keeping a much slower pace as they trailed behind a unicorn mare. Twilight’s eyes widened when she realized that it was no longer Comet who they were following .’...Is the Princess insane?’ flashed through her mind a few times, though she tried to shove it down every time it did.
Finally, Prominence stopped.
Twilight took a step forward in confusion, but just as she was about to ask why they had stopped, Prominence spoke.
“Meet me at that bench. I won’t be gone long.” She said simply, lifting off into the air.
“Um.” Twilight looked up just in time to see her flying away, “Okay.” She let out a frustrated breath, “Thanks for asking. I didn’t want to know what was going on. Not at all.” She sagged, shaking her head before walking over to the bench at the front of the flea market, getting some dirty looks from some of the shopkeepers on the way over.
Luckily, Prominence didn’t take long to land next to Twilight. “Sorry about that.” She panted, “I couldn’t tell you what was going on as we went after him. Let’s get some lunch and talk this out.”
“Listen, Prominence, even if he was some great mage or whatever, why was it a good idea to chase after him?” Twilight asked nonetheless. “I’m me, not Rainbow Dash.”
“The same reason he ran. Whatever that was.” Prominence replied, “If he felt strongly enough to burst out into a run, wouldn’t him being guilty of something pop into your head? Besides, I wanted answers.”
“I mean… I guess.” Twilight scratched the back of her head. “Still...I think we could’ve tried something less...exercisey…?”
“If he wasn’t who I said he was, or if he didn’t know something about it, why would he run?” Prominence asked. “Now. Hayburgers for lunch, or a daisy sandwich?”
“Hayburgers, definitely.” Twilight was only off topic for a moment, the two heading towards a little cafe. “But seriously, say Comet is this ancient mage. Why’s he so important?” Twilight asked as they seated themselves at a table.
Prominence sighed, lowering her voice and ducking behind a menu. “Let me put it to you this way: Comet Tail the Starry-Eyed was born in the generation after Clover the Clever.”
“That’d make him like 17 hundred years old!” Twilight squeaked loudly, jerking back in shock. “H-how would he still be alive?!” She asked as her voice quieted down and Prominence pulled her head back behind the menu.
“You tell me.” Prominence said simply, “I have no idea, either. I also don’t know why he’s been hiding from me all these years. He was one of Luna’s best friends, as well as the founder of the study of illusion magic and a master astronomer.”
“...So his illusion was hiding under your snout all this time?” The question was asked innocently enough, but Prominence couldn’t help but find the wall suddenly very annoying. Twilight was still too annoyed from the impromptu jog to to realize that she was snarking at her teacher and fellow Princess.
“Yeah, well…” She sighed, “It doesn’t really matter now. I overheard Comet quickly telling that second mare to run, so I figured following her would bring us to where he’s staying. But after following her for a few moments, I realized she was onto us too. So! I made them think we were going to give up.”
“He’s staying with friends.” Twilight said simply. “We could’ve waited until he left for Ponyville, too.”
“Well, I saw him run into a house.” Prominence said.
“You did?”
“Mmhmm, that’s why I flew up like that. With a bird’s eye view, I caught sight of him right as he was slipping into a house.” She smiled, “So. How about we go and talk to him after lunch?”
“How’re we going to get through to him? With how we were acting earlier, it seems like we’d just get the door slammed in our face. Or, you know, he wouldn’t open it at all.”
Prominence put down her menu as the waitress came, pondering her answer to that question. After giving their orders, she admitted, “Good point. How could we get him to talk to us?” She scanned over Twilight before giving a soft smile. “Ohhhh~ I know how!”
Twilight blinked, “...You just sized me up. Did you just size me up? I’m not interested in a date with Comet, Prominence. I don’t swing that way!” Twilight blinked, “...w-wait no…”
Prominence burst out laughing, holding her sides. It took her a good minute to calm down before she could form sentences again. “N-No! Not for a date, Twilight! Just an apology.”
“An apology?” Twilight asked. “He won’t come out with you there, even for that.”
“I won’t be there.” Prominence assured, “At least, not at first. I’ll come up later, once you’ve talked him down.”
“Um, I think you’re putting too much confidence in my-”
“It’s okay.” Prominence said, “He’s not a criminal, I’m not going to throw him in prison or anything, I just want a chance to talk to him. I know he’s your friend, and I won’t make you lie to him. Just say that your friend meant him no harm, and that I was startled when he started running.”
“I mean…”
“And, hey, if you really think I’m completely wrong here, we can go back to the hotel now.” Prominence offered.
Twilight’s mind flashed to how seamlessly she had seen Comet’s face go from terrified to confident before he had turned around. “No… No, I think something’s definitely going on.” She agreed finally. “It’s just that… I feel bad for meddling. Comet’s been my neighbor for years.”
“To be honest… I’m not entirely doing this for me,” Prominence explained, “If this really is the Comet Tail I’m thinking of, he has the ability to bring Luna so much joy, if I can convince him to see her again.”
“Mmm… Every time I offered that they talk, he finds every way to back out of it.” Twilight said.
“I’m… I’m hoping that it’s not because of Luna’s banishment.” Prominence said with a frown. “I can see why he’d be angry at me about it.”
“Still?” Twilight blinked, “...It’s kinda been a long time to still be sore about that.”
“Well, yes, but grudges will sometimes stay with ponies all throughout their lives.” Prominence reminded, “So it wouldn’t be that big of a stretch to say an immortal can hold onto that as well.”
“It still makes no sense to me, but alright.” Twilight looked down, almost missing the waitress as her hayburger was put in front of her. It looked pretty similar to the ones served in the Ponyville cafe, and she was somewhat thankful for that. Her stomach needed to be settled for what she was about to do.
There was a chance that her neighbor in Ponyville was a 1700 year old mage. If that was true, Twilight wasn’t sure if she’d ever look at him the same way again. She took a thoughtful bite of her hayburger, trying to think of what she’d say to him if he’d been lying all this time. Not much, she realized with a start. He hadn’t really been lying to her, or anyone. His identity was just an illusion, hidden in plain sight.
“It rarely does.” Prominence said simply, taking a bite of her own hayburger. “It’s just how ponies are.”
“Well… Either way, I don’t think I could go home without answers now.” Twilight said, nodding to herself, “Let’s see what Comet says.”
‘And ask him a ton of questions.’ She added in her mind with a quiet giggle, feeling more resolute now. Hayburgers truly were magical.
Twilight almost wished she hadn’t eaten that hayburger. Almost. She had followed her mentor’s directions to a T, and it found her lingering in front of the most normal looking home in all of Trottingham, even down to the pale bricks and high ivy that climbed the walls. This didn’t look like the kind of place some sort of famous mage would stay, especially one that was supposedly in his 1700’s. Twilight hesitated to knock on the door, standing on the front porch, frozen in place, with her stomach turning in all sorts of uncomfortable directions.
Finally, she let out a breath, tracing the length of the exhale with a hoof, just as Cadence had showed her. Then, she built up her bravado, and knocked on the door three times.
She heard shouting voices from inside, and immediately flinched. Nothing really came through in the muffled shouting, but Twilight could hear hoofsteps nonetheless. If Comet wasn’t in there, she swore she could at least hear two ponies trotting around.
What she wasn’t expecting was a middle-aged mare to open the door, smiling at her. “Hello, my dear. Are you that friend of Comet’s from Ponyville?” She asked in her Trottingham accent. She looked as if she could’ve been Comet’s mother, had Twilight not known that Comet was way older than he looked.
“Uh, yep! That’s me!” Twilight nodded, swallowing the fact that everyone seemed to ignore her wings and title. “Hey, is Comet in? I really need to apologise to him for my friend.”
The mare looked around, “For your friend? She’s not going to tell him herself?” She raised an eyebrow, and Twilight stumbled over her bravado just like that.
“I- well- uh, you see,” She rubbed the back of her head, “She was really embarrassed about everything that happened, so she asked me to do it for her. She’s really skittish around other ponies.” Twilight kept a picture of Fluttershy in her mind as she said this, hoping it’d be genuine enough for the older mare to buy.
The mare simply smiled, “Oh, I sure know about skittish ponies.” Her smile turned nostalgic, almost, “Sure, come on in.”
“Thanks.” Twilight trotted in as the mare stepped aside, “Um, actually, I never caught your name.”
“Oh, silly me.” She waved a hoof, “I’m Distant Star. Welcome to my home, Princess Twilight.”
Twilight noted that. ‘She… took my wings well.’ She hoped to high heaven that her sudden curiosity and suspicion didn’t show over her face as she glanced over the pale yellow and sky blue unicorn. “So… Are you and Comet related?”
“Why does everyone ask that?” Comet huffed as he came from the kitchen.
Star chuckled, “Who knows? He and I could be cousins and not know it.”
“Uh, I doubt that.” Comet smirked at her before moving his attention to Twilight. “Hey Twi, what’s up?”
“Oh, hey, I just wanted to apologise to you about Prominence’s behavior earlier. She just got spooked when you ran off, is all.” Twilight said as Star motioned her to the table. There was a third mare sitting there working, completely absorbed into drawing… something. Twilight couldn’t see what it was, but she thought it looked like a blueprint. Meanwhile, Star went over to the kitchen counters to prepare a meal.
“Uh huh.” Comet sat across from Twilight. He followed her eyes over to the mare. “Oh, don’t mind her, she’s always scribbling something. Speaking of... River. River!” He waved his hooves in her face, trying to catch her attention and failing.
Twilight stood up, “Excuse me, where’s the little filly’s room?”
“Straight down the hall and to your right.” Star said, still focusing on whatever she was cooking.
“Thanks, be right back!” Twilight walked out into the living room, scanning it for anything she hadn’t seen on her first trip inside. All that was there, she had seen before. Simple couches and a coffee table, and absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. What she did notice was the kitchen behind her suddenly grow silent. She picked up her pace, heading down the hallway. Several rooms were opened when she passed them, all with varying levels of messiness. It was in the messiest room, though, that something caught her eye immediately.
In glass casing sat a worn, pointy wizard’s hat that was heavily faded, and sagging under its own weight. It was a dull grey color, and Twilight wondered why in the world someone would keep this, especially as air-tight and locked up as it was. But as she got closer, she realized that the hat wasn’t grey, but a worn blue. And the old, ancient bells falling off of the rim of the hat looked incredibly familiar.
“HUU-MMMP!” Twilight slammed her hooves over her own mouth, almost tripping on the clutter she had to climb over to get to the case from the door. She rushed across the hall into the bathroom, panting hard from her pounding heart in her chest as she leaned against the bathtub. “It was real.” She whispered, eyes wide, “It was the real thing.” She bit her hooves, glancing around at the bathroom like it was a palace. It looked rather plain though, and she snapped herself out of it. “...But why is it here?” She muttered to herself.
The more she thought about it, the less it made sense to her. Why would something that valuable just be sitting in some mare’s house in Trottingham? Shouldn’t it be in a museum, or protected by the Equestrian Historical Society? Or, even better, locked up safely in Canterlot Castle?
She stood up after a few moments, steadying herself on the sink. She had questions that needed answers, and she wasn’t going to leave without them. Problem was, she didn’t think she’d get answers out of any of them without help. Specifically, without Celestia intervening.
But she paused the thought there, ‘I haven’t even tried talking to them yet. Maybe I’m jumping to too many conclusions.’ She looked over to the door, ‘Then again, if I go out there and ask if he’s Comet Tail the Starry-Eyed, he might do everything in his power to keep Celestia from coming in here. So maybe I should try playing along.’
She opened the door, glancing down the hall. She could hear Comet, Star, and the mare she assumed was ‘River’ talking in the kitchen. Twilight made her way down the hall, wondering why they had gone quiet when she left. She glanced at Starswirl’s hat as she passed, feeling resolute about the only question she would ask them before she left.
She trotted back into the kitchen, where Comet and River were arguing loudly about something. They didn’t bother to stop when Twilight came in. It was something about the weight of some metal or something, so she decided it wasn’t something she should jump in on. Instead, she went over to Star.
“Um, excuse me?” She asked.
Star turned to her from where she was doing dishes, “Yes, Princess?”
“This is your house, right?” She asked, twiddling her front hooves.
“Yes.” She nodded, “Why?”
“It’s lovely, but I have a quick question… Why is there the… uh… The hat of Starswirl the Bearded. Is that the real one?”
Star simply smiled, “The one and only. Why, is there something wrong?”
“Well, yeah. Why did it end up here? Shouldn’t it be in a museum? Or guarded with other artifacts of Equestrian history?”
“I couldn’t do any of that.” Star shook her head, “That hat’s been passed on for generations in my family. I wouldn’t have it be anywhere else.”
“In your family?” Twilight blinked, “Oh, right. Sorry. I didn’t know.”
“That’s quite alright, I understand why you’d be concerned. I hear you and Princess Cadence are seen at Starswirl conventions frequently.” Star giggled, “I’m glad somepony cares about his legacy besides me.”
Twilight blushed lightly, “Yeah, well, I’m definitely a fan… But speaking of Cadence, I have to write to her tonight. I’m sorry to cut this visit short, but I have to go.”
“We understand, Princess. You’re welcome back any time.” Star led her to the door, opening it for her.
“Thanks, Star.” Twilight nodded, trotting out. The door closed behind her, and she made her way back to the rendezvous spot where Prominence was waiting for her.
“Hey, what happened to giving a signal?” She asked.
“Change of plans, I found something I need to talk to you about.” Twilight replied, moving past her, “Should we head to the hotel?”
“Erm, sure.” Prominence agreed, “It’s getting late anyways. ...How exactly did it go in there?”
As they walked, Twilight told her the story of her experiences inside the home. “It was normal up until I saw Starswirl’s hat. It was almost jarring, and I don’t know what to say about it.”
Prominence stopped walking to tap her hoof against her chin, “Well, I can tell you this: Starswirl lived a long time - longer than most ponies - but I’ve never heard of him having any direct descendants.”
Twilight gasped, “No one’s related to Starswirl?!”
“But there was one.” Twilight hushed and listened to her mentor speak. “Clever Clover. After being his student for some years, she always considered herself his unofficial daughter. Not sure if she ever brought that up to him or not. She has plenty of living descendants now a days-” Celestia gave a weary smile, “-It’s hard to keep up with all of them.”
“So then… She’d be a descendant of Clover the Clever?” Twilight asked.
“More than likely. And it would make sense that Comet Tail would want to study with a mare related to Clover. Perhaps he stayed friends with that line of her descendants.”
“But, wait.” Twilight put up a hoof, “If Starswirl lived to be really old, and Comet’s still alive, why do we talk like Starswirl’s dead? Nothing ever says that he has an official day that he passed…”
“We just don’t know.” Prominence admitted. “It was like he suddenly disappeared one day. Even Clover had no idea where he went. He said he was going on a short expedition, and never came back. Clover went after him a few days later, but found nothing.”
“...Are you sure?” Twilight asked.
“Absolutely. I remember that day, she came back completely empty-hooved.” They approached the front of their hotel. After a pause, Prominence said, “I say we order room service tonight and do some research. What do you think?”
“Research?” Twilight’s immediate grin was faltered slowly by that nauseous feeling striking again, making her vision blurry. “Yeah… Woo. Research…” Prominence watched her expression droop with concern.
“...Maybe you need rest instead.” She replied in kind.
“No! No, I’m fine, really.”
“Then what’s going on?” She asked, putting a hoof under Twilight’s chin, and lifting it to level with hers.
Twilight brought her eyes to look up at her mentor. “It’s… This feeling I told you about. The one I had on the train. It keeps coming back for some reason.”
Prominence’s worried look didn’t fade, “Is there a pattern to when you get it?”
“I thought so, but… I also thought it only happened with books. It just hit me a second ago when you mentioned research.”
“Well, research usually requires books. Maybe that’s part of it?” Prominence frowned, “Then again, it’s been a long day, and neither of us has eaten. So let’s get to our room, get you whatever you’d like on me, and then see if we can look into this business.”
“Alright. Sounds good.” Twilight sighed.
The two headed into the building, doing just that. Twilight wrote a letter to Spike requesting a couple of books be sent through he and Celestia’s message link from her library. The books came back right after their food arrived to their room. Twilight looked at the stack warily, and Prominence couldn’t help but shake her head.
“Okay, so, let’s run this-” Celestia paused. “Oh. I didn’t know you sent for the journal too.”
“Well, yeah.” Twilight pulled Starswirl’s journal from the stack. “I figured it would help us figure out the whole ‘where he disappeared to’ thing.” She paused, “Wait. Hold on. Did Comet Tail the Starry Eyed ever know Starswirl, Prin- Celestia?”
Celestia shrugged, dropping her disguise since they weren’t in public anymore. “Yes. Comet Tail worked closely with Clover and Starswirl through his foalhood. But Clover stopped looking for Starswirl to train Comet. Sort of.”
“Sort of?” Twilight asked.
“Well… Yes.” Celestia nodded, “In reality, she never really stopped looking, but called off the search for him. She admitted to Luna and I that she had a feeling that he was gone. I don’t think she stopped looking herself, though.”
“So… After Starswirl disappeared, Clover the Clever focused on training Comet Tail the Starry-Eyed…” Twilight chewed her barbeque salad thoughtfully. “So he’s like the third in line for this era of great mages?”
“Not that Clover herself would have ever called it that, but pretty much.” Celestia nodded.
“She wouldn’t?” Twilight asked.
“Yes. She’d always treated Comet like a partner, not a student. Age gap or not, she refused him having any other title than him being her equal.” Celestia grabbed a biography of Clever Clover, setting it in front of her but not opening it. “I always assumed it was a personal choice on her part.”
“...right.” She squinted, “And… One more question. Know anything about a ‘River’?”
“River?” Celestia raised an eyebrow, “There are plenty of ponies out there named River, Twilight.”
“I know, but are there any famous ones?” She asked. “Comet was talking to this mare named River. She was too busy drawing out a blueprint to even look at me.”
“Famous mares named River…” Celestia tapped a hoof to her chin, “I mean, there have been famous mares in the past with water-like names. A few Wonderbolts, even.”
“I might just be seeing things that aren’t there.” Twilight shook her head. “...But, for curiosity's sake… Can we get a list of the famous unicorns?” Twilight asked. “Any of them that you remember doing outstanding things. Both for my own personal studies and for the sake of this whole business with Comet. It’s probably best that we have names to pull from.”
“Right.” Celestia mused for a moment, summoning a quill and paper from her suitcase. “But while I’m doing this… I want to see how you react to this feeling you keep having. Go ahead, try reading this book, and I’ll see what happens.”
Twilight glanced between the Princess and the biography of Clover the Clever. Hoof shaking, she opened up the front cover of the thick book on the life of one of her favorite mares.
---
Under the single light of the kitchen, River continued with her work, drawing and sketching out the blueprints.
“How’s it going?” Star asked over her shoulder, peering at the blue parchment curiously.
“You tweak those numbers yet?” Comet called from another room.
“Shut up! I’ll get on it whenever I get on it!” River grumbled, looking over at Star. “It’s going fine, I just need time.”
“Time is one of the few things we don’t have.” Star sighed wearily.
“Well I’m a Renaissance mare, not a miracle worker. I need time just like anyone else.”
“I know, I know…” Star closed her eyes, rebalancing her emotions. “I’m anxious, is all. The Princesses are over our shoulder now, so we need to get this moving.”
“YEAH, THANKS COMET!” River snapped.
“SHUT UP!” Comet roared back.
Star put her hoof to her face, “Please don’t start this, you two… It’ll be fine. Comet and I can hold off the Princesses long enough to get this started. We’ll just have to keep them thinking Comet’s any other normal pony. That needs to start with you not working on that at the table.”
“I didn’t even know she was here until Comet started glaring knives at me!” River pouted.
“Well, we’ll give you a better warning next time. We can’t afford to let them see this.”
“I’d rather not get arrested for treason, thanks!” Comet called from the other room. Star rolled her eyes.
“He does have a point though.” River admitted, “As stupid as he is. We’ve done illegal things before, but I think this takes the cake. We’re skirting a thin line here.”
“Don’t make such a big deal out of nothing. We’ll just flee Equestria if we feel too threatened. Just because the royals are scared of Chaos and Dark magic, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be studied appropriately. Just get the blueprints done, and we’ll get to work.”
River shrugged, “Alllllright, you’re the boss.” With that, she went back to work, putting her attention back on the paper in front of her.
Star made her way down the hall, past Comet’s shut door, and skillfully stepping over the various clutter of her room. She went over to the case with the Mage Starswirl’s hat and smiled, putting a soft hoof to the glass.
“Princesses or not… We’ll make you proud.” She smiled softly at it. “Father.”
A young Comet Tail stood overlooking a plain of nothing but barren waste. The snow had risen higher than he could walk in some areas, and the unicorn tribe pulling ahead was just simply too fast for his slender hooves to carry him. Shivers raced down his spine and each hoofstep felt heavier and heavier as he watched the rest of the group of unicorns grow farther into the distance.
Finally, he stopped, the world pressed down on him as the icy wind battered at his snout. He let out a few panting breaths and watched the smoke dance with the breeze until it disappeared.
“Are you alright?”
Comet jumped at the sudden voice and looked to his left where he had heard it. Standing there with concern was a pony in which he had never seen, one that wasn’t quite a unicorn, but not a pegasus, either.
Naturally, that begged a question.
“G-Goddess?” The colt’s eyes grew wide as he croaked the question, and the stranger looked flustered.
“Oh! No no no no!” She shook her head rapidly, “That’s my mother. No, not me.” Her ears pointed forward as she brought her head down to look at him, “Greetings, young one. I am known as Luna.”
“Luna, daughter of the Goddess,” Comet repeated, looking the alicorn over again. “I’m Comet Tail. Of the unicorn tribe.”
She seemed disturbed by this for some reason. “The unicorn tribe? So close? Oh, sister won’t be happy.” She shook her head with a fallen expression, scanning over the small unicorn colt. “Don’t lose faith, young one. There is a bounty up ahead, plenty to eat. When you get there, take as much as you can immediately.” Luna said.
A voice called out up ahead, coming their way, as a mare’s outline appeared in the blizzard. Luna folded her ears, and when Comet looked over again, she had disappeared.
“Comet! Comet!” A mare appeared through the curtain of wind and snow flurry, who was at least 20 years his senior. She let out a sigh when she found him, “Goddess, they shouldn’t have let you come.” She looked over him worriedly, “Bring a colt on such a dangerous mission.” She rolled her eyes, “Great idea.”
“Clover.” Comet replied, cutting her off, “I saw a mare. She said she was a daughter of the Goddess, and that there is a-”
The mare pulled him onto her back with her magic, not allowing him to finish his thought. “That was probably a hallucination from the hunger, lad.”
He squirmed, pulling himself off her back. “Excuse me, ma'am, but you have a thick head.” And with that, he burst into a run through the snow, falling for a moment in a particularly thick patch, but picking himself up determinedly. As he hoped, Clover charged after him.
She growled, “Come now, you ungrateful colt! You shouldn’t be running like this!”
Comet smirked, making it past the group who had so eagerly left him behind. Much to the confusion to a certain pointy-hat mage, who watched the orphan colt and then his student storm past him without a word, disappearing into the distance.
It wasn’t long before Comet’s body wore down, and he slowed to a trot, panting. As the blue alicorn mare had said, he saw a clearing on the horizon, and sunlight peeked through the clouds of the raging storm.
He heard the sounds of racing hooves following behind him, only a few steps away from realizing that he had been right all along.
Comet Tail opened his eyes drearily, staring down at the star chart he had fallen asleep on. Last night had been so particularly beautiful that he couldn’t help himself but plot it out. Luna had gotten better, it seemed… But, somehow, he had fallen asleep while working.
He sighed, pulling himself up and shaking the sleep from his body. Going over to the window, he peeled back the curtains to let the morning sunlight stain the room with bright color. His body sagged. “Another beautiful night, wasted.” He shut them again, wishing that the house was more like his own, suited for the drowning out of the harsh sun.
His illusions were best cast in darkness, much like the light of stars from far away. It wasn’t until the sun was gone could it not overshadow them; darkness was their stage. How he had longed for the rightful caster of that darkness to return. Now that she had, he couldn’t even push his body to stay up to witness it. How pathetic.
He glanced into his reflection in the mirror, running a hoof over the bags under his eyes, and shook his head, casting the spell that made him look refreshed and at least content with things. It could fool the world, but not himself.
In the kitchen, his roommates were going about their own business, and Comet simply sat down at the table.
“Good morning, Comet.” The mare across from him grumbled, barely pulling herself away from her work long enough to greet him.
“How’d you sleep?” The other asked, actually taking a moment of her time to acknowledge him.
“Fine,” Comet replied, not much unlike a foal who was asked how school had gone that day. He looked between the two, “So, this plan. How far along is it?” This question was pointed solely to Distant Star, who looked up from the scroll she was writing.
“Well,” Star pressed her lips together thoughtfully as she processed her answer. “At this rate, we can hopefully be done in five days, give or take a few depending on how well things go along.”
“Less!” The second mare exclaimed, “I think the enchanting side of the equation is nearly done, as would be expected by someone of my prowess.”
“You mean the plan of the enchanting of your prowess,” Comet said with a fairly blank expression.
He was met with a sharp look from the second mare.
“I’m just saying.” He rolled his eyes. “Don’t pat yourself on the back yet, you just drew something.”
“Something with exact measurements and proper balancing!” The mare pointed up her snout.
Comet looked over at this ‘great pride’. “It’s a stick with a few gems.” He deadpanned.
“Yes! And a single gem out of place isn’t just dangerous: it’s inefficient!” She hissed, her eyes shifting in a comedic way.
“Calm down, Meadow.” Distant Star glanced between the two before setting her eyes on Comet, “So, what’s going on? You’re not usually so… On the attack.”
Comet looked away, attempting to not feel so sorry for himself. “I want out of this. I want us to stop hiding, and I want to actually be there for Luna.” He frowned, knowing how the conversation would go.
“Nothing’s stopping you, Comet. Really.” Star shook her head, “You can leave whenever you’d like.”
“Sure, but that’ll give you two away.” Comet let out another forceful breath, “You leave me stuck between betraying you two or being miserable. I owe you everything, but I can’t get out of here until you’re ready.”
“It doesn’t have to be like that.” Star replied, “And I had no idea you were so miserable with us.”
Meadow snorted, “All I hear is complaints without action. Leave if you want to go. We'll be fine without you.” The red mare got up, levitating the plans as she walked by. “We’ll just tell Swirly that you bailed on us.” She trotted into the hallway, and Comet watched the Enchantress duck into her room.
That left him alone with Distant Star.
“Listen.” Star reached out to touch him with a hoof, “I know this plan seems a bit far-fetched.”
“Far-fetched?” Comet looked back at her with a scoff, “We’re talking about releasing the Spirit of Chaos himself here, that’s treason of the highest order.”
Star rubbed her neck, “I understand the risks, Comet… And I’m sure Celestia will understand after everything settles itself out.”
“We’re still operating on what-ifs.” Comet reminded curtly, “Releasing Discord is a gigantic gamble. What if you’re wrong? What if Starswirl can’t be brought back? We’ve doomed Equestria at that point.” He slammed his hoof on the table as if to prove his point.
“That’s why we’re not doing this until we have a backup.” She sighed, “Why do you think we’ve given ourselves so much time? Meadowbrook will have the enchantment ready to free him done much sooner, but we’re not jumping on the opportunity right away; it gives us time to have several alternatives on the table should it fail.” Her voice started to rise, “I might be a little desperate to have my mentor back; I admit that. But nothing is worth adding more trouble to Equestria’s laundry list of threats.”
“Do we really have that backup without Celestia and the elements knowing about this?” Comet asked, “They could always seal him away again if he-”
Star's eyes went wild, “-NO!” Comet shut his mouth immediately, looking over at the mare who was shaking as if it were difficult for her to stand up. "We... We can't." She gasped out, "We can't let them do that, Comet. We... we need to put him back together. Discord has to help us..."
He ran over, helping to support her. "Is... this the way, though?" He asked quietly. "Trusting the Tyrant King of Chaos?"
"Maybe I'm wrong, but this will my way, for now." Star responded, brushing back his mane with a tired smile, "Thank you, Comet. I lost him for so long, and... Maybe I can get him back..." She muttered, pulling away from him finally with a renewed vigor.
He watched her go, and let out a sigh. Straightening up, he toughened his resolve. Comet knew what he had to do, but it was going to be hard on everyone here. It was time to come clean, and give them all away. It was time to face the Sun.
Twilight was sweating bullets as she strained to read aloud and fight that nauseous feeling that welled up inside of her, “Clever Clover died… at.. age 117 from… a genetic disease!” She strained.
Celestia blinked down at her from where she sat on the bed, her head tilted to the side. She seemed to be incredibly worried about the safety of her student as she struggled through an incredibly simple history book about Clover the Clever’s life.
“I… I did it!” Twilight panted, triumphant.
“...You only read the summary.” Celestia said, shaking her head with a sigh.
Twilight nodded, “Yep! So she lived until age 117!”
Celestia pulled the book away from her student, frowning. “You looked sick beyond belief. ...Are you sure that nothing’s bothering you, Twilight?”
“I mean… Clearly, something is.” Twilight sighed, “But I have no idea what it is or why. And that time it felt worse than before!”
“Hmm.” Celestia mused. “What did you read last that didn’t make you feel sick?”
“Um, before I got your letter, I was catching up on the latest Daring Do novel. Had to read it so that I can understand what Dash is always going on about after all of the new books come out.” She chuckled to herself happily, remembering Dash’s excited squeal after they had started talking about the contents of the newest book. “That didn’t make me sick.”
“Isn’t that a fiction book?” Celestia asked, seemingly making a connection.
“Nope. It’s real. We know her.” Twilight chuckled as she watched Celestia’s face shuffle through expressions for a moment.
Celestia settled on muted surprise, “Well… Erm, I never knew that.” She giggled.
“So, yeah, it’s not a case of the type of book, I don’t think.” Twilight frowned, looking at the Clover the Clever biography, “That was a history book, and what I was reading on the way over here was a book on the specifics of illusion magic.”
“...Illusion magic.” Tia mused, “Comet Tail was the founder of Illusion Magic.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow, “So…?”
“So nothing. Not just yet anyway. Are you sure you weren’t just nervous?” Celestia asked her.
“I mean, that’s the reasonable explanation, sure.” Twilight nodded.
“Well, if it truly is your nerves… It’ll wane with time. Perhaps a rest will help.” Celestia said.
“Maybe.” Twilight hung her head, not entirely buying it.
Celestia was startled awake the next morning to a knock at their hotel door. She quickly pulled on her disguise and watched as Twilight pulled herself from her sleep as well. The two exchanged glances, passing the same cautious curiosity between them.
The knocking came again a few minutes later, and ‘Prominence’ flew up to the peephole of the door while Twilight wrestled with the sheets.
Peering through the door, she saw Comet Tail standing there, shifting nervously on his hooves. Considering that he knocked for the third time now, Celestia had good faith that he wouldn’t leave. She opened the door, landing on her hooves.
“Can I help you?” She asked.
He took a moment to look a little surprised, but recovered quickly, “I want to talk to you both. About my identity.”
“Come in.” ‘Prominence’ nodded, pushing the door open a little wider and getting out of his way.
“Comet!” Twilight called as he came in, somehow managing to get one of her wings trapped in the sheets.
“Did I wake you both? Apologies.” He said formally, his tone making Twilight tilt her head a little.
“You, err, sound nervous,” Twilight said to him.
Prominence sat on her bed, “You’re right. Why’s that, Mr. Comet?”
“Drop the disguise, Celestia.” He replied bluntly, throwing them both for a loop, “You’re absolutely terrible at hiding your aura.”
His tone was surprisingly cutting to her, and Twilight would’ve been blown backward had she have been standing. Something about the Comet she knew had changed completely. His voice was deeper but somehow less assured than normal. He sat up straighter and was lightly glaring at Celestia.
“...I knew it.” Celestia said, standing and letting her disguise drop. She stood over Comet for a moment, and Twilight held back the thought that Celestia might send the Ponyville resident to the dungeons or something for talking to her like that. “It’s been some time. ...I see you’re still angry with me.”
“A thousand years is a long time to hold a grudge, don’t you think?” Comet replied, “...I’m not that kind of stallion.” He frowned, “I hear Luna’s doing well enough.”
“She is,” Celestia confirmed, and tension hung in the air for a few moments as the two passed the short, chopped retorts. Twilight was just confused at why Comet was so harsh towards Celestia. It had something to do with Luna, she guessed, and the Nightmare Moon Incident.
“Why did you fake your death, Comet?” Celestia asked him in a harsh voice, “Don’t you know how much you hurt her?! She needed you to be there with her, and you just left!” Comet’s lips drew in a flat line, his eyes narrowed with so much pressure, they were actively twitching.
“Do I have to remind you that loving her isn’t my job? You’re her sister, for Lumen’s sake! You’re the one who was supposed to keep her safe!” He snapped back defensively, “I had good reasons for leaving, Celestia, and I thought she would be safe with you!”
“What reason could you possibly have for hiding away for all of those years?!” Celestia asked with a scoff.
“Clover,” Comet said simply.
Celestia’s eyes widened, and her voice faltered, “...what about her?”
Comet bit his lip, hesitating for a moment before he looked back up to her, “I’ve been hiding away with her. Clover the Clever is still alive.”
Celestia stumbled back as Twilight’s suspicions were confirmed. “She...is?”
“She, myself, and Mage Meadowbrook.” Comet nodded, letting out a large breath after the admission, “And the other two have a dangerous plan for Equestria. I need you two to stop them.”
‘...Which one?!’ Twilight’s eyes widened, ‘There’s two Mage Meadowbrooks of Legend?!’
“The younger.” Comet said, “The Eastern Unicorn and legendary enchantress.”
“H-How?!” Celestia stuttered.
“...A magical plant called the Eternal Flower.” Comet said, looking up at her, “I found it, and used it to cure Clover of her illness. I used it on myself as well, and then we destroyed it.”
“Then how did Meadowbrook come along?” Celestia asked, “Wasn’t she born closer to 600 years after you?”
Comet sighed, “The eternal flower grows only once every year, and Clover and I go out of our way to hunt it down and destroy it every time. Meadowbrook the Younger was the only one to find Clover and I until recently. We promised her a spot in our group if she kept quiet about it. She’s impulsive, proud, and hot-headed, but a good mare in the end.”
Twilight’s eyes lit up. Three ancient mages, founders of three different branches of magical study and history were still alive?! And one of them was the student of Starswirl the Bearded! She grinned widely, her body shaking with the intense excitement that overwhelmed her, but something struck her just as quickly. That sickly feeling replaced the excitement, making her vision blurr and her head pound like an Earthquake.
“Ugh!” Twilight cried out, holding her head up against her pillow. Comet and Celestia looked over to her, both wearing matching looks of concern.
“Until re-” Celestia paused when she heard Twilight’s outburst and grimaced, “Oh no.”
“What’s ‘oh no’?” Comet asked her, looking between teacher and student worriedly.
Celestia sighed, “Twilight’s been suffering from some sort of nausea spell that seemingly comes out of nowhere. Usually, it’s only when she reads books, it’s never struck like this before.”
“It’s worse!” Twilight groaned. “I can barely see anything!”
A look of panic flashed over Comet’s face, but he seemed to reel it back, “...Have you tried healing it?” He asked Celestia.
“Usually it doesn’t strike her this badly,” Celestia said as she went to Twilight’s side to do just that. Her horn glowed a soothing yellow as she placed it on Twilight’s head.
As the intensity faded, Twilight let out a sigh of relief, and Celestia pulled away.
“At least we know that works.” Celestia nodded as she backed away and faced Comet again. He was staring at Twilight intently for some reason, face completely neutral. “...You were saying, about Clover and Meadowbrook?” She noted his poker face.
“Yes. That.” His eyes went back to Celestia, more tired than angry now, “...They plan to release and make a deal with Discord, in order to bring back Starswirl the Bearded.”
Twilight sat up with a frown, “...Erm, Comet? Discord’s already been released.”
Comet blinked, “Wait, what?!”
“Where have you been for the last, like two years?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “He has weekly tea parties with Fluttershy. He caused the Everfree forest to spread rapidly into Ponyville.”
Comet looked at her with wide eyes, and crimson washed over him like a wave, “I...I’m here more than I am at home, to be honest.” He cleared his throat.
“That explains a lot, actually,” Twilight muttered to herself.
“But… He’s out of his stone prison?” Comet asked, “They don’t know that.”
“Think it’ll throw them off?” Twilight asked.
“Only for a moment.” Comet replied with a frown, “Clover’s so desperate to find out where Starswirl’s gone to, she’ll do anything and everything. She and Meadow just recently found out a way to counter the effects of the Elements of Harmony. A powerful enchantment.” He frowned, “They’re calling it the ‘Staff of Upheaval’, and they’ll be using it soon. If not on that statue, then on something else if it fits their needs.”
The two stared at him, stunned into silence.
“Are they insane?! There’s now another artifact that can rival the elements?!” Twilight exclaimed, “Do they understand how dangerous that is?!”
“Yes.” Comet said, “And they knew it would make you both upset as well. That’s why we’ve been in hiding. It’s taken them 1000 years of trial and error to get this right.”
Celestia’s eyes widened, “‘Trial and Error’?! What have they been using this thing on, Comet?!”
Comet flinched back, biting his lip. The bad news was about to get worse.
“Riverlilly” or Mage Meadowbrook the Younger, frowned to herself.
‘They’re calling it the ‘Staff of Upheaval’, and they’ll be using it soon.’ She heard Comet say, and her lips drew back into a snarl. Her impulsive decision to sneak a seer stone into Comet’s saddlebags was a good one. It was like she could smell the idiot in him before he showed his true colors.
“I knew it… That snitch.” She growled quietly to herself, “Tail tucked between his legs, right to Celestia… We’ll have to find that chimera-demon, and fast.” She turned, poking her head out of the door, “CLOVER!” She shouted down the hall, “DISCORD’S FREE! AND HE’S IN PONYVILLE!”
“Distant Star” trotted into the room, “He is?!” The beam on her face was so bright, it might as well have been a small star, “Then we’ll be off to Ponyville, tonight!” She stamped her hoof in finality, “Think the last version of the staff will be ready by then?”
Meadow’s face curled into a nearly manic grin, “Oh, it’ll be ready, alright...”
