Twilight Sparkle sat in the upper floor her library, early at night. Spike was unpacking the last of her things from Canterlot, which had recently arrived. Now she could properly get settled. Although Twilight had only been in Ponyville for a short time, she had already grown attached to the place.
As Spike worked he adhered to carefully detailed instructions that Twilight had compiled on where everything must go. Twilight was seated at her desk, with an unexpected delivery engulfed in the unicorn’s purple magic. It was a gift from her parents, and inside the parcel were a collection of old family photos. The photos depicted many years in her life, most of them were from her days as a filly. Each shot brought back a flood of memories for Twilight as she looked through them. There was one of her laughing with Cadence during one of her numerous foalsitting days. Another one showed Shining Armor leaving for the Royal Guard Academy. Twilight was grateful that her parents had sent her something to remember home; she made a mental note to thank them later. The next photo was the happiest day of her life – the day she got her Cutie Mark. In the photo were her parents with proud expressions on their faces, filly Twilight barely able to contain her excitement, Princess Celestia looking regal and Spike, having been hatched several minutes ago. Twilight smiled at the memory.
However, the following picture soon dashed that. It brought tears to her eyes. The levitation spell carrying the photos broke, and they fell to the desk. Hearing this, Spike stopped working and went over to Twilight.
When Spike noticed her sobs, he asked,
“Are you OK?” with concern for her wellbeing.
Twilight didn’t reply. She carried Spike up to her chair in a field of magic. She gestured to the photo that had made her cry. Spike looked at it and saw Twilight’s parents with a foal he didn’t recognize.
“Who is that?” He inquired.
“You were too young to remember.” Twilight said.
Looking down at Spike, she knew he needed an explanation. Twilight began to recount the story behind the photo.
Twilight came home from her first day at the School for Gifted Unicorns. She ran through the front door and into the kitchen where her parents - Velvet and Night Light, greeted her. Night Light had come home early to see his daughter.
The trio shared an embrace as Twilight almost leapt into their open forelegs but not before letting Spike get off her back and letting him sit on the floor. After breaking apart, Velvet started the conversation.
“How was your first day?”
Immediately, the filly launched into describing her day. “It was fantastic, mommy! Princess Celestia showed me many magic spells. I can’t do all of them yet, but I’ll get there! She gave me lots of books to read and I can’t wait to start them!”
The words came out so fast her parents could barely keep up. They were glad to see Twilight so eager to learn and still found it hard to believe that the sovereign ruler of Equestria was the personal teacher to their daughter.
Once Twilight had finished telling her parents about her first day, Velvet and Night Light stoop up straight as if they had an announcement to make.
“Twilight, we’ve got something important to tell you,” Velvet began.
Twilight snapped to attention readily anticipating whatever it was her parents had to say.
“You’re going to have a new brother or sister!”
Twilight took a moment to process the news before she jumped up in delight. It made Velvet’s next words unnecessary.
“I’m pregnant.”
Twilight was bouncing around the room just like she had done a week earlier when she got her Cutie Mark.
“I’m 9 months along. I was so caught up in writing my latest novel that I didn’t find out until a few days ago. Now seemed like the perfect time to tell you.”
“Does Shining know?” Twilight asked.
It was Night Light who answered. “We’ll tell him next time he’s back from the Royal Guard Academy.”
When the conversation was over, Twilight picked up Spike and trotted up to her room. Her saddlebag was full of books that Celestia had assigned to her and she needed to read every one of them as soon as possible. Twilight was incredibly happy with her life. Her studies of magic had begun well and she would have a new sibling in 3 months. The only thing she wasn’t happy with was not being able to see her brother, or BBBFF as Twilight liked to call him, as much ever since he had started training the Royal Guard Academy. A small part of her suspected she would see him even less so now that she was attending the School for Gifted Unicorns, but Twilight didn’t want to think about that so she put it out of her mind.
Over the next 3 months, Twilight studied hard. Her time at the School was divided between private lessons with Princess Celestia and regular lessons with other ponies. When she wasn’t at the School, she devoted every spare minute of her time to reading, doing homework or practicing magic. Twilight never got lonely during the long hours studying; she always had Spike for company, even though he couldn’t talk yet. Twilight cared for Spike, washed him and fed him. Some teachers at the School raised concerns about a dragon being tended by a filly, and living out of his natural environment. But Celestia allowed it. Twilight’s de facto adoption of Spike hadn’t meant to happen, she just decided to take him home after her entrance exam. Nopony, apart from Celestia and her parents, seemed to notice at the time and Spike was evidently happy living with Twilight.
Twilight was rapt with concentration as she attempted to slice an apple into quarters using magic. She activated the spell and the apple divided into four equal pieces. She looked up at her mentor, who nodded in satisfaction.
“Very good, my faithful student.” Celestia said. “You’ve progressed faster than any student I’ve taught.
Twilight smiled at the compliment. All her hard work was worth it. The time was getting near for Velvet to deliver her foal; everypony expected the birth to come any day now. Celestia had already promised to let Twilight have some time off so she could see her new brother or sister.
“Now,” Celestia continued, “let’s go over your homework assignment for next week.”
But before she could go on, a there was a knock on the door.
“Enter,” She said flatly. The Princess never liked having her lessons interrupted, although it happened whenever an issue needed her urgent attention.
One of the teaching assistants, a unicorn mare, came in. She floated over a note that Celestia took in her magic.
“Twilight, it seems your mother has had a foal, you are needed at the hospital.” She announced, reading the note. She keept her composure, but was unable to suppress a smile.
Although Twilight had been expecting the news, she still felt a shock run through her body. Quickly, Twilight collected her saddlebag and went to the corner where Spike had been sitting. She knelt for him to climb onto her back because she wasn’t strong enough yet to levitate the dragon.
Twilight then bolted out of the School and into the streets of Canterlot. She was used to travelling fast, because the faster she got home, the more time she had for reading. But now she galloped faster than she ever had to get to the hospital.
Inside the hospital, she didn’t stop for breath when she asked the receptionist “Where are the Sparkles?”
The receptionist, not used to having fillies enter the hospital alone, answered cautiously. “Room 54B, down the corridor, then turn left.”
Twilight wasted no time in dashing to the specified room. She burst through the door to see Shining Armor, who was on leave from the Royal Guard Academy, Night Light and on the bed with a new-born foal in her forelegs, Velvet.
Twilight crossed the room towards her family, with a wide smile on her face. Shining and Night Light greeted her with a hug, but Twilight broke it off quickly because she was desperate to see the foal. Shining levitated Spike to the floor and Night Light took off her saddlebag for her.
Velvet spoke as Twilight closed the distance. She was extremely tired having given birth recently, but still made an effort to for her daughter. “Hello, Twilight. We contacted the School immediately.”
The foal she held in her hooves was a filly with bright blue coat and white mane. She was sleeping in her mother’s forelegs, wrapped in a blanket. “Meet Star Sparkle, the newest member of our family.”
Twilight stood on her hind legs and put her fore hooves on the bed to get a better view. Seeing her new sibling up close for the first time, she squealed in delight. That Star woke up and she burst into tears. Velvet began gently rocking the foal and made soothing noises but Twilight was already comforting her.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry. My name is Twilight, I’m your sister and I love you.” Star calmed down a bit at that. Twilight leaned in near and kissed her. Star stopped crying completely.
“She’s already taken a shine to you.” Velvet remarked as she put Star in Twilight’s hooves.
Twilight set Star down on the floor, leaning against the bed. She then bopped Star on the nose. She had never seen anything so cute. Star was clearly enjoying herself, so Twilight bopped again. Star responded by laughing and Twilight clapped her hooves. She pulled her sister into a tight embrace.
Several hours later, a doctor came in. “We’ve finished analysing the data we from the earlier tests and it turns out we need to keep the foal here for a few days due to some minor health problems. It doesn’t look serious, but we need to be sure.” He informed them.
“I’ll stay with you.” Night Light said to Velvet, who had Star back in her legs. She nodded in response.
“Shining, can you take Twilight home?” Velvet asked.
“I can get myself home!” Twilight protested.
“Alright, mom.” Shining answered, ignoring Twilight. “We’ll visit you tomorrow.”
Twilight and Shining said their goodbyes, which consisted of much kissing and hugging, before setting off.
Despite her earlier objection, Twilight was glad to spend some alone time with her brother. A sleeping Spike lay on her back; he had drifted off in the hospital. Strapped on Shining’s back was Twilight’s saddlebag. As they walked they talked. Most of the conversation concerned their sibling.
“She’s just like you when you were born.” Shining commented.
“She’ll be my Small Sister Best Friend Forever, or SSBFF… no that doesn’t sound so good.” Twilight said.
Twilight and Shining also used the time to catch up on each other. Twilight told him about her studies and Shining told her what training to be a Royal Guard was like. Shining was missing Princess Cadence, the one he loved. The two had been seeing each other less often as they got older. Cadence had to take on an increasing number of Royal duties, leaving little time for Shining. Currently, she was overseeing a ceremony marking the foundation of Manehatten. Shining wished she were here now; he knew how much she loved foals. Although Twilight was too old for a foalsitter, he reckoned that Cadence would be foalsitting Star before long. Shining had promised to make Cadence his Special Somepony as soon as he graduated from the Academy.
Once they got home, Twilight and Shining made dinner and continued their earlier discussions before going to bed.
The next day, Twilight was once again in a private lesson with Celestia. Her horn glowed as she pieced together a jigsaw puzzle entirely by magic, watched closely by Celestia.
Without warning, the door to the room opened and the teaching assistant from yesterday came in, not bothering to gain the Princess’ permission first. The grim expression on her face alerted Celestia that something wasn’t right. The unicorn mare presented her with a note inside a blue field. Upon reading the letter, Celestia’s face also became grim.
Celestia inhaled. Even with 1000 years of experience, doing this never got any easier. “Twilight,” She began. “I’m afraid your sister is dead.”
Tears welled up in Twilight’s eyes. Her ears drooped down. The levitation spell broke and the jigsaw pieces suspended in the air crashed to the floor. She turned around and ran out of the School, forgetting about Spike and her saddlebag. The pegasi had made an overdue rainfall that day, but Twilight didn’t care about her coat getting soaked on her journey, she was too upset.
Twilight galloped to the hospital, not stopping at the reception and into the room where her family had been staying. She saw Shining, Night Light and Velvet, all looking distraught. On a cot, with a blanket over her, was the corpse of Star Sparkle. Twilight trotted up to the cot. Star’s eyes had been shut. Her still, lifeless form was nothing like the happy foal she was yesterday. For Twilight, this couldn’t be happening. Star was only a day old and dead already. Twilight couldn’t believe it, she didn’t want to believe it. She nudged Star with a hoof but her sister remained motionless. Twilight’s tears wetted Star’s body as they fell into the cot.
“No.” Twilight said, unable to find any other words to express how she felt.
Shining and Night Light approached her, with Night Light extending a foreleg, intending to hug her. But Twilight recoiled.
Finally, she couldn’t take it any more. “NO!” she yelled and ran out of the room, out of the hospital and onto the streets of Canterlot. In her grief, she didn’t care where she was running to, just that she got away.
“Twily, wait!” Shining called after her. He gave chase but by the time he got outside, his sister was nowhere in sight. Blinking the rain out of his eyes, he trotted back to his parents.
“Twilight’s gone.” He told them in a mournful voice. The remaining Sparkles had shed many tears earlier at the death, now that one of their own was missing, they threatened to reappear. Canterlot was a huge city, and very easy for a filly to get lost.
“I just lost one daughter, I’m not losing another.” Velvet said, barely able to get the words out.
Shining thought for a moment, and when he next spoke, he spoke with resolution. “I can enlist the help of the Royal Guard to find her, my credentials as a cadet should be enough. And the Princess won’t want her student missing.” With that he left the hospital, determined to do everything he could to have his sister found.
Shining Armor reasoned that Princess Celestia would still be at the School for Gifted Unicorns, so cantered over there – he could get there faster than it would take to send a message. Once inside he found the squad of Royal Guards who accompanied Celestia on most of her travels. Shining approached the guards and showed them his cadet badge.
“There’s a filly who’s lost and I would be very grateful if the Royal Guard could help find her.” He told them.
The lead guard almost snorted. “We’ve got more important things to do than look for fillies.”
“The Princess needs to know.” Shining protested.
“You should know better than to waste her time with inconsequential matters. What kind of horsefeathers do they teach you at the Academy these days?” The lead guard made no attempt to hide his frustration.
“Guards, let him speak.” Celestia said. Despite her size, nopony had noticed her coming up behind them. The guards stood to attention as she approached Shining.
“Princess,” He bowed his head.
“Now, what were you saying about a missing filly?” She could guess what he was about to say.
“It’s Twilight. She ran off after… after…” Shining’s throat ceased up and he found that he couldn’t finish his sentence.
“I see. You go back to your family, I’ll find Twilight. Don’t forget about Spike, she left him here.” She waved a hoof at the guards, dismissing them. Shining nodded and, felt better knowing that he could reassure his parents that the highest authority in the land was searching for his sister.
Celestia knew a spell that allowed her to locate anypony, but needed something of the pony’s to do that. She decided that Spike would suffice. She trotted back to the room where Spike had been left, as Shining was about to pick him up. She performed the spell, thinking of Twilight and she did so. Once it was done, she went outside the School and took off into the air.
Twilight had taken shelter from the rain in an abandoned, decrepit building on a rundown street in one of Canterlot’s poorer districts. She was underneath a table, on her knees. In her grief, she had lost her way and now had no idea where she was. Her tears had subsided by then. Celestia landed outside the building trotted inside.
Celestia leaned down, bringing her muzzle close to the filly.
“Twilight, why did you run away like that?” She spoke, keeping her voice soft.
“Star is dead! She never had a chance to live! It’s not fair! We were going to be best sister friends… we were… we were…” Twilight trailed off, bursting into tears again.
“Losing a sibling is never easy, Twilight.” Doing her best to be comforting. She lifted up Twilight’s chin in her hoof. Celestia remembered her own sister, and knew that she would see her again one day, but now Twilight had had her sister taken away forever.
“What happens to ponies after they die?” Twilight looked her mentor in the eye. Celestia answered honestly.
“I don’t know. But as long as you remember them, they’ll never truly go away. You will keep Star alive in your heart.”
Twilight got to her hooves, trotted out from under the table and hugged Celestia’s flowing mane. Celestia wrapped her forelegs around the filly. Twilight wept into her mane. The memory of Star hurt, but Celestia was right; it was one worth keeping alive. Celestia nuzzled the filly. Twilight stopped crying after several minutes.
“Your family need you, Twilight. They are grieving like you. Families should be together when times are tough.”
Twilight only nodded in response.
“Come on, I’ll take you back to them.”
Celestia levitated Twilight onto her back and once outside the building, she took off into the sky.
“I had no idea.” Spike said as Twilight finished the story. He was surprised that there had been a Sparkle family member he had never known.
“Mom never did like talking about that.” Twilight looked back at the photo. “This is one of the few photos of Star. I didn’t think mom would send it, because it means a lot to her….. As Celestia told me to, I’ll never forget.”
It had also been the first time that Twilight saw Celestia not just a teacher and sovereign, but as a surrogate mother.
Author's Note
This is my first fic, so feedback is much appreciated.