Twilight sat uncomfortably at the small wooden table, on a pillow, sipping her herbal tea. She looked around the royal library nervously. She rocked back and forth and bit her lip. Today was the day. Tea with the princess, alone, in the library that she had always played with Celestia in as a filly. If there was ever a time to ask, it was now. So, she mustered up her courage, and, in a shaky, voice called out.
"Princess?"
"Hold on, Twilight! I've almost got it!"
The princess's voice called out from a far part of the library. The princess was practically buried in a pile of books, looking through them. "That's odd," Celestia murmured. "I could have sworn that I had the Encyclopedia Griffinicana around here somewhere."
Twilight stopped biting her lip for just enough time to get the words out. "It's not that! It's just- I just- Well, um..." Twilight trailed off after a series of stutters.
Celestia gave Twilight an odd look. "What is it, Twilight? You know that you can ask me anything, right? So out with it, dear, don't be afraid!" The princess gave Twilight a warm and encouraging smile.
Twilight took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down Calm, Twilight. You can do this. Just ask her. She can't be offended, and it wouldn't hurt to ask. Right? Right. You are her student, and she loves you. Yeah. You've got this. "Well, Princess, what I've been meaning to ask you is, um, well, not to intrude on your privacy or anything..."
"Yes, Twilight?" responded Celestia, with seemingly abundant patience. Must be from being a princess thought Twilight quietly. But that doesn't matter right now.
"Well for a long time now I've just had to wonder- where did you and Luna come from?! Like, you're ALICORN PRINCESSES! Did you have a mother and father? Who were they?!" Twilight blurted it all out in a split second, then flinched. Celestia's eyes widened. "Well, that was... Unexpected." said Celestia, in shock.
She's gonna kill me! I never should have asked! I'm doomed! She'll send me to the moon! Twilight, still flinching, dared to open one eye and peek out at her mentor, who, other than being shocked, looked perfectly fine.
Celestia looked at her frightened student and smiled her warm smile, melting Twilight's fears. "My dearest Twilight, there is no need to be afraid. You asked a question, out of curiosity. That's a good thing, representing your wish to learn."
Twilight stared at her teacher with a look of relief mixed with wonder. "So... you aren't mad? You're not going to send me to the moon? Or lock me in the dungeon? Or send me back to... MAGIC KINDERGARTEN?!" At the words "magic kindergarten," Twilight shuddered and flinched back again.
Celestia looked at her student for a moment, then let out a hearty yet elegant laugh. "Oh Twilight. I'm not going to do any of those things! You, of all ponies, should know that! In fact, I believe a description of my childhood is in order." Celestia, by this point had stopped laughing and had begun to look a little grim. "Yes, I always knew this day was coming. I had not expected it to come so soon..." Celestia paused and looked at Twilight with pride clearly visible in her eyes. "My, how you've grown, my faithful student. And I've seen all of it. Why, now you're even a princess. I'm just so proud of you..." she trailed off for a few moments, before resuming in a less sentimental tone. "The least I can give you is an explanation of my childhood, if you really wish to know."
Twilight was about to nod her head excitedly and break out in a chorus of yeses, but she paused. What does she mean "If you really wish to know?" Is there something that I may regret learning of? But all learning is good, right? Well, unless it's dark magic- Twilight! You're getting distracted! The princess is waiting for you to make a decision! But what if there's something I will wish I hadn't learned? I just don't-
Twilight's inner dialogue was interrupted by Princess Celestia. "Twilight, I'm not pressuring you to make a split-second decision, you may have all the time you need to decide. I am telling you this, though, some events in my upbringing may change the way you think of me, and even your view on the world. It's up to you whether you wish for that or not, and no one can decide that for you."
Twilight looked into her hero and mentor's eyes. Mesmerizing. Maybe I should wait. I mean, do I really want a different view than I already have on the world? But, Celestia has a different view, and she's considered to be wiser. Well, that and the fact that she's, like, 3,000 years old- No, you've been wondering for weeks, months, years even! Ever since you were a filly! You can't change your mind now, you'll regret it forever! This is your big chance! Take it! You can't go back now! And with that, Twilight knew exactly what she wanted.
"If it's all the same, princess, I really wish to know." Twilight looked sincerely into her mentor's eyes as she spoke, but this time she didn't have to force her voice not to stutter, nor did she question her decision, for her mind was completely made up. She had to know about Celestia and Luna's origins.
Celestia gazed upon her student with admiration. "Very well." She said, her voice was smooth and soothing, washing over Twilight like a wave of relief, and taking away all of her tension. "Meet me here tomorrow morning. We shall begin there. Is that alright with you, my faithful student?" Twilight nodded and smiled. "Okay, then. It's a date!" Celestia leaned down, and hugged her student.
"I hope you will always remember how proud I am of you, and if you ever need anything, please, don't hesitate to ask." Celestia said kindly to Twilight as her student walked out the door to the library.
"Goodbye princess!" called Twilight, looking behind her and waving with her right hoof to Celestia. "I'll see you tomorrow morning!" And with that, the giddy student turned the corner and was gone, leaving Celestia alone in the library.
Author's Note
Hey there! So, this is my first chapter of my first fanfic! I hope you enjoyed it, and I just wanted to clarify on a few things about this fic. First off, my formatting and grammar may not be perfect, as I'm only really used to typing up essays on word. Any of my creative works were only ever done on paper, and this is my first fanfic ever. Also, this story was largely inspired by this picture. I saw it while looking at some random mlp comics last year, and since then the story has been growing. Now, I've never been a very large contributor to any fandoms, but this story just popped out to me in my head, so I attempted to make some comics of it. Not a good idea. All of my ponies looked like run-over llamas. But, I've always been a fairly good writer, so I figured I'd give this a shot! I just had to share it somewhere! Well, there you go, chapter one of The Origin of Celestia and Luna (I may come up with a better name later...) Bye!
P.S.: THIS IS NOT IN ANY WAY A SHIP OF LUNAxCELESTIA OR TWILESTIA. It may or may not contain Dislestia later on, but I'm still deciding.
"Sister?!"
Luna's worried voice echoed through the empty halls. It was 6:00, and Celestia was still nowhere to be found. She wasn't on the sun-raising pavilion, or on the balcony of the sun and moon. It wasn't a special event, so she wouldn't be in the ceremonial gardens. Darn it, Tia! Where in Equestria is she?!
As Luna thought, she walked into the Canterlot Public Library, only to find Twilight Sparkle sitting, with a book out in front of her. "Hello, Twilight," said Luna, in her best casual voice. It was still so odd to greet her as a friend.
Startled, Twilight looked up from her book. "Oh! Hello, Princess Luna! What are you doing here? The library's closed!" She clearly looked embarrassed at asking a royal princess, who could go anywhere and do anything, a question like that. After a nervous laugh, Twilight spoke again. "Sorry, just used to being a librarian! So, what are you doing here? You look like you're in a hurry."
Luna, relieved at having a pony other than Celestia who wasn't afraid of her, smiled and said "Well, I was actually looking for my sister. I don't suppose you've seen her, have you? You are her student, after all, and you did have tea with her today, did you not? So perhaps you would know where she is?"
Twilight blinked, then responded slowly. "Last I saw her, she was in her library, the Library of the Sun, you know, where we had tea." she said. Then, added with a confused tone, "Why? Is she not where she would normally be? Isn't there a place for, like, raising the sun and stuff?" But as she looked back to where Luna had been, she was gone. Guess she went after Celestia to the library. Oh well, she'll probably come find me if anything is really wrong. Thought Twilight, as she went back to her book.
~~~~~~~~~~
Luna raced down the halls leading to the Library of the Sun. Why was she in there? Why not the sun-raising pavilion, not the balcony of sun and moon, not even in the ceremonial garden, or any garden for that matter! Yes, there was a fully glass wall in Celestia's library, Luna supposed she could lower from there, but still! She had scared her out of her mind! What would she do if Celestia wasn't there?! No, thought Luna. Celestia is there. Celestia has to be there! As she rounded a corner, Luna called out.
"Sister?! Sister are you there?!"
Celestia's voice came echoing from deep within the library, near the glass wall. "Yes, Luna, I am here, do not worry." She sounded a little exasperated, noted Luna.
Luna followed Celestia's voice to the back of the library, where she found her sister staring out of the huge glass window, slowly lowering the sun. "Sister? Are you... okay?" asked Luna, after watching Celestia for a moment. "Yes," responded Celestia, not turning to look at Luna for fear of messing up the sun.
"Why are you here?!" asked Luna, both relieved and angry. "Why are you not on the sun-raising pavilion? Or the balcony of the Sun and Moon? Or even the ceremonial gardens?!" at this, Luna began to get worked up. "Do you have any idea how worried WE WERE FOR THOU?!"
Celestia finally paused and looked at Luna, who was panting from the last part of her sentence.
"Luna, you're doing it again..."
"WHAT ARE WE DOING AGAIN, DEAR SISTER?"
"The Canterlot royal voice, sister..."
"WHAT? WE ARE NOT- Oh. Sorry, Tia. We got... er... worked up."
"It's fine, Luna. Even I slip up now and then."
"But, Tia, why were you up here? We--I was worried sick"
Celestia managed a small smile. The last thing she wanted was for Luna to worry. Luna would most likely become hysterical or freak out very quickly if Celestia didn't at least try to reassure her.
"Well, Luna, I... um... she, er, asked me today"
"Asked you? Of what, sister? Who asked you the question that worries you so?"
"Twilight. She asked me of our, um, origins"
Luna looked at Celestia with a face of confusion that quickly transformed into shock.
"What did you tell her, dear sister? You did tell her the stories we made up, correct?"
At that sentence, Celestia winced. Yes, it was true that long ago, once they found out that they alone would be Equestria's rulers, they used bits of folktales and culture to piece together a non-offensive background story that could not be used against them. But, Twilight would see through that. Heck, Celestia had taught her student the ability to see through that. Besides, Twilight deserved to know. If she couldn't trust her most faithful student, who could she trust?
"No, Luna" sighed Celestia. "I... She deserves to know."
Luna looked at Celestia as if she was insane, but as the information sank in, she slowly nodded.
"I suppose you are right, dear sister. She has been your student for practically her whole life. If anyone's earned an explanation, she has."
Celestia bowed her head in agreement. As the room was bathed in a sunset glow, she sighed and turned back to the window. Truth was, she wasn't quite sure what to do with Luna. She loved her sister. She loved her more than anything in the world, and she would rather die than lose her for another thousand years. But Luna was still unstable, and Celestia could see it plainly. If she decided to sit in on the telling of the story, it could tip her off the edge again, or at least restart the cycle. As if reading her sister's thoughts, Luna turned her focus away from the window and towards Celestia.
"I was thinking about going to Ponyville tomorrow, since it seems that you'll be busy. I'm not sure what's going to happen if I listen in on your memories, but I'm also unsure of whether or not I wish to find out."
Celestia smiled weakly and concentrated on the lowering sun.
"That sounds like a lovely idea. What do you plan on doing there?"
"Oh, Rarity asked me to come to tea sometime this month, so I was going to write her and tell her about tomorrow. Maybe I could tell them my views of the story."
"That's a wonderful idea, Luna." Smiled Celestia, turning to her sister who had just begun to raise the moon. "But, if I am just telling Twilight, maybe we should let the story sink in for a while. I don't want a rebellion over a fake story being told, or rumors rising up all over Equestria."
Luna nodded in agreement. That was a possibility, and it was one they certainly didn't want.
"Alright then, the backstory's off. We can just discuss current events and such. It will still be an outing, and any time spent with friends is a fun time, correct?"
Celestia laughed and ruffled her little sister's hair.
"Correct, Luna. Do you want me to help with the stars, tonight?"
"Only because I have tea with Rarity tomorrow at ten o'clock! Otherwise, I could totally handle this on my own!"
Celestia let out another laugh and began to raise several stars.
"Oh, Luna. Sometimes I feel that you haven't changed a bit. Why in Equestria would I worry when I have you here?"
Celestia's voice shook on the last part of the sentence, causing Luna to look over and see the tears streaming down her sister's face.
"Oh my gosh, Tia! Are you okay?!"
"Those... were... the... longest... thousand... years... of my... life!" She said, shaking. "I'm so sorry, Luna!"
Luna dropped the stars and nuzzled her older sister.
"Sshh... it's okay, Tia. It's okay. You did the right thing, I know it, and so does Twilight. Especially after tomorrow."
"Thank you, Luna. I'm just so glad that it's all over now."
The rest of the night was spent in silence, raising the stars and bathing the night in a beautiful crystal moonlight, as Celestia mentally prepared for tomorrow, and Luna pondered the many questions of friendship. Both sisters had a very, very big day ahead of them.
