Tea was one of the few pleasures I had in this world. Despite ruling for thousands of years and endless bits at my disposal; I’ve found a fresh cup of tea was still the best way to relax. Yet, as I sat in my study slowly sipping at my cup, it was barely keeping my nerves at bay.
I cancelled all of my appointments for the day and even ended Day Court early, all so that Twilight and I would not be disturbed. I wouldn’t say I was worried, per se; more a feeling of relief for finally being able to share this, and fear for how Twilight was going to react.
A subtle tapping at the door brought me back from my thoughts. I set the cup down on the table and straightened myself up for the “unexpected” company. “Come in,” I called. The door creaked open and Twilight stepped through closing the door behind her. She kept her head down and her wings tight to her side as she approached the table. I could see her mind weighed heavily on her.
Without needing an invitation, Twilight took the seat opposite of me. “Sorry for coming unannounced,” Twilight said. “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
“Of course not,” I assured her, then lifted an awaiting cup, engulfed in a magical aura, from next to the teapot, and filled it to the golden brim before setting it in front of her. “I always have time for you. Now, tell me what’s on your mind?” I gave her a warm smile; Twilight returned it with a somber one of her own.
“To be honest, what’s on my mind is—you,” Twilight said as she stared into her cup of tea.
I showed no real reaction. I took a sip of my drink, having long stopped tasting anything and only drinking out of habit, and said, “I see—and what have I done to draw your attention?”
“Nothing—and that’s just it. You don’t do anything.” Twilight said, barely able to meet my eyes. “Whenever Equestria is in danger from even the smallest of things, you always send me and my friends to deal with it. When that dragon took up residence near Ponyville, instead of sending trained professionals, you sent six civilians. When Discord broke free, why was your first response to summon us? Or when Sombra returned, why weren’t the guards sent to the Crystal Empire? To be more precise, why didn’t you or Luna go? I’m sorry if I’m coming off as harsh. I’m not saying I expected you to run in and fight, like some warrior princess, but I’m just tired of feeling like a weapon being thrown at our enemies.
I can even understand some of it, when Nightmare Moon returned, if I was in your position, I’m not sure I would have gone to face her. Still, why always us? Why are we the first line of defense for Equestria?”
The room was silent as the words hung in the air. A part of me wanted to smile at seeing how mature Twilight had become. A year earlier she would’ve never been able to confront me like this, but that was neither here nor there. I set my cup back on the table and looked to address the young princess. “You're right. I stood back and let you and the other Element Bearers face the many threats to Equestria, mostly, all alone and without support.”
“But why?” Twilight asked, her voice coming out in a whisper.
I gestured to the cup sitting in front of Twilight, still yet to be touched. “You should drink your tea before it gets cold.”
As if remembering her manners, Twilight meeped out a quick apology and picked up her cup. She took a long sip and made a half smile for the sake of appearances. “Mmm, Earl Gray my favorite.” Twilight stopped and looked at her tea, her face expressing the realization of what she just said. “Earl Gray?” Twilight repeated to herself. She locked eyes with me as she said, “I’ve observed you long enough to know that Jasmine tea is your favorite; you only serve Earl Gray when I visit. Did Spike tell you I was coming?”
“No Twilight, Spike didn’t tell me you were coming. I knew, for the same reason I sent you and your friends to face danger so many times prior, as I knew you would arrive today before it ever came to pass.”
Twilight held a look of confusion on her face as she tried to make sense of this. After a moment, she managed to get her thoughts going again. “You are referring to your prophetic dreams, correct, like the time you dreamt of Tirek's escape?”
“Yes, Twilight. Do you remember what I told you when you asked how Luna’s and my prophetic dreams work?”
Twilight nodded, “Yes, you said that it was very rare, and you never saw more than small details.”
“Yes that's true, at least as far as Luna is concerned. As for me, for the last thousand years I have seen each and every day, years prior to its time,” I told her, and could see the next question on Twilight’s lips and chose to explain rather than wait. “Back before Luna was sealed away we split the work of running the government between us. For the most part, I took care of the political side of things, while Luna dealt with the military side; it was a simple system but it worked for us. When running the whole of the government fell on my shoulders, it was…overwhelming to say the least.
“You must understand Twilight, back then it wasn’t uncommon for pirates to launch raids on our shores, or for other countries to try and take Equestria’s wealth for themselves. I wasn’t much of a tactician like Luna, and I needed something to give us an advantage against our enemies. I didn’t begin dreaming in the length of years right away. It was only a few days at first, but the more I honed my ability at prophetic dreaming the greater amount of time I could see, as of now I can see ten years into the future. To answer your question more directly Twilight, I sent you and your friends into danger because it was the best possible outcome for Equestria.”
Twilight tilted her head back and swallowed the rest of her tea before setting it back on the table. “So every night you dream of everything that happens for the next ten years?”
“Not everything,” I explained. “The farther into the future the dream goes the less details I see; the future is not set in stone. But yes, basically.”
“So the dragon near Ponyville?”
“It was either send you or countless guards to their deaths just to drive it off.”
“Nightmare Moon?”
“I don’t need prophetic dreams to tell you I couldn’t beat her. I couldn’t do it on my own one thousand years ago, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it three years ago,” I answered.
“Then what about when Sombra returned?”
“You saw what Sombra had become. Numbers alone couldn’t have fought against that kind of power. Besides, sending anymore and it would have made it difficult for the Crystal Ponies to come together and activate the Heart.”
“Does Luna know about this?”
“She does—and is less than pleased. Although, I think she is more upset with herself than me,” I said, while picking up the teapot and refilling our cups. “Silly Lulu,” I whispered under my breath.
Twilight seemed calmer as she took in this information, but her ears were still laid back against her head showing her unease, as she raised her cup to her lips. On the outside I looked as calm and regal as ever, but inside I felt like I was watching a bomb ticking down. Twilight was clever. It would only be a matter of time—
“Changelings…you knew!” Twilight cried as she rose from her seat. Her eyes were lit with a fire that sought to bore a hole through me. “The entire time you knew! While my brother was being abused, while Cadence was being held in those caves, and”…she slammed her hoof on the table…“you did nothing!”
And there it was. “Yes Twilight, it’s just like you say. I knew the moment Cadence was foalnapped and I did nothing. Nor did I do anything while Shining Armor was Chrysalis' plaything. But I wouldn’t say I did nothing at all. I was the one who sent the anonymous warning about the attack, though that was all I could do, as much as I wanted to blast Chrysalis every time she smiled at me with Cadence’s face—I couldn't. The warning was all I dared to do.”
“Tell me why!” Twilight cried. Her wings were spread out to her sides in a display of intimidation, but her breathing was already calming down.
I let out a sigh and set my cup down. “There are points in time where the near endless futures converge into only a few possibilities before diverging back again—the Nexus. I saw two possible outcomes. The first being if I had stopped Chrysalis' plan from the start and driven her forces out of Equestria, Chrysalis would have simply switch to open warfare. It would have been the bloodiest war in Equestria’s history.”
Twilight let her forehooves ease her back down into the seat. As her shoulders relaxed, she continued to stare harshly at me. After a moment, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly; when her eyes open once again she asked, “And the other outcome?”
“The other outcome was, as you know, to let Chrysalis infiltrate Canterlot. With the Changeling army broken Chrysalis will have no choice but to look for other methods to feed her people, but she is stubborn and prideful. It will not be for a few more years, but when Chrysalis’ daughter comes of age she will begin to pressure her mother to sue for peace with us. It will take time but eventually Chrysalis will come around; pride means only so much in the face of a starving populace. What will follow in the coming years will be an alliance between our two nations, and as far as the dreams will let me see, it will be one that is stronger than any we have ever had.”
Twilight’s mouth hung open, “We're going to ally with the Changelings?”
“I know it must sound strange given our current relationship with them, but as long as things stay on course, then yes, we will be allies with them,” I said, giving a soft smile as I thought about that day. “Twilight, I’m not asking for forgiveness. Standing back and watching as Shining Armor and Cadence went through that was only one of hundreds of difficult decisions I’ve had to make over the centuries, but that was one of the hardest. All I want is for you to try to understand.”
Twilight fiddled with her hooves; uncertainty written on her face. “I think I do,” she said. “I can’t say I would do things the same way as you—honestly I don’t know what I would have done. Have you told Cadence and Shiny yet?”
“I will speak with them about it next week. Shining Armor will be quite upset, but Cadence will be more understanding.”
Twilight lightly chuckled to herself. “Of course you would know. Have you ever thought of stopping the dreams?”
“Once or twice,” I answered casually. Images of sleepless nights and rivers of coffee flashed before my mind. “It’s surprising what you can get use to, but at this point it’s out of my hooves; it has become a natural part of my magic, much like Luna’s dream walking.”
Twilight was quiet for a moment. I could see from the way she bit her lip that there was something she wanted to ask but was unsure. Her curiosity won out. "Celestia, what's it like seeing the future?"
My eyes drifted over to a bookshelf as I thought of the best way to describe it. "It's like watching water flow through sand; breaking off from the main body to form new streams, only to repeat endlessly. But other times it's like watching a train heading straight for me—as I wait, watching from the nexus, all the paths it will take before it collides."
"Celestia, are you ok?" Twilight asked a bit worried.
I brought my focus back to Twilight and reassured her. "Yes, Twilight. I'm perfectly fine."
“So now what? Is there some new threat to Equestria I need to know about?”
I put on the “motherly mask” and smiled, but I knew my eyes would remain exposed. There was no hiding their dull luster. “Nothing of the sort. Let us finish our tea, then you can go back to your whimsical days as Princess of Friendship, and I will return to my ever-increasingly predictable days.”
