Twilight Sparkle wondered many things while she walked the halls of Canterlot Castle. She had let the talk with Sunset Shimmer rest overnight, and kept the envelope Sunset had given her safely tucked away under one of her wings. She had found a sigil burned over the flap, more than likely the result of the flash of magic Sunset had used yesterday; and despite her knowledge of many noble houses and ancient markings, she was still unfamiliar with the marking on the envelope. She quickly moved past the castle's checkpoints after teleporting inside, since she was allowed throughout most of the castle without question excluding the most secure areas. Outside her old classroom, she hesitated. She had arranged this meeting earlier in the morning, but she couldn’t ignore the slight shuffling of her wings that accompanied any serious meeting with the Princess. She knocked a few times before the door opened and the serene voice of Princess Celestia seemed to waft through the room. "Come in Twilight."

Twilight Sparkle moved into the tea room. A shrill cry rang throughout the room as a rush of red feathers clouded her vision and a pair of talons landed softly on her mane. Celestia let out a soft chuckle. "I see you've visited Sunset recently."

Twilight nodded, raising a hoof to rub at Philomena's head. "Yes, in fact, she told me a whole lot of things I didn't know." Celestia didn't flinch, simply pouring a second cup of tea. Twilight stepped forward, sitting across from the small table. "And I have some very important questions for you."

Celestia paused, grabbing her teacup with the soft golden glow of magic. "Really? Well ask away then. I will be as honest as possible."

Twilight nodded, this was going smoother than she hoped. First things first though, context is everything. "Well, Sunset ran into a bit of trouble." Celestia raised a single eyebrow, and Twilight dove in, taking it as a sign to continue. "Somepony framed her, and she kinda got left on her own. And since she was left there on her own, she feels lonely and isolated right now."

There were no sudden eye twitches or curling of lips on Celestia's face, instead, she simply stirred her tea; a levitated spoon, counterclockwise. But Twilight's eyes were drawn to the tea itself. It was boiling. Celestia cleared her throat softly. "So her friends abandoned her?"

Twilight spoke quickly, trying to ignore the boiling tea. "Yes, though one had shown up to apologize when I arrived. But, that's just context. The important thing is what she said when I was leaving." Celestia looked impassive, while Twilight could feel beads of sweat beginning to form under her fur. Even through the increasing nerves, she didn’t falter, this was for Sunset, and if her hunch was right, she needed to get Sunset home. And if that meant staring down Celestia, then so be it. "She said you had lied."

Celestia's regal mask cracked. Her eyes widened a sliver, and Twilight was suddenly much more fidgety with her wings and hooves. Celestia had lied. The mare she had spent her whole life emulating had lied, to her, and if Celestia could lie to her, could she lie to her nation just as easily? Celestia's voice remained steady, her only crack vanishing in an instant. "Well, that's interesting. What did she say I lied about?"

Twilight studied the room as if an assassin was waiting, ready for when she spoke next. "She was," she paused and swallowed the saliva that had quickly built along the inside of her mouth. "She was a bit cagey about it. She said that she was a magus, and a respected one at that. And that either you lied to her, or me." Twilight licked her lips and studied Celestia's expression, or the lack thereof. "Then she said for me to tell you, and I'm quoting here, 'that you either lied to her or me, and unless you get off your cake-filled flank and come to my house and say otherwise, she's gonna assume you lied to her. And that until you do go there and tell her that you lied to me, that she will not come back.'

Celestia dropped her regal mask and bit her lip in a frown. "Oh." The two sat in silence until Twilight decided to break it by pulling out the envelope and placed it on the table. Celestia grabbed it, her horn glowing as the sigil burned over the fold of the envelope glowed softly. Celestia hesitated before tearing the letter open. Twilight studied the Solar Princes as she began to read. The further Celestia read, the more she winced and cringed at the letter's contents.

By the time Celestia had finished the letter, pain and regret were etched all over her face. Tears threatened to escape her eyes as she set the letter down on the table. Then her hair sparked. Twilight flinched as her mentor's face morphed from sorrow to rage in a blink of an eye. She thought she heard a snarl, but when Celestia spoke, her voice was eerily calm, as though it was laced with an edge she had never heard from her beloved mentor before. "Princess Twilight Sparkle. What is the name of the scribe who wrote the order you found?"

"C-Clear Writ." The words escaped her lips before she had even realized what she had said.

Celestia's mane smoldered. The rope she tugged on with her magic had begun to burn, smoke gathering in the area. A moment later, the door behind her opened. "KIBITZ, FIND ME CLEAR WRIT! BRING HIM TO MY OFFICE ON THE TOP FLOOR TO BE DEALT WITH AT MY CHOOSING!" Before Kibitz had a chance to leave, Twilight rubbed her flattened ears and watched as Celestia's mane faltered. “Wait,” her voice stumbled as she shook her head, "As soon as my sister awakens, please send her to me. I will also need to leave for a while, and she will need to take my place."

There was an affirmative harumph from behind Twilight, and the door shut. A deafening silence filled the room once more. Then a faint sniffle from the Princess of the Sun, as she broke the stone facade she so often wore. Twilight stared at Celestia who had slowly began to look back up at her. There was a thin trail of wet fur under underneath her moist eyes that betrayed her attempts at maintaining her normal stoic expression. "I-” She shook her head using a hoof to wipe the residue off her face. “Twilight, Sunset Shimmer was right. A lie by omission is as much of a lie as any." Celestia stood up, and glanced at Twilight before she slowly trudged to the bookshelf on the nearby wall. "It is well known that I occasionally adopt a foal. Once every few generations, a foal will captivate me, and become as much of a child to me as if I had given birth to them myself."

Celestia fixated on a single book, raising a hoof to gently stroke its spine. "Sunset Shimmer; she had such a hard life before she came to my care. Her parents had already died and the ponies who were charged with raising her had ignored all her needs to focus solely on their birthed son. She scraped what she could off the streets, earning just enough bits stealing and selling what she could, just to afford the test to get into my school.” Celestia sighed, and turned to face Twilight. "And she amazed me, Twilight. Oh she amazed me. The single most powerful unicorn I had ever seen. I was stunned. I couldn’t help but make her my student right then and there."

Twilight watched as something clicked in the back of her mind. Her eyes widened as she realized the true meaning of what she was asked to do, and why she was here. Celestia, ignorant of Twilight, kept talking. "But I made a mistake, an oh-so-stupid mistake. I introduced her to court when she was young. So early. Too early. And yet, she took to it like a moth to a flame. She learned how to speak to others; pandering to nobles and working backroom deals." Celestia moved to a small display that contained a cracked shield. "Before I had even noticed, she was stuck in the same patterns that I was in over a thousand years ago. "

Celestia lightly touched the glass. "I thought she might realize her problems the same way I was forced to; hunt monsters and save ponies. And I had hoped she would discover that court is just an equally important method for saving others." Celestia sighed. "But it didn't work. Sunset- she loved the work. The sole reason why she never became a fully fledged magus was because of me, and my own fear for her. I’d constantly stonewall her, hoping my little filly would just take the safer path..."

Celestia stood tall. "But now I can fix this. And I need to fix this. Twilight, please, find every law book you can and study. Starting tomorrow, you will join my sister in taking my place. I will remain here for a few days to make sure you are sufficiently prepared, before crossing the mirror myself." Celestia moved back to the bookshelf, grabbing the book and stuffing it under her wing. "It has been far to long since I hugged my daughter, and her stumbles were caused from my own failures. It's time to for me to take responsibility." Celestia stormed off, leaving Twilight alone.

Twilight took a moment to process what she had heard. Sunset had been- no, is Celestia's daughter. She left the room, making her way to the library while creating a mental checklist with each relevant law book she knew. The sooner she started, the sooner Celestia could see Sunset. But when she arrived at the library doors, she paused. But, why? Why did she lie about Sunset’s past? It just... She frowned, but quickly shook the thoughts away. She had a job to do, and she wasn’t going to let her friend down. Opening the door, she gazed up at the sun and moon that decorated the ceiling, watching over the library. And once Celestia is gone, I’ll ask Luna myself.

Author's Note

Many thanks to Blue Horizon, who edited and reworded much of this chapter and took it upon himself to be my editor. So everyone give them a quick round of applause.

Edited by kitkataddel, posted 2/16./19