The high altitude sonic rainboom had been centered near the town of Hayes River. So Twilight had rushed there as soon as she could.
Twilight saw two ponies who she thought she recognized, sitting on a bench in the sunlight.
Cautiously, trying not to be too obvious, Twilight sidled closer. One pony was a pale lavender unicorn mare who looked to be in her early thirties, with a blonde mane and tail.
Her cutie mark was hidden by the gray teenage pegasus sitting beside her. The teen's mane and tail almost matched her companion's. The teenager's wings were a rumpled mess, with many feathers missing or damaged. What had happened to her?
Twilight took a subtle peek at the pegasus' cutie mark. It was a cluster of several bubbles.
Twilight wasn't sure whether she should be disappointed that the mark's return might compromise the pegasus' disguise, or pleased that a risky spell ten years ago hadn't disturbed the mare's destiny so severely as to destroy the mark permanently.
The pegasus noticed Twilight, and waved cheerfully. "Twilight!" she called out. The unicorn sitting beside her nodded a silent greeting.
Twilight walked over and asked, "May I join you?"
The seated unicorn answered, "We've come a long way hoping you would."
Twilight sat down next to the teenager. "So," Twilight said, "it's been a long time." Twilight whispered, "May I ask your names?"
The blonde unicorn replied, "I'm still Far Flying. The name just seemed to fit. And my...daughter here is still Tiny Bubbles."
Twilight gave their surroundings a grim, suspicious look. "You thought that was safe?"
"Your spell disguised us so well," Far Flying whispered. "I was more concerned to help you find us again when it was time, than with anypony else remembering how we briefly used those aliases in Ponyville. Even when we did, you had already transformed us. I don't think anypony will ever figure it out."
"Well," Twilight said grudgingly, "I suppose if you've lasted this long, you're probably fine." But for a moment, Twilight's horn softly lit up, with a small, subtle explosion of magic.
"What was that?" Tiny Bubbles asked. "It was pretty."
Twilight replied, "Changeling detection spell. Do my kind of work for twenty years or so, and you do tend to develop some habits."
"Oooh," the pegasus said. "Not bad habits, I hope."
Twilight snorted. "Sometimes I'm not sure. But I'm still alive, so I guess they can't be all bad."
Far Flying said, "I think you should be proud of that habit."
Twilight said nothing.
Bubbles asked, "Why should she be proud? Tell me!"
Far Flying said, "Until Twilight invented that spell, detecting a changeling could be very hard. Changelings could infiltrate an entire town, ponynapping ponies and turning themselves into fake copies of the ponies they'd 'napped. Sometimes nopony would catch on until it was too late."
Far Flying said with satisfaction, "But now a unicorn who's really good at magic can check a whole crowd for changelings in a flash! And I hear Cheese Sandwich is working on a rubber chicken that does the spell, so anypony will be able to do it."
Bubbles said, "Wow! You're so amazing, Twilight!"
Twilight harrumphed.
Bubbles poked Twilight gently with one forehoof. "Did you hear me, Twilight? I said you're amazing."
Twilight sighed. "Okay, I'm amazing."
"You don't sound like you MEAN it, Twilight."
Twilight sighed. "You know what would have been more amazing? If I'd invented the spell six months earlier."
Far Flying said very quietly, "Oh no."
"Or if I hadn't bungled Luna's return so horribly. Because if I had understood what Princess Celestia really wanted, and I hadn't sent Luna back to the moon for another thousand years, then Celestia would be better able to stand the sight of me, instead of breaking down in tears every time she sees me. If Celestia could stand the sight of me, I might have found out about my brother's wedding earlier. And when I finally got to Canterlot, and I noticed that my brother's fiancee Cadance was acting so differently from how she'd ever been when I'd known her before? Maybe Celestia would have believed me that something was wrong. Maybe Celestia would have trusted my judgement.
"But instead, Celestia just called me a rude...BIRCH. Not in those words, but Celestia can use polite, refined words and make it hurt ten times as much. Then Celestia banned me from Canterlot AGAIN. While Cadance's changeling impostor just watched and laughed at me."
Far Flying said in a motherly tone, "Twilight, dear? The whole POINT of a changeling impostor is, it's hard to convince everypony that they're an impostor. It's not fair to blame yourself."
Twilight scowled. "If I hadn't already made such a terrible mistake with Luna, maybe Celestia would have trusted me. If I'd thought to invent a changeling detection spell BEFORE I accused Cadance? Then Celestia might have believed me. But I didn't think ahead before I opened my mouth. So after the most disastrous wedding in Equestrian history, and six months of war to recapture Canterlot, and save the princesses from the changeling occupation--"
Far interrupted, "You were very brave."
"I STILL have a sister-in-law who after being imprisoned for MONTHS in the Lost Crystal Mines of Canterlot, is terribly afraid of anything crystal. And let me tell you, later on THAT didn't turn out well at all."
Twilight sighed. "You can call me brave as much as you want."
Bubbles said, "Mommy can call you brave because it's true!"
"Okay, I guess I'm brave. But I feel like I have the worst sense of timing ever. Like ever since I botched the Nightmare Moon thing--"
"To be fair," Far interrupted, "we have sunlight every day, so we can grow food and not starve--"
Twilight retorted, "And every night the princess who BRINGS us that sunlight gets to look up at the moon and feel very, very sad and upset."
Far said innocently, "I don't understand everything about Nightmare Moon. But whatever you did, it wasn't the end of the world."
"Maybe it wasn't." Twilight slowly shook her head. "Not for a thousand years, anyway. But after that, who can say?"
Bubbles insisted, "Twilight! You can't fix everything wrong in the whole world!"
"No," Twilight replied, "I can only fail to protect some of the most important things which fate entrusts to me. Luna, my brother, my sister-in-law..."
Far said, "ENOUGH! How would Rainbow Dash feel if she saw you acting this way?"
"Rainbow Dash is very loyal. Even if I were in the wrong, she'd have trouble telling me so."
Far snorted. "Twilight, I wish you were at least half as loyal to yourself as you deserve. Everypony makes mistakes sometimes. That's part of life. The pony who's never made a mistake has never DONE anything."
Twilight laughed softly. "NOW you're sounding like Rainbow, FF."
Far insisted, "That's because if Rainbow would come here and tell you what I've just said, Rainbow would be right."
Twilight looked up at the sky. "I wish Rainbow would do that. Where IS Rainbow, anyway?"
Far snorted. "While you were maybe busy feeling sorry for yourself--"
Bubbles interrupted, "Or maybe Twilight got here late because she was busy helping another pony in trouble, or saving another village, or even saving all of Equestria!"
Far said, "I was asking around. I didn't find Rainbow Dash. Nopony seems to have seen her, or have any idea where she might be."
Twilight looked worried. "THAT's strange. Rainbow isn't exactly SUBTLE."
"But I talked to a lot of ponies who saw the sonic rainboom from different angles. They say it was right above a place near town."
"Good going," Twilight said. "Where?"
Far Flying sighed. "An old abandoned graveyard. A big one."
Twilight snorted. "I suppose that's as good a meeting place as any other." She turned her head to check the conspirators' surroundings.
When Twilight moved, some broken and cut shafts among Bubbles' feathers poked her. "Bubbles?" Twilight asked, "What happened to your wings?"
"Don't worry," Bubbles said, "A few days ago I broke most of my feathers in a flying accident, but my wings are okay underneath. I don't like having to wait until my new feathers have grown in to go flying again, but I'll be all right."
Twilight sighed. "I would feel a bit better about this little...adventure, if you weren't temporarily handicapped. Because I don't know what our worst case scenario is, and if we might suddenly wish we had a flyer. I would feel better if you could fly away from danger, and maybe even go get us help if we need it."
Far Flying said, "So let's be extra careful, just in case. Then we should be okay."
"Sorry. I guess I've just gotten into the habit of assuming that everything could go very bad very suddenly. I always remember the times when everything has."
Far said, "I know you've walked into really dangerous situations many times, just because ponies needed your help. But this should be a walk in the park. Nothing to be scared of."
Twilight snarked, "Say the ponies who are about to go look for their friend in an abandoned graveyard."
"Hey," Far said, "Dead ponies are usually harmless. It's the live ponies who you sometimes have to be careful of."
Tiny Bubbles giggled. "Mom, I know we're going on a VERY TINY little adventure with the notorious Twilight Sparkle, but I think you two are taking this too seriously. A graveyard is just a really fancy park!"
Whistling Through the Graveyard
Far Flying reached to open the graveyard's low metal gate, and let the other ponies through, closing it after everypony.
Bubbles said wide-eyed, "You don't think she somehow did a sonic rainboom from beyond the grave, do you?"
Twilight replied, "I don't see how that would be possible. But I have seen a lot of things, and we ARE talking about Rainbow Dash. If there IS a way to do a sonic rainboom after you die, maybe she would be the pony to do it."
The ponies walked along paths between grassy expanses and trees, looking at the gravestones all around. "Wow," Bubbles said, "I never thought about how many dead ponies there are."
"Ponies have lived in Equestria for thousands of years," Twilight replied. "That's a lot of generations of ponies who came before us."
Far gestured with a forehoof. "I think we can see most of the graveyard, if we go to the top of that hill."
A bit of the fur on Twilight's back twitched. She felt like she was being watched.
Twilight looked around carefully. She noticed some birds flying in big lazy circles far above.
If they'd been vultures, that might be a sign of somecreature dying, or maybe of carrion that might have large carnivores gathered around it. But these birds were not scavengers. They weren't even hawks or crows riding a rising thermal. What were they doing?
The three ponies crested the hill. Partway down the slope on the other side, a yellow pony with a pink mane and tail sat on a big gravestone. She had a tiny smirk on her face, and a cutie mark of three butterflies on her hindquarters.
Twilight felt a shock of...recognition? No, that was hardly likely, she thought. Twilight lit up her horn in a series of small explosions of light. "Pop pop pop fizzzzzzz ZAP pop pop POP! ZZARK!" Partway through the pyrotechnics, there was a moment when the sitting pony lit up from inside like an X-ray photo. Beside Twilight, Far Flying's horn glowed with the subtle gleam of a changeling detection spell.
Fluttershy looked at the three ponies with perhaps a trace of disappointment. "Well," she said in a small, quiet voice, "I guess that's one way to say hello."
Twilight started to laugh. "Sorry, Fluttershy. I REALLY wasn't expecting to find you here. But you really do seem to be you. Do you have any idea where I can find Rainbow Dash?"
Fluttershy said, "She isn't here."
"Do you know where she's gone? I think we really need to talk with her."
Fluttershy answered, "She had to go to the distant West about a month ago, on a special mission. So she couldn't meet you. She sent me here in her place."
Twilight sputtered. "So who did the sonic rainboom?"
Fluttershy smiled proudly. "Me."
"Wow," Bubbles said.
Twilight remarked, "I never would have expected it. I had no idea you could do such a thing."
Fluttershy grinned. "Several years ago, I had no idea I'd ever be able to do it either." One of her wings twitched. "Twi, these last several years, you and I have only seen each other briefly, to help with urgent crises. Save Equestria on a tight deadline, that sort of thing. There's some stuff in my life you haven't heard much about."
"Well," Twilight said, "I knew you'd been taking classes in counseling. And since then, you've been working as a counselor. I guess it's become part of your whole kindness thing."
Twilight turned towards Far Flying and Bubbles. "These last few years, there have been times when Fluttershy talked to some villain, and helped the villain see how they could get what they REALLY wanted, deep inside, WITHOUT destroying Equestria or turning all of ponykind into oppressed serfs or a mind-controlled army of zombies. I can never say how much I appreciate when Fluttershy can do that. It REALLY cuts down on the collateral damage. And it's nice to find a happy ending for everypony, or everycreature, instead of having to send somepony to ask Celestia to lock up some defeated villain in Tartarus. Or even worse."
Fluttershy looked serene. "I suppose a job well done is its own reward."
"But tell us about the rainboom!" Bubbles enthused.
"Well," Fluttershy said, "being close friends with Rainbow Dash, I got curious about what it takes to do sports well, and sports training and coaching. And I had an idea."
"Tell us!" Bubbles demanded. "What was your idea?"
"Some colts think counseling and talking about feelings are just some sissy thing for fillies and mares. Like soppy books about mares crying into their tea."
Twilight half-stifled a laugh. "That DOES remind me of...some guys I know. Guys who would agree with that misconception, I mean."
Fluttershy smiled. "Twilight, if at first you wanted to say it reminded you of Rarity, that's okay. We both know her and love her as a dear friend."
"I MIGHT have thought about Rarity at first, a little," Twilight sheepishly admitted. "But the misconception reminds me of a LOT of ponies. Mostly some colts and stallions, like I said, because they might believe it."
"Of course," Fluttershy said. "We were talking about macho colts and stallions who don't want to talk about their feelings."
Fluttershy continued, "But a lot of colts want to be good at sports. And usually, part of being good at sports is about feelings. Can you keep doing your training on the right schedule, in the right way, or do you prefer to slack off? Do you believe you can do it, or are you going to just give up without giving it a proper try? Can you believe in yourself? Or should you maybe even change to a different sport that you might like better and be better at?"
Twilight grinned. "At least you don't sound exactly like Iron Will."
Fluttershy said, "Part of being good at sports is making good decisions. And part of making good decisions is being in touch with yourself. In touch with your insides, and in touch with your outsides, and in touch with what's outside you in the world around you. And being a good teammate is about relationships."
Fluttershy smiled. "So by doing sports coaching and training with Rainbow, I can bring counseling to ponies who might never have thought to ask for it."
"The way you say it, it all seems to make so much sense," Twilight remarked. "So at what point do the colts start reading teary romance novels and crying in each other's tea?"
Fluttershy laughed. "The tea and the novels are just tools. A lot of ponies don't need them, and that's okay.
"Who needs tea and novels," Fluttershy said with a smile, "when you have sports?"
Twilight chuckled. "Was that a joke?"
Fluttershy kept smiling.
Twilight remarked, "I guess it was. Is that another counseling thing?"
Fluttershy nodded. "If you're sensitive about when and how you use jokes, they can really help."
Twilight said, "But enough about your counseling work. How did you learn to do a sonic rainboom, of all things?"
Fluttershy answered, "I was studying sports coaching pretty seriously. Rainbow Dash and I learned a lot about it together. Also, a friend of mine said, since I have so many bird friends, why don't I ask them for advice on how to fly better and faster? And she was right. They really helped me a lot."
"Hmm," Twilight said. "Who was this friend, anyway? She sounds very sensible."
Fluttershy smiled. "Her name is..." Fluttershy chirped and trilled several notes. "In Ponish, it would be something about a magpie gathering shiny metal fasteners. She's very smart, and gives really good advice. She's the one who originally helped inspire me to try working with ponies, instead of only animals."
"So," Twilight said, "sports coaching and listening to birds was how you learned to do a sonic rainboom."
Fluttershy tilted her head. "Well, I can't give away ALL my secrets. But have you ever watched a monarch butterfly?"
Twilight snarked, "I've watched butterflies before, but I don't think they know how to do a sonic rainboom. They look like it would take them all day just to fly a mile or two."
Fluttershy said, "But maybe you HAVE read that every year, they migrate south and southwest, sometimes flying thousands of miles. And back again, all in the same year. And that's just in the time they aren't using for eating and sleeping and egglaying and other things."
Twilight said. "You're right. That sounds completely insane, if I THINK about it. How do they do it?"
Fluttershy looked stern. "The details are secret. I promised never to let the world know."
Twilight snorted. "This is so crazy, you're starting to remind me of Pinkie Pie."
Fluttershy said gently, "I take that as a compliment."
Twilight smiled. "I guess you should."
"Pinkie's an amazing mare. I feel lucky to know her, just like I feel lucky to be friends with you."
Twilight nodded. "We should. We are and we should." Twilight took a deep breath. "But you know, as pleasant as it is to talk about Pinkie and Dashie and Rarity and other absent friends, that's not what brought us here today. We do have something else important to take care of."
Fluttershy said, "I guess you mean...what are your names, pony friends?"
Far Flying said, "Far Flying!"
The teenage pegasus said, "Tiny Bubbles."
Far Flying whispered, "You used to know us as Dinky Doo Hooves and Derpy Doo Hooves. But we've been hiding out for ten years under new names, disguised by the age exchange spell Twilight cast on us. Maybe you remember, because of all the clumsy mistakes Derpy made, Foal Protective Services thought Derpy was a danger to everypony around her. They wanted to take me away from her and maybe put her in a dungeon cell, because they thought they needed to keep me safe from her."
Fluttershy replied, "I don't think I could ever forget. Could you?"
Far Flying and Tiny Bubbles agreed, "Never!"
Fluttershy turned away from them, to slowly look around the graveyard. She whistled a bit of birdsong. Twilight thought, to many ponies Fluttershy might seem simply to be having a sudden fit of shyness. Which might be partly true. But Twilight thought she also recognized a pony keeping an eye on potentially dangerous surroundings.
FInally the yellow pegasus turned back towards the little family. "Do you feel any differently about it now than you used to?"
Far Flying said, "You know, that was ten years ago. And because of the age exchange spell, I was twenty years younger. It was really a long time ago, but in some ways longer ago for me than for everypony else."
Fluttershy nodded.
Far Flying continued, "In some ways, I'm not sure what to think. I think I understand some of what had FPS so worried. But I think it sounded worse from far away, to somepony who didn't really know Derpy."
Fluttershy tilted her head. "Is that all that you think about it?"
Far Flying looked a little embarrassed. "But since then, I've gained some new perspectives. I'd only ever been a foal, not a mother. Even an adoptive mother is still a real mother, you know."
"Definitely," Fluttershy agreed.
"Now," Far said, blushing, "if I heard that somepony was as dangerously clumsy as Derpy was back then, I might be afraid to even let that pony foalsit my daughter for one minute. I'm so sorry, Bubbles, to talk like that! To even think like that!"
Bubbles said, "Aww, it's okay. You just worry about me because you love me. I know what it's like to be a mother too, you know."
Fluttershy gently encouraged the unusual family to talk about their lives. Sometimes the yellow pegasus mare asked questions, but mostly she simply showed interest, acceptance, and kindness. Fluttershy seemed to very much enjoy hearing the stories the mother and daughter (or daughter and mother) shared.
"I really like my life now," Far Flying said. "I have good friends, and a nice job, and...this is going to sound really weird. Bubbles, is it okay for me to say it?"
Bubbles nodded. "I love hearing it, every time!"
Far Flying blushed. "Even if she's 'adopted,' I have the best daughter ever."
Bubbles giggled. "I have the best daughter too! Even if she's older than me now. I love you too, FF."
Twilight marveled at the happy little family.
After a long pause for thought, Twilight spoke. "So it doesn't bother you, FF? Ten years ago, you just skipped over ten years of your life in an instant. Don't you mind missing out on that?"
Far said, "I think more important than exactly how many years you live, is whether you have a good life. Are you happy? Do you help the ponies around you to be happy? Do you do good things or bad things? On all those counts, me and Bubbles seem to have made the right decision ten years ago."
Bubbles said, "But I'm the one who has nothing to complain about. Not many ponies get to have a happy childhood twice. It was even happier the second time!"
Twilight pursed her lips. "This whole situation reminds me of something, though. It reminds me of why the spell we did ten years ago is FORBIDDEN."
FF said, "That isn't fair, though."
"Well, that's the thing. You two love each other very much, I can see."
"We do!"
"And because of that love...assuming that neither of you dies early because of unusual events, an accident or a monster attack or something like that--"
Bubbles said, "I couldn't bear if something like that happened to my mommy!"
"Exactly," Twilight said. "It's only natural with a parent and child, that normally one lives on after the other. Normally, a child lives for many years, even decades, after her parents get old and die. If the child doesn't, that's seen as an extra tragedy."
Far said, "I think I see what you're getting at, Twilight. I know that to most ponies, if they knew our pasts, what Bubbles and I have would seem strange. But it works for us. I wouldn't trade what we have for anything."
Twilight cleared her throat. "But as I was saying, there's a reason this spell is forbidden. Far Flying, you seem to feel okay with the current situation."
Far agreed, "I guess I do."
"And you, Bubbles? You seem to be very happy too."
"I have the best life of anypony ever!"
Twilight said, "Part of why you two feel that way is, you love each other very much.
"But sometimes, in this world, two ponies love each other, and one pony loves the other very much, and the other pony doesn't love QUITE so much. Or maybe, deep down, they don't really love the other very much at all. Or maybe they DO love the other pony very much, but fear can make the pony forget how much they love the other pony. Or how much they USED to love the other pony."
Bubbles looked scared. She pressed herself tightly against her mother's side, wrapping one damaged wing partway over Far Flying's shoulders and back. "I DO love her," Bubbles said. "You can't say I don't!"
Far Flying said, "She really does. I can see right through her." She nickered, nuzzling her filly. "We know each other pretty well, Bubbles and I."
Bubbles nodded.
Twilight said, "I believe you. I really do."
Far said, "So what's the problem?"
"Sometimes," Twilight said, "Ponies can become comfortable with a situation, even if it isn't really the right thing for them in the long run."
Far said, "Who are you to tell us how we should live? What we should want? Who our families should be?"
"Yeah!" Bubbles shouted.
Twilight sighed. "You two have told me a lot about what your lives have been like, these last ten years. But there's one thing we HAVEN'T talked about."
Far and Bubbles looked expectantly at Twilight.
"What my life has been like," Twilight said.
"Helping ponies in trouble? Saving the world?" Bubbles asked.
"It's...complicated," Twilight insisted. "I have a...certain reputation. Some ponies like me for the good things I've done. But sometimes I've messed up pretty badly too. It didn't help when I messed up so badly that Princess Celestia herself banned me from Canterlot multiple times."
"I'm sorry," Fluttershy said.
"Some ponies see me as...not such a good pony. Some ponies think I'm more like an outlaw."
"A GOOD outlaw," Bubbles insisted.
"Some ponies are more interested in the bad part than the good part. Some ponies don't even believe in the good part. Some ponies don't WANT to believe in the good part.
"And different ponies have different ideas about good. Some ponies, when they want something, find a way to believe that whatever they want is really a good thing. No matter who it would hurt. No matter who it might kill.
"There are ponies who hear I'm an outlaw mage, and they decide that I could...HELP them in some unsavory way. A few of them really don't like to take no for an answer.
"I meet too many ponies like that," Twilight said. "I guess they come looking for the pony who they think I am. Why do so many ponies think that? Why do so many ponies see me that way?"
Twilight looked down at the grass and dirt. "There's more than one spell to change a pony's age. Even Zecora knows a potion that can change somepony into a baby for a few days. But none of those spells or potions work for very long. If somepony wants to be changed to a younger age for years, or forever? The only permanent way to do it is to...TAKE somepony else's youth away from them."
Nopony else spoke.
"That's why the age exchange spell is forbidden. Because some ponies are able to decide that whatever they want is somehow okay. Especially if they're very, very afraid of death. Although I could mention the names of some vain nobles who just don't want to look like they're getting old."
Twilight looked around, as if to make sure nopony was sneaking up on them, or eavesdropping. "All of those ponies have their excuses, and their reasons, that they think an age exchange spell is okay. And in my experience, they're always wrong.
"Every time somepony makes an excuse to cast that spell, it becomes a little bit easier for ponies to think, oh, it wasn't really so bad to do it last time. It's probably okay this time too. And the way that kind of thing ends up is, the ponies who have the most love and kindness in their hearts get taken out of this world early. And the most deceptive and false-hearted ponies get to live forever. Imagine what kind of world that would be, what kind of ponies the world would fill up with. That's why nopony should ever cast the age exchange spell. Because of the kind of world it leads to. A world where lots of ponies cast that spell for the wrong reasons."
Far Flying said, "But you're a good pony. You couldn't ever make that mistake!"
Twilight said bitterly, "Couldn't I?"
Bubbles started bawling.
Fluttershy said softly, "Twilight, you're hurting them."
"Am I hurting them now? Or did I hurt them ten years ago, and they're only now feeling it?"
Twilight said, "Ten years ago, I wanted to see if I could take a spell that normally requires at least four or five unicorn mages to cast, and make it work with just me and one other unicorn, somepony half trained and filly age. I knew the spell was outlawed and forbidden, but that just added a bit of extra spice to the adventure.
"I thought I knew what I was doing," Twilight said. "But I was wrong.
"Today," Twilight continued, "is the day I prove there's a way the spell can be reversed by one unicorn mage, working alone. And after I give Dinky Doo Hooves her ten years of missing lifespan back, I'm going to burn all my notes that have anything to do with this."
Twilight's horn lit up with a glowing, air-blurring cloud of magical energy. The cloud developed a fine structure of curves and curlicues, each inscribed with looping cursive runes.
"No!" screamed Far Flying. Fluttershy leapt towards Twilight, using her wings for extra speed and power. Fluttershy's shoulder struck Twilight's, pushing Twilight out of line with her targets.
Before Twilight's spell could strike, Far Flying and Tiny Bubbles vanished in a bright flash of light.
Twilight snorted. "Ha," she said, "I never even thought to ask whether grown-up Dinky had learned the teleportation spell. Although not a lot of ponies can teleport themselves AND another pony, especially on short notice."
"Not such short notice," Fluttershy said. "I think she could guess well ahead of time what you were going to do."
"I never should have done it," Twilight said.
"Never should have done what?" Fluttershy asked.
"I never should have cast the age exchange spell in the first place. I should have found another way."
Fluttershy gently nuzzled Twilight. "Maybe that's true. But now it's ten years too late to be able to make that choice."
"I guess you're right, 'Shy. All I could do today, if I cast the reversal spell, is mess up the new lives those ponies spent the last ten years building. I looked at a mistake I'd made ten years ago, and I wanted to fix it, but all I was able to do was try to make another mistake that would make things worse."
Twilight pressed her face into Fluttershy's shoulder. "Why can't I do anything right? Why can I only make one mistake after another?" Twilight bawled.
Fluttershy slowly, gently wrapped her unicorn friend in her wings.
"AAAEE!" Twilight screamed. "And now I remember how Celestia used to embrace me with her wings. I miss being an innocent little foal who didn't know how I was going to mess everything up! When Celestia and I could just love each other, and not know how I was going to turn everything into smashed horseapples!"
Fluttershy said gently, "To be fair, the misunderstanding between you and Celestia about how you were supposed to handle Nightmare Moon? That WAS NOT all your fault, Twi."
Twilight sniffled. For a moment, she grimaced. "One pony can screw up in a big way. But maybe a mistake so very big takes at least two ponies to do." Twilight's right foreleg wrapped around Fluttershy's shoulders, as she cried into her friend's mane.
"It did," Fluttershy said. "Don't be greedy and take all the blame for yourself, when there's plenty to go around." She gently patted Twilight's shoulder with one forehoof. "Twi, you said you miss when you and Celestia could just love each other. Is that really over?"
Twilight said, "Deep inside, we still love each other. We love each other very much. And every time we see each other, it breaks our hearts. We remember Luna's sister, trapped in the moon for another thousand years. We remember how the last thing Luna saw in this world was the return and recovery team, working under a tragic misunderstanding, dooming her to another thousand years of exile, separating her from the sister who loved her so much."
Fluttershy patted Twilight's shoulder. "It IS tragic. Separating Luna from somepony who loves her so much. Not letting them get back together for another thousand years."
Twilight said bitterly, "We should count our blessings. Now it's only nine hundred and eighty years."
"Thank you for reminding me," Fluttershy said. "Even what we feel are our worst mistakes, don't necessarily last forever."
"I feel it might as well. Nine hundred and eighty years still feels a lot like forever to me."
"Yes," Fluttershy remarked. "It would be a shame if Celestia had to be apart from somepony she loves so much, forever."
Twilight raised her face, looking Fluttershy in the eyes. "I think I know what you're trying to get at. Celestia and I love each other. Why can't we be happy together? Why does our friendship have to be torn up like this? Why are we so damaged?"
Fluttershy said, "When was the last time you spoke to Celestia? When was the last time you saw her?"
Twilight sighed, looking down. "It's been years."
"Does that mean, you don't know how many?"
"The last time we really TALKED much...was before the wedding."
"Which wedding?"
"The one where Chysalis had taken Cadance's place."
Fluttershy nodded. "The wedding you had to miss. Because you'd been banished from Canterlot again."
Twilight snorted. "Yes, that one. But at least I got to miss out on the sight of my brother marrying a changeling queen. To this day, there are some things about that wedding nopony has told me."
Fluttershy shuddered a small, delicate shudder. "Oh, you wouldn't have enjoyed it. Trust me."
"Always," Twilight said.
Fluttershy gently touched Twilight's shoulder. "But I know before the wedding wasn't the last time you had a chance to see Celestia."
"True," Twilight replied. "I was in Canterlot again six months later."
Fluttershy nodded. "I remember how you came to rescue us. At the head of a makeshift, ragtag army. You must have been the bravest and most stubborn ponies in Equestria. When Chrysalis had held all the princesses of Equestria prisoner in Canterlot for six months, and controlled the sun and the moon...those stubborn ponies still believed Equestria hadn't lost the war."
Twilight smiled. "Not only ponies. Some griffons, a few dragons, some other creatures. Ponies aren't the only creatures who can be very stubborn. Ponies aren't the only creatures who can hold on to hope."
Fluttershy laughed. "I still remember how funny it was when those Diamond Dogs tunneled up out of the ground into our prison cells, and Rarity was so very happy to see them. You should have seen how many times she kissed them."
"Well," Twilight said dryly, "I would have liked to see that. But I WAS kind of busy elsewhere."
"Yes." Fluttershy nodded. "You had a lot of things going on. I hear that to distract the changelings from the secret raid to rescue the princesses, you attacked above ground so hard you destroyed half the buildings in Canterlot."
Twilight looked grim. "And many of Canterlot's nobles will never forgive me. Especially the ones who were IN those buildings at the time. And the ones with relatives who were hurt, or killed, when their towers collapsed."
Fluttershy said angrily, "Most of the nobles and other ponies who were permitted above ground in the later months of the occupation, were ponies who were collaborating with the changelings by then!"
"That might be," Twilight said. "But not all of them. Some of the ponies who were hurt were innocent. Some of them were just ponies who the changelings thought were too unimportant to keep locked up all the time. And I could mention the names of a few ponies who were playing a double game, trying to make a show of collaborating with the changelings, while secretly helping the resistance. Without their help, the war would have gone a lot worse. A lot more ponies would have...well, it could have been very bad."
"You say you COULD mention their names," Fluttershy said. "But you don't."
Twilight said fiercely, "I have no right to reveal who they were. Because if things ever get that bad again, we'll need their help. I can't blow their cover. Not even now."
Fluttershy remarked, "Rarity spends a lot of time with high Canterlot society. She tells me some nobles brag about how they were big in the resistance."
"Yes," Twilight said dryly. "Some nobles can talk very big, can't they? They can brag as much as they want, and be perfectly safe, if the changelings KNOW that they're lying. If the changelings have good enough reason to believe that a noble has always been on the changelings' side, and that the noble is on their side even now."
Fluttershy said, "The way you talk...the things you imply. It's no wonder that some nobles hate you so much. That they say such things about you. That some of them spread such nasty rumors about you."
Twilight said, "Maybe some of how I talk is a bad habit."
"Maybe it is. Twilight, you talk like an old soldier, not like an old diplomat. But I guess that's part of what I love about you."
"Maybe I do," Twilight said, "But I think more often I talk like an old spy. Or an old special agent."
Fluttershy snorted a small, delicate snort. "Twilight, if you talk like an old spy...that covers a lot of ground. I imagine a spy in the field might talk like...almost anypony, if that's what it takes to do the job. Is there anything...anypony...you DON'T ever talk like?"
Twilight nodded. "Earlier, you and I were talking about that. About how I don't talk like somepony who's on comfortable terms with Celestia."
Fluttershy said, "Considering all you've done for her, it's funny that I've talked to Celestia so much more recently than you have. I don't think you understand how grateful she is to you."
"She's a monarch. She understands her duties. No matter how much the sight of my face hurts her. Officially, she has to be very grateful. She sent me a very gracious letter, along with my war medals."
"She should have summoned you to receive them in person!"
"I guess I never mentioned that...never wanted to mention that. She did summon me. I refused to go."
Fluttershy looked angry. "Why didn't you go?"
"If I went," Twilight said, "It would only remind us of so much. Not only the Nightmare Moon disaster, and Celestia's sister trapped in the moon for another thousand years. But also of how I'd gone off half-cocked, and failed to show her the truth about Chrysalis. And she'd have to remember how when I'd told her the truth, she hadn't believed me.
"And remember that I was a VERY big name in the war. Celestia would have been expected to have a huge award ceremony. The largest possible hall. Thousands of nobles. Many of them still very angry at me. The most treacherous nobles being the angriest.
"And, Fluttershy...with all that I remind Celestia of...what if my presence, seeing me so close up, were to make Celestia break down and cry, in front of those thousands of nobles? I don't like to even think about the worst thing that might happen."
Fluttershy said, "The worst thing that might happen? Let's talk about that."
"I don't--"
"Twilight, you know that you're getting older."
"There are days," Twilight said, "when I find myself reminded."
"And have you even thought about your lifestyle? It seems like you rush into danger as often as possible. The way some ponies go to the mailbox."
"That's not true," Twilight said. "Most ponies don't check the mail on Sundays."
Fluttershy tried to stifle her laugh, but failed. "Twilight, we could have some long talks about why you do that. But I'm not sure whether you'll get yourself killed first."
"Equestria needs me."
"Equestria existed for thousands of years before you. And it will probably still be here long after you're gone. And in the meantime? Maybe Equestria needs you alive instead of dead."
Twilight took a deep breath. "So let's see...if we were making a checklist of things to do, what would go on it? One, think about why I don't live a safer life. Two, try to get back together with Celestia. Are we done?"
Fluttershy gave Twilight a critical look. "One, making a list isn't the same as doing the things on it. Two, the way you phrased some of those items is...very incomplete. Three, this is one time you might ask ME what I think is most urgent."
"Okay. What do you think is most urgent?"
"If you're worried about Celestia's feelings? Yes, the next time she sees you, she's going to cry. And you might cry too. But I think most of all, it will be because each of you will be reminded of how much you miss each other. How much you've been missing out on, by not talking to each other all these years. Just a guess."
Twilight said, "Isn't a professional counselor supposed to just gently help the client figure things out for themself? Not TELL them stuff?"
"You're right, Twilight. That is what a professional counselor is supposed to do. I'm guessing you've read a book or two about that."
Twilight nodded.
"But I am NOT your professional counselor. When it comes to you and Celestia, I am your friend. And I am biased. And in this case, I am in a hurry."
Twilight said, "Now we're getting to the point. WHY are you in a hurry?"
Fluttershy chirped a few notes of birdsong.
"Flutters, I don't speak bird."
"Twi, there's a very pretty shrub about three hundred hooves directly behind you, that I don't think you saw when you came here. And I am being very literal about whether you saw it."
"You don't think I saw--" In one swift move, Twilight stepped sideways and spun 180 degrees. A beam of energy shot from her horn and blasted a flower-covered bush. The bush shrank into a burnt changeling corpse.
"Thanks, 'Shy."
The pegasus now hovering in the air uncovered her eyes. "Is it over?" she asked. "Sorry, but I don't like how the flash can make me feel half blind for a minute."
Twilight was practicing her changeling detection spell. "I don't see any other changelings. Do you see anything else we should worry about?"
"I think we're okay." Fluttershy reached into a saddlebag beside her, and threw a few hoof-fuls of birdseed. Birds of different types descended from the sky and hopped around, eating their fill.
"So," Fluttershy said, "as I was saying before we were interrupted. I'm in a hurry, because three months ago, Celestia needed to talk to you."
"Ah," Twilight said. "In Canterlot?"
"Canterlot would be good. But now it's three months later. She needs to speak with you URGENTLY."
"About what?"
Fluttershy gave Twilight a frustrated look. "I don't think I can properly explain it. But Celestia can."
"I see. Or I guess I WILL see."
Fluttershy said, "Do you still remember that spell that gives you those beautiful butterfly wings?"
"I think you mean the RIDICULOUS butterfly wings."
Fluttershy gave her head a little shake. "I mean beautiful. If we fly across the river and southeast, we can get to a high speed train line. From there we can get to Canterlot by normal transit. Or improvise if we find anything faster."
Magic swirled around Twilight. "Let's see," the unicorn said. "Cloud-walking spell. Untriggered quick trigger weight reduction spell, in case of a wing problem. Anything else you think I might need?"
Fluttershy said, "Wings might be nice."
A cloud of glowing magical energy grew around Twilight's horn. The magic spread out, gradually surrounding Twilight. After a minute, the glow faded, as butterfly wings sprouted from Twilight's shoulders. Twilight flapped her wings, rising above the grass.
"Great," Fluttershy said. "Now remember, I'm a certified sports coach, and flight training expert. So if you listen to me, you'll be flying noticeably faster by the time we reach the train station."
Twilight looked at the sun's position, and started flying southeast with Fluttershy alongside her. "I can hardly wait to start learning," Twilight replied.
Author's Note
I had a difficult time deciding how to tag this story. If you have any thoughts on that, you know where the comment box is?
This story should make sense on its own. But technically it's a sequel to "Family on the Run (Derpy the Fugitive.)" So if you want a prequel, or just something shorter but kind of similar, you know where to look.
A GREAT IDEA about how an AU Fluttershy learned to fly even faster than Rainbow Dash was in MagnetBolt's "Ask Not the Sparrow," and the idea is MUCH too good not to credit and use as an AU fanon option. It should be AU fanon that more alternate universes MIGHT have Fluttershys who can do that! (That is, if it doesn't cause Rainbow Dash to turn into a burned-out gym teacher who gets fat sitting on her plot all day showing movies to bored foals about how ten out of twelve food groups are just hay and more hay. Warning: MagnetBolt could make a pretty good case that in adapting her idea I totally missed the point, shipped dogs and cats together, etc.)
The bit about how monarch butterflies do what they do...well, you can look it up in our world (or can you?) but with Equestrian magic some key details might be different.
But to be fair, I borrowed the monarch butterfly thing from a friend who can decode
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(As usual, because I want the Author's Note to be included if someone downloads this story as text, my Author's Note is in the end of the story text itself.)
