When Dawn Sparkles

by Night Sparkle Production

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Romance, Princess Luna, Princess Celestia
Length: 1289

Celestia travels to Canterlot for a visit, but gets a whole lot more than she expected...

It's been many a year since Twilight took the throne of Equestria, and even though she's retired and is living happily in Silver Shoals, Celestia can't shake the feeling that something is off. That something is missing from her life. Facing conflicted feelings, she travels back to Canterlot to see how her former student is doing ruling Equestria in her and Luna's stead.

Little does she realize that this visit will be one that leads to much change in both her life, and that of Twilight Sparkle.

My entry in the The Twelfth Bimonthly Twilestia Contest

Published 2022-04-09 04:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2022-04-09 04:00:01 UTC

Thanks to Twilight's Aide

“Pray do tell me what reason you have to return to Canterlot, Celestia.”

“I am not certain, Luna… I just want to pay Twilight a visit, that’s all.”

The last moments of her conversation with her sister was what kept playing through Celestia’s head as she stepped off the train at the Canterlot station. Ignoring the stares and murmurs from everypony around her at the sight of one of the former rulers of Equestria, and instead lifting off into the air once she was outside. Flying straight towards the castle, and swooping down to land at the front doors as the guards stiffened to attention. The former ruler passing them a nod as she walked inside, sighing as the memories of her time within these halls rushed back to her.

But there was plenty of time to dwell on the past another day. Right now, she was here to visit Twilight, and maybe get her former student’s advice on why she felt like her life was incomplete. For recently, Celestia had been feeling more and more like she was missing something, a part of her that when she found it, would make her life complete. And despite all her years of knowledge, she couldn’t put a hoof to what it might possibly be.

Which was why she had decided to make the journey to Canterlot. And why she was now knocking on the doors to the throne room, feeling a strange fluttering in her chest when she heard Twilight’s familiar voice calling out, “Come in!”

Sure enough, the reward of keeping her visit a surprise was evident as soon as Celestia walked through the doors. Twilight’s face lit up with excitement, and she hurriedly stood from her throne and made her way to greet Celestia. The two mares meeting at a midway point between doors and throne, with Twilight embracing Celestia in a hug that the former ruler returned, feeling a warmth in her chest as she smiled warmly.

“Celestia! I didn’t know you were coming, or else I would have prepared something!” Twilight exclaimed, and Celestia chuckled as the two eventually pulled out of the hug.

“I wanted to keep my visit a surprise. You seem well, Twilight,” the white alicorn remarked, and the lavender alicorn smiled widely.

“I’m doing perfectly fine! It’s been a while since we last saw each other,” she said, and Celestia nodded.

“It most certainly has… you’ve definitely grown since I last saw you,” Celestia remarked, since Twilight now stood almost eye level with her former mentor.

“And you don’t seem to have changed at all,” Twilight said with a warm smile, and Celestia wondered briefly whether that was a good or a bad thing. But she quickly waved that aside as Twilight continued, “So, to what do I owe this surprise visit, Celestia?”

“To be honest… I was hoping you could possibly help me with an issue I have been pursuing an answer to for quite some time now.” Celestia answered, and when Twilight motioned for her to continue, Celestia hesitated before saying, “For quite some time now, I’ve felt as if there’s something missing from my life. Something that for the life of me, I cannot discover any fragment of what it might be.”

“Interesting… how long ago did this start?” Twilight asked, as she and Celestia began to walk together out of the throne room and down the hallways of the castle.

“Several months, if memory serves me correctly,” Celestia answered, sighing as she hung her head slightly. “Other than that, I know almost nothing about what this may be. All I know is that whatever it is, it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.”

“I see… I may have an idea on what it is, but for now, why don’t we just walk together for a while?” Twilight offered, and Celestia nodded in agreement. The two alicorns making their way through the hallways of the castle, with Celestia not really paying that much attention to where they were heading until they stepped outside, and the white alicorn glanced around to find them standing in one of the gardens of the castle.

“Twilight, why are we here? What does this have to do with anythi-“ Celestia started, turning her gaze towards her former student… only for the words to die on the tip of her tongue as she beheld Twilight. The midday sun shining down and illuminating her former student’s mane, causing it to shine in a vibrant brilliance, perfectly framing Twilight’s face as she smiled slightly at Celestia.

“I’m testing a theory,” Twilight said as she trotted up to her former mentor. Celestia opened her mouth to ask a question, but was cut off as Twilight leaned in and suddenly kissed her. The white alicorn’s eyes widened in shock, before she felt that same strange warmth in her chest spread through her entire body as she returned the kiss.

When Twilight pulled away, Celestia was left to catch her breath slightly as Twilight smirked down at her. The lavender alicorn giggling to herself at the look on Celestia’s face, before eventually saying, “I think I may know what you’re suffering from, Celestia.”

“And what is it?” the white alicorn asked once she had caught her breath, and Twilight smiled as she leaned in and whispered in her ear:

“You’re missing someone in your life to love you and cherish you. More than like a sister or a friend would.”

Celestia blinked, opening her mouth to say something to negate what Twilight spoke, before pausing and thinking it over as she closed her mouth. Sure, she had made plenty of friends in her lifetime, and even in her retirement she spent most of her time with her sister. But never once had she thought that the reason for her feeling of incompleteness was that of love.

"So... you're saying that I need to find somepony to be with?" Celestia eventually asked, and Twilight shook her head as she leaned down and kissed her former mentor's cheek, eliciting a surge of warmth from Celestia's chest through her entire body as the white alicorn blushed and lowered her head.

"No. What I'm saying is that you need to find the pony you love, and that loves you back," Twilight said, before adding. "And based on your actions here, I know who that is. It's-"

"You."

Twilight fell silent as she and Celestia stared silently at each other. One with look of shock, the other with one of revelation. While it was true that Celestia had viewed Twilight as her student for most of her life, she couldn't deny that Twilight had grown up into a fine alicorn and ruler. And it was no lie that she was extremely beautiful. It only made sense that Celestia might be inevitably drawn to that which she was familiar with the most.

"So what now?" celestia asked, already knowing in her heart what she wanted to do the most.

"Now? Now we see just how much we love each other," Twilight said, and the two met each other in the middle as they embraced and engaged in another passionate kiss.

Luna would later recieve a letter that read the following:

Luna,

While I intended for my trip to Canterlot to be a short one, I have come upon a realization and the solution to what has been plagueing my thoughts these past several months. Please do not worry about me; I am fine and well. I am just spending some time with my new special somepony here in Canterlot. I will be back by the end of the week, I promise.

Sincerely,
Celestia