Author's Note

Edited by Thomas
Edited by That One Strange Fellow
Edited by starcoder

Episode 1: Old Wounds

The wooden door was painted in bright pink. Its hinges were a bright gold and the knob was a light purple marked with a white heart. It had a few etches, scratches, and deep gnarled grooves, from the wood being worn and aged for generations. There was a rough, brown, fuzz-coated doormat that said “welcome” in a very pretty font. This must be new, Twilight theorized. On that note, the door also had a upside-down drop-shaped window with golden lines, which created a beautiful curving piece of stained glass that looked like a droplet of water. The light came off the window uneven and rippled, following the shapes of the glass in the pane. Not to mention, the door knob was—

“Twilight! What’s keeping you so long?” asked Spike.

Twilight Sparkle was abnormally nervous, stalling as she tapped the tips of her hooves on the hot, bordering on burning pavement. Her mind was racing. She knew the house from top to bottom, from front to back, from—

“Twilight!”

Twilight jumped. “Sorry, Spike, I just don’t know why the letter was so vague! It went on about her year, and the refurbishments, and all. It just didn’t have any actual content outside of light catching up and pleasantries! What if it’s something I did wrong, Spike? Is dad okay? Am I okay?”

As Twilight paced during the tangent, she failed to notice Spike step forward to reach for the knocker.

There was a sharp “Eep!” from Twilight as Spike made two heavy, hard knocks with a short empty space in between. Despite Twilight’s immediate lecturing on not to scare her the way he did, Spike only stood with a flat expression.

When the door opened, Spike and Twilight smiled.

“Oh, hello Twilight!” the older mare beamed.

“Hi mom!” Twilight and Spike said with enthusiasm.

Velvet wore a thin, golden chain necklace topped with a pale, lavender colored, pea-sized gem. Her mane was tied in a neat bun that appeared smooth, silky, and neatly trimmed rather than prickled. As bright as her smile was, her eyes betrayed her, swollen and red with dark sunken rims, as if she had not slept well or had been crying. “Please, come in! We have… much to discuss!” she stated with a forced slight smile, stress and exhaustion simmering just beneath the surface.

Twilight and her number-one assistant were welcomed in the newly painted home, adorned with polished statues of owls and the Princesses. The books were aligned neatly and well-alphabetized and sorted by genre. Things were tiddier than she remembered them. While not significantly so, the house being dust free and completely sorted felt almost like a museum exhibit.

A few titles stuck out, but the one Twilight Sparkle was intrigued by was an older fiction about an earth pony who was mistakenly given to the wrong parents at birth. She hadn’t seen that book since they lost it at a festival when she was a filly, so this must have been a new copy.

“You wouldn’t believe what those earth ponies did for the place,” began Velvet, “Violet Tone— ...ah, you remember Violet Tone, right?” Twilight Sparkle nodded, so her mother continued, “Yes, well, she came over to borrow some sugar one day. You see, she accidentally left the lid open all night, and you know how Violet is about her mood with coffee and all those sweeteners.” she said slowly, leading Twilight to the kitchen,

“So, anyway, she came over and was very grateful for the sugar, when she noticed that leak on the sink I told you about. So she told me that there was a leak here and I told her that I was going to take care of it—I believe I told you that, too—when she suggested that I should look into it right away. Turns out, she knew a construction pony she dated-”

“They were friends!” added Night Light.

“Dad!” said Twilight and Spike, both at once again.

“Hey foals, how was Ponyville?” said Night.

“It was great!” Twilight began, “We met a lot of ponies but it was all worth it for—” Pony. Twilight stopped to stare.

There was a unicorn at the dining table. She had an incredibly dark blue coat with a curly light purple and faded-pink mane and tail.

She had wide, bright-green glasses, her complementary faded-blue bow and a pair of matching pants and long-sleeved shirt were an interesting choice. Fascination would have been the first reaction for Twilight if she saw her in the Canterlot streets. In fact, fashion was rather big in the city. However, what Twilight was confused by was who she was.

“Oh.” She fluttered her eyes in surprise. “So sorry!” Twilight began, yet again, “I didn’t know you had guests! Is she a new neighbor?”

“Well, actually,” Velvet hesitated a moment. “Twilight. I. You see,” she sighed shakily, her eyes darting across the room and back, “Twilight Sparkle, this is your sister. Crystal Dawn,”

| ~☆ |
| /*/ |

There was a moment of silence.

Crystal tilted her head. Twilight was still, almost like a statue. Crystal felt concerned for her apparent sister. She wished she hadn’t sat at the table and stayed out of sight long enough for Velvet, her mother, to tell Twilight slowly. Instead of being forced to drop it on her. I was lost in thought! Crystal beat herself, I need to stop being so oblivious!

The dragon fell to the ground on his back in a fit of laughter and kicked his little baby feet in the air. “Holy Celestia, that was hilarious! Mom, I never knew you could prank!” He got up with somewhat wobbly legs and wiped a tear from his eyes. “I’m so sorry mom got you to do this, Crystal, I just—” he chuckled, then wiped his teary eyes. “That was funny. I’m Spike, by the way. Twilight’s Number One Assistant— and, and,” Spike pushed out the words as he struggled to breathe, then laughed, “Your brother!” and on the floor he went, again.

Crystal couldn’t help but hold a hoof to her muzzle to stifle a smile. It was adorable to see the little dragon laugh. To her, it truly helped to ease the tension.

“Spike,” said Twilight, “I.” Twilight hesitated, “I don’t think this is a prank. It’s—” she held a hoof to her mane, then brushed it back with a sigh. “It’s not a prank, right? Right, mom?”

“Twilight…”

Velvet attempted, only for Crystal to get up. “Velvet, I got this. Or, um,” she paused, “Mom,” She said awkwardly, as if it was a foreign word to her.

Spike stopped laughing.

Crystal pushed her glasses with a sigh. “Twilight, a-and Spike. I’m your twin-sister. Or, well, your twin sister. I don’t think I came out of an egg, right?” she gave a nervous, forced chuckle. Not even Spike seemed to appreciate the attempt at humor, so she tried to get to the point. “Nice to meet you both. At last, I think.”

“But how?” asked Twilight, “I thought it was just Shining Armor and I.”

“And Spike!” added the dragon.

Twilight softly chuckled as she pet Spike. “Yes, and Spike.” she added quickly, “But that was it, Mom,” Twilight kept her attention on Velvet. It was apparent to Crystal that Twilight was only interested in hearing what Velvet had to say. “It was just the five of us. Why didn’t we know about this? Are you sure?”

“I did,” said Crystal, “And I made sure Mom had the results so she could get it verified, too. I spent months on this, Twilight, and I know it’s true.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed into a glare. Crystal figured she did not want to accept this. At least, not right away. “Then how?” asked Twilight.

With a shaky breath, Crystal began, “I was pony-napped as a foal when I was born. When we were both born. The hospital was too busy to notice right away but, when they did, they told Velvet— Mom and—”

Velvet’s lip quivered and her legs shook as her previously calm and casual, now concerned demeanor started to crack. In a sudden, heavy sob of tears, she cried out, “I’m so sorry, Twilight! I didn’t mean to, it was just too painful, and—”

“Wait,” Twilight stopped her mother’s tearful rambling, “You— Mom, I can’t believe— you lied to me! What, did you not tell Shining Armor too?”

Night Light eased himself into the room to rub a hoof on Velvet’s back.

Another uncomfortable silence etched into the scene.

“Mom.” Twilight pressed, “Shining Armor wasn’t told about this. Was he? I mean, it’s not like he lied to me too, right? Right?”

“Twilight?” Spike spoke up, “I think he saw it happen.”

Crystal covered her ears and stifled a distressed moan.

Chaos erupted. It started with a ‘what?!’ only for the rest to be indecipherable. It was loud—very loud. Night Light raised his hooves and tried to yell over the argument only to just contribute to the yelling.

Spike backed away from Twilight to the point of inching towards the dining table. He jumped onto the seat, placed his claws politely on the table and stared at them. He’s such a good colt, thought Crystal. “Hey.” Crystal pressed. Spike perked up. “Hey, are you doing all right?”

There were still tears in his eyes as he nodded.

She placed a hoof across the table. “Hey, it’s ok. You’re ok. You didn’t do anything wrong,”

Spike mumbled something intangible, but Crystal could not make it out over the arguing. “What was that?”

Spike, with his head still facing down, spoke up. “What is even happening?”

She frowned, then narrowed her eyes, then glared fiercely. She slammed her hoof onto the table. “Everypony?” The arguing continued. “Everypony? Everypony. Ahem, everypony!” Ignored, she slid away from her chair and sparked her horn. “Everypony, be quiet!”

Her light blue magic exploded into a field of bright transparent sapphire that covered the entire kitchen. Suddenly, Twilight and Velvet could not speak. Velvet immediately tapped her throat in confusion. Twilight, however, looked directly at her.

Crystal only appeared resolved instead of regretful. The silence lasted what felt like a tense hour, only for it to be no more than a minute before her horn’s magic dissolved and the field fizzled out in a series of vibrant blue sparks.

“Crystal,” said Twilight.

“Twilight,” said Crystal.

“I understand that you are my sister.” Twilight stated, “And that none of this is your fault. You did the right thing finding us.” Crystal nodded, glad that Twilight took her first step to acceptance. “However, I still have a lot of questions. How about we meet at Donut Joe’s? It’s on me.” She said with a slow sigh.

Crystal agreed with a firm nod, Spike barely perked up with blurry eyes, and Velvet hid in Night’s hooves to calm down.

/*/

The walk was rather hot on the way. She was far too used to a colder climate to keep from sweating while Twilight seemed unbothered by the intense sun that beared down on them. The walk was also silent. However, later down the line, Spike warmed up to talk to her nonstop. The little guy was interested in Crystal and who she was, so when he started asking questions she felt guilty not to answer.

It was strange seeing such a foal-like dragon, however. The ones she read about were big and ferocious, greedy and in possession of so much treasure. She knew that he must have not had any gold to his name, especially when he said he was born before Twilight was ten. Dragons aged differently, after all.

Eventually, as bitter sweet, mellow, yet delightful as this walk was, they finally made it to “Donut Joe’s”.

Crystal had seen her share of cafés, bakeries, pâtisseries’— and the like. But it was surprisingly rare in Manehattan to have donut shops that functioned like a café. Its checkerboard floors were white and blue, the windows were mostly vibrant and pale purple shaped-diamonds edged with bronzed solder between the panes, accenting the contrasting dark and bright green diamond patterns on the wall. Shifting the lights' mood as it danced through the different colored panes, and spilling over the counter in a colorful dance. On the counter there were delicious-looking assorted donuts displayed, as well as shelves with pies for sale.

The stallion behind the counter was cute. He had an adorably ruffled brown mane and a tan coat with a muscular build. He seemed gentle and— I should stop, Crystal thought dismissively. She looked down to cover her blush. Twilight, luckily, did not seem to notice. However, Spike smirked.

“ ‘Ay Twilight, where have you been? I haven’t seen you in months!” said Donut Joe.

Twilight smiled, “Oh, just saving Equestria from eternal night, running a library, making friends,”

“Got anything good, today, Joe?” asked Spike

“Well,” Donut Joe began as he listed off several recent deliveries and some interesting flavors that were added to the batch. Twilight ordered some of the new ones; while Spike ordered his usual with extra sprinkles for missing his donuts. Crystal only ordered a single plain donut and coffee with a pump of cream: just the way she liked it at home.

Home.

Home…

What am I even doing? Crystal asked herself. The rush of leaving home and becoming part of a new family had gotten to her. She felt dizzy: one day she had an argument with her parent, and then the next day, she was at a donut shop in Canterlot. She suddenly swirled with travel fatigue. In just the blink of an eye, her life had changed so radically.

Spike took a big swig from his hot chocolate and slammed it on the wooden table, “Wow, doom and gloom over here,”

“Spike!” Twilight scolded. As Spike asked what he did, Twilight turned her head to her sister. “Hey, it’s ok. I know it’s been,” she hesitated, “...a lot finding out that your life is a lie,” she forced a chuckle.

Crystal shook her head, “No, no!” insisted Crystal, “It’s fine, really. It’s just been a fast few days for me and everything I thought was true, I now have to double check. But that’s ok, really! All I have to do is just question everything and don’t trust anypony,” her voice weakened. She forced a smile to fight the tears from her eyes, “And no matter who I love. I always know that there is always something behind that and,” she stopped to swallow a breath, “And I,” she could not fight her tears at this point.

“Hey,” Twilight assured, “Everything is going to be ok-”

“No it’s not, Twilight!” Crystal slammed the table. A few odd ponies looked their way and Donut Joe stopped chatting with a mother and colt to find the ruckus. Crystal blushed severely while Spike choked on his drink from startlement. “I’m sorry, I just need everything to stop moving so fast, you know?” She sighed softly.

Twilight nodded. She was, to Crystal’s surprise, apparently listening. And so was the dragon, who looked at her closely while he also ate a gem-coated donut in one bite. Crystal continued, “I just don’t know what my life is going to be anymore. I broke ties with my ‘family’ so I don’t know where to go other than to your—our parents’ home but I’ll need a job, fast! I don’t know what to do with myself.”

Twilight hesitated on an idea, as Crystal could tell. She shared a glance with Spike who choked on his additional stuffed chocolate and sprinkled donut, then turned her attention back to Crystal.

“We’ve got a place in Ponyville. You can work at our library until you find yourself a job. Take your time, make sure it’s steady and pays well. Rent can be discussed, then. Spike can show you the ropes.”

“Wait,” Crystal interjected, “Ponyville? Isn’t that a village by the Everfree Forest?”

Twilight nodded.

Crystal did not like the idea of a backwater village, let alone one that resided near the dangerous Everfree Forest. While threatening, she would have rather stopped living off her parents than live in “civilization”. Small towns, however, seemed harder to find a job for.

But there was something wrong for Crystal.

“Wait, aren’t I a stranger to you? You just met me today!”

Spike swallowed another donut, “Twilight’s the best. I don’t think you would take advantage of us.” Spike leaned back on his chair to lay his feet on the table, “You could say that you’re growing on us.”

Crystal smiled at this.

“What we meant to say,” Twilight amended, “Is that you’re our sister. It doesn’t matter if we knew before or now. I mean, it was a stretch, but I can see the resemblance.” with a chuckle, she calmed to a more neutral expression, “But that doesn’t matter as you are a pony in need, and as Celestia’s Protege and the Element of Magic, I have to do the right thing by you,”

Crystal blinked. Celestia? Princess Celestia? Before she had a chance to question it, Spike slammed his hot cocoa from another swig.

“Yeah, Twi’s gonna take care of you no problem. And wait until you meet Pinkie Pie!” he mentioned with a laugh, “And not to mention” Spike leaned his head against his palm as if in a trance, “Rarity…”

Twilight cleared her throat, “Right, well, Ponyville has its quirks. Canterlot at least makes sense. They, for one,” Twilight then mumbled, “mind their own business!”

Her voice raised to the indoors volume, “But after my time in Ponyville, I can’t help but notice how picky and overly sophisticated it is. Besides that, mom has been,” she hesitated on what to say, “Exhausted,” she guiltily bit her lower lip. She pointed both of her hooves at Crystal, “But it’s not your fault! You did the right thing to come,” Twilight sighed, “And you deserve a quiet, friendly environment— Please, just come with me,”

Crystal was stunned. She had so many questions: Celestia’s “Protege”, Element of Magic, a baby dragon she assumed was from Celestia—or at least the Element of Magic, which seemed cultish to her—she never really realized the amazing roles Twilight seemed to have. Which meant, to her dismay, that being a burden on her was even more responsibility than she apparently already had.

Not to mention the legendary Everfree Forest.

Crystal placed her front hooves on the table, “I will think about this,”

Twilight and Spike exchanged a look. “Alright, we’ll write to you,” with a smirk, Twilight added, “But believe me, Ponyville will grow on you.”