Twilight was in Celestia's bedchambers, reading the book that Celestia had given her, The Birth of The Royal Pony Sisters. The book seemed to be written in badly-spelled Old Equestrian, a fact that bugged her inner control freak. She sighed, looking at the door. Celestia had insisted that the book not leave her bedchambers, not even if Twilight teleported directly to her bedroom at the school.
She turned her head, looking over at her bare back. Celestia had dropped a bombshell when she said Twilight would be growing wings, becoming an Alicorn. Just as likely for me to outlive my friends, was her sarcastic thought. Shaking her head, she returned her attention to her book.
"…Fore the unicorne Celeste, not noeing the foul deed played bye her peeres, did raise the son alon, drawing on the poweres Arcane ande manifested Wings most becoming of a Goddess, ande did rise the son with greet glory…"
I bet that was a sight to see, Twilight mused.
From what she had gathered, both Celestia and Luna had been powerful unicorns, tasked with raising the sun and the moon, respectively. They were not alone in this endeavor, relying on the aid of fellow unicorns.
She had a piece of paper with a list of questions she wanted to ask Celestia. She added a new one: What was the purpose of the 'foul deed' her fellow unicorns pulled? After a second of thought, she added What was the 'foul deed'?
A soft knock on the door drew Twilight's attention away from her studies. "Oh, please come in," she called out, getting her notes ready to ask Celestia some questions.
After a few seconds of waiting, the door was burst open by an angry dark blue mare twice as big a normal pony, with a flowing mane that showed the night sky. "Sister! Have you no.… shame…" Luna's shout turned into a whisper as she saw the occupant of of the room wasn't Celestia looking to humor her sister by imitating a long-dead Twilight, but Twilight herself now cowering behind a desk.
"Twilight Sparkle?" Hazarded the moon princess. Twilight squeaked. Luna narrowed her eyes, mumbling. Finally, she addressed the frightened Unicorn with sternness. "Twilight Sparkle, as much as you would enjoy to know the future, it is unwise to jump forward in time, lest you get stuck."
"Princess?" Queried a confused Twilight.
"Starswirl made the mistake as well, but he only went a year into the future. You, however, have gone one hundred years; things have changed significantly from the time you have jumped. It's best that you try to jump back. In fact, I will aid you."
"Princess…" Twilight said in a shocked tone.
Bowing her head, Luna began channeling magic into her horn. "Do not worry, my friend, you will thank me one day."
"Princess Luna!" Twilight shouted.
The magic in Luna's horn expanded in an oval from her horn tip to fill the room.
There was a tense minute after nothing happened as both mares looked at each other in shock.
"This is not possible," was Luna's breathless whisper. She raised her head, her horn glowing faintly. Her wide eyes went wider. "Twilight Sparkle?" Twilight nodded. "How art thou an equal to us in power?"
It was time for Twilight's eyes to bug out comically. "I–I don't–I'm sorry, I didn't–I'm sorry!" She babbled.
Luna did a disbelieving shake of her head. "We have no doubt that thou art Twilight Sparkle, for no other mare… oh, forgive our-my manners. It has been far too long since we have last met."
"But… just as powerful as you!? But your an immortal Alicorn and I'm just…" she cut herself off, looking guiltily at the floor. "I don't know what I am." She mumbled out.
The change of tone caught Luna off-guard. "What do you–"
"Celestia said I'd grow wings!" Twilight blurted out.
After a couple of slow blinks, Luna did a happy squeal and ran up and hugged Twilight before she could react. "It is great to see that you have grown in power." Twilight began to flail her hooves weakly. "It warms my heart to have a friend to enjoy eternity with! Oh, my sister said you liked stargazing;" Twilight's flailing became more energetic. "we shall stargaze tonight, and we shall eat of the S'Mores." Twilight's flailing had become frantic. "And then we shall have a make-over and… yes, Twilight?"
"Air!" Twilight gasped out.
Luna quickly released the bear hug that she had put Twilight in, apologizing while Twilight took big, deep breaths.
After a moment of awkward silence, Luna asked "What are you doing in here, Twilight? It is rare that my sister to have another pony in her bedchambers."
"Research," was the mumbled reply, her head briefly turning to the bookshelves in the room.
"Research? On what? What subject would require you to have access to Celestia's private library?" Luna asked, looking at the bookshelves.
"Alicorns," Twilight continued to mumble.
Luna made a derisive snort. "There is only one book that could even be considered as anything researchable, and I am fairly certain that book doesn't exist anymore. Any other book about Alicorns is pure conjecture and shouldn't be read if you want the truth."
Twilight's ears laid back on her head. "Oh, I guess The Birth of The Royal Pony Sisters isn't any–"
"WHAT!?" The force of Luna's exclamation forced Twilight to take a couple of steps back. Luna quickly turned to look at the desk, taking a look at the book that was sitting there. With a scowl, she closed the book before Twilight could protest and looked at the title. Sure enough, it read The Birth of The Royal Pony Sisters. Luna swore. "I had hoped that book was destroyed when I razed the old castle," was her glum comment.
"Princess, what's wrong with the book?" Twilight asked with worried curiosity.
Luna lashed her tail. "It is embarrassing to us."
"Embarrassing?"
"It talks about our history, and our hubris. And the author more than once goes off on tangents. More than once he commented on our 'goddess-like beauty,'" Luna stuck out her tongue. "My sister and I are nowhere near as powerful as a god; Discord had taught us that. I think the author had a 'thing' for both horns and wings.
"I am curious as to why my sister gave you the book instead of talking to you about this."
"Oh, Princess Celestia said she was busy with something important. I think I interrupted her, actually," Twilight winced.
"'Interrupted'?"
Twilight giggled nervously. "I kinda had a mental breakdown."
Luna raised an eyebrow. "Did you enchant another doll with a spell to make it irresistible?"
"It only happened once!" Exclaimed Twilight. After a second of composing herself, she continued in a more dignified tone. "No, the recent loss of Applejack hit me hard this morning. While I was teaching oh sweet Celestia I forgot about my classes!"
Before Luna could stop her, Twilight disappeared in a flash of purple.
Twilight arrived at the front of the class she had been teaching earlier that day. The class, usually bright and vibrant was now cold and dark. Confused, she looked at the clock. The clock read 7:41. Had it really been a whole day? She shook her head. Glancing around the now-empty classroom, she sighed and began to tidy up her desk. She looked at a large stack of papers. My students’ homework. She idly leafed through the pages, not really paying attention to their contents. I should have graded these two hours ago, was her morose thought. Gathering up the papers, she was prepared to teleport to her office when she heard someone clear their throat.
Turning around, she saw a brown stallion with a well-maintained dark brown mane standing in the classroom's doorframe. Twilight immediately recognized the headmaster of the school. "You gave us quite a scare today, Doctor Sparkle. It's not often that a teacher runs out of her classroom crying. Is there something you need to talk about?"
Twilight shook her head. "I already talked to the princess; she is the only one who would understand."
"Understand what?"
"What did my students do while I was gone?" She deflected. She did not want to dredge up painful memories in front of her boss.
The headmaster narrowed his eyes but didn't comment. "For the most part, they studied. The more rebellious ones went out and caused a ruckus in the halls before another teacher came by and restored order. One colt seemed quite distraught by your sudden absence; tried to get into my office, said something about a 'Mares' swinging moods.'"
Twilight snorted. "That would be Dusk Light; I think he has a crush on me. I thought he really liked learning, but one of the things I saw him doodling put his dedication in a new light. Where he came up with that phrase he used is beyond me; he must heard it from one of his fellow classmates."
A soft pop caused Twilight and the headmaster to turn and see a disoriented Princess Luna. The headmaster immediately bent down into a bow. "Twilight Sparkle, your teleportation spell is a bit rough." Noted Luna.
Twilight gaped. "You followed my teleportation slipstream? But that's…" she trailed off. Wasn't that impossible?
Shaking off the lingering effect of the teleportation spell, Luna stood up. "I would have been here sooner if it was easy. Not to mention your magic resonates with that of the planet's, making it difficult to discover."
Turning to the headmaster, she motioned him to rise. "It seems that Twilight Sparkle has a unique gift; a gift that we princesses wish to cultivate."
Twilight felt a lump forming in her throat. No…
Luna continued "As such, she is absolved of any other duties and obligations…"
"No…" Twilight whispered. The princesses are going to take me away from my job!
"We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but we feel this is the best course of action-"
"NO!"
The headmaster and Luna turned to look at a distraught Twilight. "I don't want to go yet! At least let me finish up the semester!"
Luna shook her head. "I am sorry, Twilight Sparkle, but this is the first time in nearly a millennia for this to happen. We're… anxious for you to stretch your wings, and that is all I will say about it."
Twilight looked at her incredulously. Had Luna really said that? "B-but my students! They still need to be taught-!"
"Twilight, this won't be the first time a teacher has had to drop out due to peculiar circumstances." He stopped short when Twilight gave him a withering glare.
"Twilight Sparkle, trust me when I say we don't know if waiting is wise." Luna stated.
Twilight, distraught, did the only thing that came to mind; a tactic she hadn't used since she was a filly. She gave Luna her best doe-eyes.
Luna didn't even flinch. "Twilight Sparkle, you are going to be training with us and that is final," she stomped her front hoof down.
Twilight sighed. "Okay, princess. I'll meet you at the castle."
"No, Twilight, I think we shall go together," Luna said, her horn glowing. The two mares disappeared in a flash of blue.
Twilight had slept well that night, the comfort of books familiar. She had slept in her old tower, the caretaker had been an old student of hers now in his fifties. He had been quite gracious despite the fact he was being kicked out on short notice. Twilight had insisted on staying at a hotel, but Luna was insistent on her having her tower back that night. Twilight still managed to pay for a week for the stallion's room at the hotel.
She woke up at ten, far later than she was used to. Groggily she walked down to the main floor, trying to remember what today's lesson with Celestia would be. It was after futilely looking for Spike did she remember she hadn't had study time with Celestia ever since she moved to Ponyville, an event that happened over a hundred years ago. But that would be changing soon. The thought of being her student again made her giddy and nervous. She had learned a lot in her studies; what more could she learn?
Moving to the door, she saw someone had pinned a note to it. Pulling it off, she saw it was an invitation to breakfast with princesses Luna and Celestia at 7:00 AM. Looking at the clock, she giggled nervously as she saw the time. "Looks like I'm going to be late."
Twilight was led through the castle's corridors by a pair of Royal Guards. For a moment she thought she would be led to the royal banquet hall, but they passed by it without a word. She soon found herself in front of what she knew as Celestia's private dining room. One of the guards opened the door and she did a double-take: half of the room was how she remembered it: bright, sunny colors accented with gold. The other half had changed to dark colors, accented with silver. Celestia was sitting in a gold-leafed throne on the day side while Luna was sitting in a silver throne by her sister on the night side. There was a chair in between them, sitting on the line between night and day.
"Twilight Sparkle, we expected you to be here sooner," Luna noted as Twilight walked into the princesses' private dining room.
"I slept in. It's amazing what the brain does when you have no responsibilities," Twilight shot back, glaring at her.
"I'm sure you will be quite busy in the following weeks," Luna brushed off Twilight's barb, either ignoring it or not noticing. It could have been the latter; she looked quite sleepy.
"Come, Twilight Sparkle, sit with us. I'm afraid that we have already eaten, but we can have some tea," Celestia said.
Nodding, Twilight took a seat on Celestia's right, purposely not sitting between the princesses. Glancing at the two Alcorns, Twilight took note of their bearing. Both were larger than her, with Celestia still the larger of the two. Celestia still stood tall and regal while Luna was slouched and clearly tired.
Pouring herself a cup, she waited for someone else to start the conversation. She waited ten minutes before giving up. "So I guess I'll be studying under you again, Princess." When both princesses turned to look at her, she amended "Princess Celestia," she amended, making Luna scowl.
Celestia smiled. "It will be more training than studying." The smile turned mischievous. "I will be pushing your limits; physically, mentally, and magically. What my guards go through will be a stroll to what I have planned."
Twilight blinked. She had some idea how grueling the guards' training was, and what Celestia had planned was worse? She wilted. Maybe training under the princess wasn't such a good idea.
Sensing her student's trepidation, Celestia tried to reassure her. "Do not worry, my little pony: I will not push you further than you can handle. At the end of your training, you will be a far greater mare than you are now."
Luna brightened up. "Indeed, with your wings and earth pony strength, not to mention your increased magical ability, nothing can stand in your way."
"So, after I get my wings can I go back to teaching?" Twilight glared at Luna.
Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Even after you ascend, there are a few things I would like us to teach you."
"Such as…?" Twilight hedged.
"How to raise and lower the sun and moon."
Twilight's magical grip on her cup faltered, spilling some of the tea onto the cup's saucer. Placing the cup back on the saucer, she cleared her throat. "You expect me to raise the sun!" she shouted. "Why would you want me to raise the sun!? Are you trying to say something!?"
"Twilight Sparkle, it pains me to talk of this, but Luna and I may not always able to do our duties. Should the need arise, I want you with the knowledge to do our duties."
Twilight spluttered "B-but nothing could happen to you! You are Princess Celestia, regent of the sun! Nothing can stand up to you!"
"I thought the same thing about myself," murmured Luna. "That nothing could beat me. Then I fell into my jealousy and I used forbidden magic to strengthen myself and I knew I was unstoppable. But my dear sister was far wiser and used the Elements of Harmony to imprison me on my moon. It took your friends, who exemplified the virtues of the elements far more than either myself or my sister ever did, to purify me from my twisted self."
Twilight turned to Celestia. She hesitantly asked "Is Luna trying to tell me something about you?"
Celestia shook her head with a smile. "No, my former student. I doubt that I will become jealous of the night life enough to force the sun up." Her smile faded. "But no one knows what the future will bring. I may be struck with a powerful curse that will leave me bedridden; Alicorns from the far reaches of our planet and strike me down for disobeying some inane law of theirs; a cosmic horror from beyond the veil of space could destroy the castle with a mere thought. And how would my little ponies live without the cycle of day and night? The knowledge on the unicorn spell to raise and lower the celestial bodies has been lost in time; not even I, a unicorn who used to raise and lower the sun, remember the spell used."
Twilight chuckled. "Your worried that something can kill you? You're an Alicorn: your an immortal, unkillable pony god!"
"My little pony-"
"Twilight Sparkle-"
Both sisters looked at each other, having spoken at the same time. Celestia motioned to her sister to speak.
She cleared her throat. "Twilight Sparkle, I told you last night that we are not gods. The only being that we have met that comes close to being one is Discord. Without the Elements of Harmony, we would still be under his dominion, with the whole world suffering.
"As for us being unkillable, think on this: before our ascension there was a myth of a strange breed of ponies that exemplified all the traits of the three pony races. They were said to be above any mortal pony, ruling the land in their benevolence.
"Then, one day, they just disappeared, throwing their kingdoms into chaos. There was a rumor that a mare found a body of an Alicorn on a forest trail, but other than that there was no trace.
"Think on this, Twilight Sparkle, and tell me again that an Alicorn cannot be killed."
Twilight was speechless for a moment. Alicorns, killed? She’d seen Celestia take on a death beam and was only knocked unconscious! She shakily took a sip of tea.
Celestia interrupted her thoughts with one simple sentence: "I got a letter from Spike recently."
The tea that Twilight was drinking ended up going down the wrong tube. Coughing, she felt Celestia pat her back with a wing.
"Spike? *kaff* How is he?" Twilight got out.
"He is doing fine. He misses his pony friends; he wants to come back," Celestia said somberly
"Can he come back? I thought dragon puberty lasted for a hundred years," Twilight noted. "I don't want Spike attacking every stallion that talks to me. It was bad enough when it happened with Rarity."
"Spike should have that instinct under control, but I would still sleep better knowing he will not harm my little ponies."
"How did Spike react to… my friends' deaths?"
"I didn't tell him."
"You didn't… princess! They were his friends as much as mine! What right–"
"He would have wanted to come to their funerals, and I would not have had the heart to deny him."
Twilight slumped in her chair. "It would have been nice to see him."
Celestia shook her head sadly. "He wouldn't have fitted through the door. And his desires would still be strong, far stronger than when he left. I fear he would have done some unforgivable act on one of my little ponies."
Twilight fidgeted in her seat. "How much longer until he comes back?"
"In about thirty years. I'm sure the time will fly."
Twilight again slumped in her seat and thought. Finally, she asked "May I write a letter to Spike?"
This time it was Celestia that had tea go down her air pipe. After a second of clearing her throat, she said "I think he would like that."
Luna cleared her throat. "I feel that my presence here is no longer needed, so I shall retire for the day." She pushed herself away from the table.
"Dear sister," Celestia called out. "I do want you present while I talk about your decisions regarding Twilight Sparkle."
Luna groaned but sat back down.
Twilight brightened up. "Will I be able to go back to teaching?" She asked with a smile.
Celestia shook her head. "While I do not agree with Luna removing you from your teaching position, I can see the merits of not having your attention split between teaching and training."
"I just wanted Twilight Sparkle to be in our company," Luna mumbled.
Her sister shot her a glare. "That and I am loathe to go back on a royal decree, especially one given by my sister. We are equal in power, and it will do no good of we second guess each other.
"Now, Luna, it is past your bedtime, and I would like to talk about some boring agendas to my faithful student."
Smiling, Luna scooted her chair back again and trotted away from the table. "Until tonight, Twilight Sparkle, Celestia." Luna said, nodding to each pony in turn. She quickly walked to the room's doors and flung them open, heading to her chambers.
Celestia shook her head in amusement, closing the doors with her magic. "Now, Twilight Sparkle, as to the matter of your training exercises…"
Author's Note
Sorry this took so long. I'm a slow writer and some ideas just wouldn't come.