Canterlot Consequencesby KinsfireChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 1Even with magic available, destruction on the level caused by the changeling invasion is not repaired in minutes, or even hours. Because of this, it was necessary to push the wedding of Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza back a week. Twilight Sparkle, of course, made lists for each person, which were all duplicated on a master check list that was sent to Princess Celestia at the end of each day, with the day’s completed tasks marked off, and those in progress marked as such. Twilight resolutely refused to begin new wedding planning until the city was back in top shape. It was the end of the fourth day of repairs when the usual list appeared on Celestia’s table, but the packet seemed thicker than it had been for the past few days. For that matter, it clearly had not been sent by Spike’s flame, either, which also struck Celestia as unusual. Both Luna and Cadence were with her, as they were finishing their own duties in the city’s repair, and were getting ready to re-commence preparations for Cadence’s wedding. “Perhaps Twilight has some new ideas,” Cadence said when Celestia commented on the unusual thickness of the scroll. “Shall we find out?” Celestia nodded and opened the scroll, and quickly proved to both of the other princesses that it was, in fact, possible for her to go even whiter. “Oh dear,” was all she managed to say for a moment or two. “This is bad. How did we let this get this way?” “What dost thou -” Luna began, and then scowled. “What do you mean, sister?” she asked. Celestia’s answer was to turn the enclosed letter toward Cadence and her. Dear Princess Celestia, I apologize for once again being a silly little foal, but I just can’t do this. I can’t go through the process of rebuilding the city and then rebuilding my brother’s wedding as if there is nothing wrong. It hurts too much to stay, so I’m returning to Ponyville. I need to have some time to myself to think about things, because there is something wrong that needs fixing, and I have to figure out precisely what it is first, before I can even contemplate fixing it. I give you a Pinkie Pie Promise that I am merely going back to Ponyville, and will not run away to parts unknown to “find myself” or whatever the phrase might be. If I find that such will be necessary, then I swear to you that I will tell you and the girls first. Pinkie Pie Promise. I will also stay in contact through our letters, although I’ll need Spike around for any that follow this one. This one will be easy to send, since I am in the castle, but over the distance between Ponyville and Canterlot? I can’t power it myself. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle “Well, I can’t say that I’m too surprised,” Cadence said simply. “I would like to go to Ponyville to talk to her, however. I would like her there at my wedding.” Celestia reared back slightly, as if Cadence had attempted to physically assault her. “You are not surprised by this reaction?” she asked. “Not really. From what I can hear around the castle - and more precisely, what I haven’t heard - I don’t think that anyone has apologized to her for what was said and done. You all seem to be acting as if ignoring it will make the problem disappear. It doesn’t quite work that way.” Luna glanced at it again. "She might be sick as well. This letter does not bear the usual mark of her … oh, now I go in the other direction!" She gently stomped her foot. "I am trying to sound less archaic. Her thoughts seem jumbled in this missive. Perhaps she wrote it and ran? I have read the letters she has sent to Celestia, and they are far more … I believe coherent would be the word. She doth be -” She sighed. “She is confused.” “You’re doing fine, aunt,” Cadence told her. “I’ll help you with it, if you want. But yes, that letter is a bit disjointed. She hurts, some for how ponies reacted, but I suspect more for how they did not react once the trouble was over.” Celestia looked quite troubled. “My last real comment to her, other than that she had a wedding to prepare, was that she had much to think on, and it was said in some anger. Let her know that we will have a long conversation when she returns, should she choose to. And that I have much to apologize for.” She hung her head. “Despite appearances, Cadence, age does not necessarily bestow wisdom.” “She is forgiving,” Luna said. “Perhaps too much so, but a truly felt apology will likely do much to ease her mind.” “It will be given,” Celestia said, “but to her face. I will not trust something so important to a simple missive, no matter how long I might make it.” She opened her mouth to say more, but was startled by the sound of hooves thundering outside her hall, coming to a stop outside. The door popped open, showing the culprit to be Shining Armor. “Princess! My sister! She’s missing! Everything from her room is gone!” “We know, Shining Armor,” Cadence told him. “She sent a letter to Princess Celestia. Luna and I are going to Ponyville to see if we can convince her to return to Canterlot.” He slumped. “She left because of me, didn’t she? I said some cruel things when she accused ‘Cadence’. I was going to apologize to her and saw her stuff gone. I was hoping she might find it in her heart to forgive her idiot big brother, even though he doesn’t deserve it.” “She has a huge heart,” Celestia said. “Luna is correct in that she will likely forgive. Right now, however, she hurts. Cadence, you and Luna take my chariot and be with her. Please - give her the thanks that I should have. I shall speak to her other friends to see if they have spoken with her.” Author's Note Did an edit of the chapter, since I had a pre-reader fix some of the mistakes. Chapter 2Twilight Sparkle sighed as she heard the knock on her door. She had seen the chariot arriving and had started her way downstairs. “Come in, Princess.” “Thank you, Twilight,” Cadence said brightly. “Luna is with me. May she enter as well?” While startled, Twilight was still a gracious host. “By all means. Enter, both of you.” She looked out the door toward the chariot. “Where’s Princess Celestia?” “We felt it was best if we talked to you first,” Cadence said. “If you return to Canterlot, she will want to speak to you, after a very large apology.” “Apology? For what? I’m the one at fault!” Twilight exclaimed. “How do you come to that conclusion?” Luna asked her. She stepped forward. “Dad always said to ignore anyone who called you a foal, because they were usually jealous. But if everyone is calling you foalish, you might want to take a good look at yourself. The eight closest to me all considered me a silly little thing for what happened. It hurts that no one apologized, but they don’t need to, because I was clearly in the wrong on how I handled it.” She sighed. “That reminds me. When you return to Canterlot, could you take this letter to Princess Celestia? She’ll need to see it before she decides to apologize to me.” “I hope you didn’t say anything you can’t take back,” Cadence said. “Might we be permitted to read it?” Luna asked softly. “No offense will be taken if you say no.” “You probably should read it, if only to make sure that I wrote it properly - that I don’t say something that offends when I never intended to.” Dear Princess Celestia, This is probably the hardest letter I have ever written to you, and I will explain why shortly. I’ve been doing some soul searching, Princess, and I do not like what I have found. I am on the cusp of adulthood, but am clearly still a silly little foal in the eyes of everyone who matters to me. If not, I would not have gotten the reaction from everyone that I got. You told me that I had much to think about when you left the rehearsal with everypony else. The only other pony to say anything to me was my brother, who ‘fired’ me as his Best Mare, and even told me not to come to the wedding, albeit it with a somewhat more polite phrasing. I still consider him to be my Big Brother, Best Friend, Forever, even though his words hurt. They needed to, though, because someone does not grow if they never feel pain. It hurt greatly, but my crime was great. It is also why I left Canterlot. When I left, the repairs to the city were nearly done, and the preparations for the new wedding were about to start. I would so love to be there to give my obsessive list-making talents a work-out; to make sure that my brother and my foal-sitter get the absolutely amazing wedding that they truly deserve. But I can’t face it, Princess. If I weren’t such a silly foal, I’d be able to be there beside my brother when he marries the most amazing pony it has ever been my pleasure to know who isn’t you. If I’d been wrong, I would have hurt them both beyond measure, and that is an unforgivable crime to me. So, being a silly filly, I decided to run away, only this time I ran away to my new home. That brings me to the difficult part of this letter. I did as you said, and gave my actions much thought. A decision will need to be made, since you sent me here, and it was implied that my position here in the Ponyville library is due to being your student. As I have said, I am a foal - everypony’s actions toward me show that, and I would be even more of one were I to ignore what so many have told me by their actions. I DO NOT BLAME ANY OF YOU. In fact, if any feel that they need it, I forgive them all, even though they don’t need forgiveness. I needed to know this about myself. But part of the problem with learning to grow is that it is difficult to change if an effort isn’t made toward it. Staying in a familiar routine makes it all too easy to fall back into the foalish attitudes that plague me now. Our relationship is a friendly one, and I pray that it will always be so, but it is still much like that of master to apprentice. I had thought that I had perhaps graduated from apprentice to journeypony, but I see now that I have not. But the lack of trust you showed in my actions shows that there is a flaw in our relationship, one that I MUST find and repair within myself before I can hope to properly apprentice with someone. In that vein, I must regretfully sunder our relationship of teacher and student, My Princess. Do not think that I do this in anger or foalishness, My Princess. Know that I do this because I need to learn to become somepony that you can be proud to teach. Somepony that you can be proud to admit to knowing. I do this because I know now that I still have so very much to learn, and that if things stay as they currently are, I will fall back into the patterns that allowed everypony to think the worst of me. Everypony thought the worst of me for a reason, Princess, so I need to find that reason and deal with it. I cannot in good conscience remain your student while so great a flaw resides within me. Please think fondly of me in the future, my good and gracious teacher. Perhaps someday I shall be worthy of being your student once again. Your ALWAYS faithful ex-student, Twilight Sparkle Luna sat heavily on the floor, as if someone had kicked her back legs out from beneath her, while the noise Cadence made sounded as an Ursa Major had just attempted the Haymlich Maneuver on her. “I think Aunt Celestia needs to see this right now, Luna.” “I agree,” she said. “Perhaps she will see how badly she failed.” There was a flare and the scroll was gone. “What are you talking about?” Twilight asked with some anger. “How did she fail?” Luna managed to speak first. “Of all involved, only one pony does not need to give you an apology, and that is Cadence. All others, including myself, owe you a debt of gratitude and thanks, and we have repaid it by ignoring the fact that you were correct.” “You weren’t even around for the problem, Princess!” Twilight said. “You had other duties! Why would you need to apologize?” “Because I was there afterward, and didst see -” She stopped and sighed before looking skyward. “I will learn to speak as a normal pony,” she murmured. “It is normal, Your Highness. It’s just not modern. And you don’t need to apologize to me for something you had no idea about.” “But I did,” she said slowly. “When the situation was explained to me, I noted the reactions of those around you, and began to suspect. I said nothing until your letter of today.” “I Pinkie Pie Promised twice in one paragraph, right?” Twilight asked. When she received an answering nod, she said, “I’m kinda glad that was the one that got read. There was an enchantment on it to display an entirely different letter if the sun managed to go down before the letter was opened. More precisely, the other letter would have been displayed after eight hours of being ignored by Princess Celestia. Suffice it to say that I would have known by the end of the day tomorrow whether or not she had read the letter, and if the other letter had come up, I would not have been here by the time that the Princess arrived in Ponyville.” She blushed. “And trust me, she would have, if only to either give me a very public spanking or perhaps a very public hanging. It was a dark and bitter thing.” She drooped. “No, I would have been here. I wasn’t lying in my signature. Even if she had ignored my original letter, I’d remain faithful to her.” “Even with your anger, you still allowed for a positive outcome,” Luna allowed. “I had to. The Princess has never been mean that I know of. But if she had been in the presence of the letter and never bothered to open it, then it would have shown that what she truly thought of me after the rehearsal - that I was not worthy of her time at all. That would have damaged the relationship past the breaking point, and that other letter would pretty much have ensured that it stayed broken. While I wasn’t abusive, I was angry, and let it pour onto the parchment.” She shook her head. “But that’s not important. What is important is that I can’t stay her student. My actions were foalish in the extreme, and even the youngest among us thought that - Spike. I haven’t received apologies because everypony was right about me. I was being petulant and acting like someone still in magical kindergarten, so they treated me that way.” “No, they were all in shock,” Cadence said. “Shining Armor nearly skidded into Celestia’s chambers in a panic when he realized that you were gone.” She nuzzled the lavender pony. “He loves you deeply, and knows that what he said was wrong. He said so to me.” “It is true, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said. “It was said before the three princesses.” She paused. “That sounds as if it should be a musical group of some sort. Perhaps with Twilight Sparkle as our … what do they call it? A ‘front pony’? ‘Twilight Sparkle and the Three Princesses’. We could tour Equestria." Twilight blinked for a moment, and then giggled softly, looking down as she did, so she missed the significant look that Luna gave Cadence, and the answering nod. “I think you three have other duties. Besides, my singing tends toward more spontaneity.” She sighed. “But I can’t see why anypony should need to apologize. I have a problem that I need to deal with.” She began to walk back and forth somewhat nervously. “Apologize for what? Being right? I went about it all wrong. If I hadn’t been a foalish little filly, perhaps they could have trusted me.” Her next laugh, devoid of any humor, was more of a bark than her usual whinny. “And then, after Cadence was freed, I was given an important task and ran away from it rather than complete it, because I wanted to feel sorry for myself, thereby proving once again that I can’t be trusted when it comes to something important.” “I see it differently,” Luna replied. “I see a pony who was faced with the daunting task of fixing something that never should have needed fixing, had ponies been willing to listen to one who knew. I see a pony in such pain whilst everypony else tries to ignore that their actions nearly destroyed Canterlot and Equestria and that those actions could have been avoided had they but listened to one pony’s voice. I see a pony berating herself because none who should be apologizing to her will apologize, lest they acknowledge how badly they have hurt her.” She walked closer and lifted Twilight’s head so that she could look in her eyes. “I see a pony whom I know that I can trust with my very soul, for I met her when she saved mine,” she finished softly. “I apologize to you for not saying anything, for I might have been able to be a voice of reason and helped prevent the pain you now feel.” “I won’t apologize,” Cadence said. “I was rather indisposed at the time,” she said, her eyes sparkling slightly. Twilight blinked at her, and then nickered slightly before falling fully into giggles. The giggles turn into full laughter, which turned hysterical. Without a thought, both princesses stepped forward and enfolded Twilight with their wings just as the laughter turned to sobs. They held the grieving unicorn pony close and let her cry herself out. Chapter 3“Heard enough, sister?” Luna asked somewhat incongruously. “More than I wanted to, but less than I am sure that I deserve,” came the soft reply from outside. “I have failed in such a basic way that I can only say that it is due to Twilight Sparkle that our kingdom even remains. I have failed as a monarch and as a teacher, and most importantly, as a friend.” “No, Princess!” Twilight exclaimed, her head rising from between Luna’s and Cadence’s wings. “I’m the one who was wrong! I should have come privately to you with my suspicions, not exploded into the rehearsal!” “When?” Celestia asked. “We had all been quite busy. When was it that you could have notified me?” “I could have scribbled a note and had Spike send it, but I didn’t!” “And I could have noticed that my niece was not acting like herself, rather than assume that it was stress. I could have listened to what my faithful student was saying, rather than follow the herd in thinking that you were being foalish. I could have trusted you as I have so many other times, rather than instantly assume you were wrong.” “That’s the point I’m making, Princess,” Twilight said earnestly. “When the chips were down, you acted the way that your heart felt it must - I could not be trusted to be right about this. My previous actions clearly led you to believe that I was acting like a foal. That means that there is something wrong with me, Your Highness, and that is why I can no longer be your student. I am not deserving of that honor until I can be trusted.” Celestia’s wings drooped at Twilight’s comment. A very male sob sounded outside the door. “I did this to her,” he said. “Some big brother I am. I hurt her worse than any of the bullies in her school. I’ll understand if you want to call it off, Cadence.” Twilight actually broke free of Cadence and Luna’s wing embrace. “Don’t be an idiot, Shiney!" she said, stomping to the door. "The whole time we were escaping, she was worried for you. It was her feelings for you that saved Canterlot. All of Canterlot has a very real example of how much she loves you, and how much you love her - the two of you, alone, cleared the entire city of the changelings. Don’t you dare break it off with her because of me!” He stepped forward, just inside the doorway, and bumped his head gently against hers. “But I hurt you so badly, Twiley. We all did. I said such awful things to you, because I was hurting. I should have known that you wouldn't have accused your foal-sitter without reason. That little rhyme - even horribly stressed, Cadence would have said something, but Chrysalis didn't even know it, and you tried to tell me that. Instead, I ignored you, because you're my little sister, and how could you know what you were talking about?" He snorted. "Amazing that my sister, who hadn't seen Cadence in years, could tell something was wrong, when I couldn't." "You were too close to it, and she had a ready excuse - stress." "Yet the stress of no one listening to you is not a good enough reason for your actions," Luna said. "Why is that?" "Because they're totally different things!" Luna looked at her for a long moment. "Yes, I can see. Shining Armor is allowed to have acted the way he did because of the stress of the situation, which was manufactured by Chrysalis to keep him from noticing. You, however, are wrong for having acted the way that thou didst due to the stress of the situation, which was taken advantage of by Chrysalis in hopes that none would pay heed to thy statements. Totally different situations." She had apparently used her years on the moon to sharpen her sarcasm to a fine edge. "You see? You even make my point for me!" Twilight said, managing to miss the sarcasm. "Chrysalis was the reason that no one would listen to me!" "How does that absolve us of our guilt in our words to you, my dear student?" Celestia asked softly. "Chrysalis fooled everyone! You're apologizing to me for being taken in by someone whose entire existence revolves around that sort of masquerade! My crime was being a stupid little foal in how I tried to bring it to everyone's attention!" "And now thou hast gone from being merely foalish to having committed a crime. Why dost thou so desire that we punish you?" "Because I deserve it!" she cried. "I should have found some way to make everypony realize! Instead, I acted like a foal and my brother and my friends hate me and if Chrysalis hadn't been dumb enough to place me with Cadence then Equestria would have fallen and it would have been all my fault!" Luna was the one to enfold her within her wings this time, and let Twilight cry against her. "Oh Twilight," Celestia said softly. "I have done so poorly by you in this. We owe you a debt and repay you by making you feel that there is something wrong with you. I am so sorry for that, my wonderful and dear student." "But if you didn't listen to me, then there must have been -" "No!" Celestia said. "There was naught wrong with you. It was myself, choosing not to notice the changes in my niece. I needed for you to be wrong about Cadence, because if you were wrong, then I wasn't for not noticing the changes in her. It was not a conscious decision, but it was there nonetheless." "Y'r Highness?" Applejack asked, surprising Twilight. She had thought that only Celestia and her brother had come, but apparently the princess had brought all her friends as well. "May I add somethin'?" Celestia nodded, and Applejack turned to Twilight. "We all did wrong by you, sugarcube, and for that I am just so sorry. But ya talked about us not trustin' you, and that just ain't true. Problem is, we didn't keep trustin' you. We met your brother, and well, shoot, he's your best friend. Why shouldn't we listen to him?" She frowned. "Dang it, I just ain't good with words. I know what I want ta say, but it just ain't comin' out right." Rarity stepped forward. "I think I know what you wish to say, darling. May I try?" Applejack nodded and stepped back, her annoyance at her inability to make her point clear on her face. Rarity spoke up in her posh tones. "I think what dear Applejack is attempting to say is that we immediately trusted your rugged and handsome brother - and may I add that Princess Cadence is a very lucky pony? - because you referred to him as your best friend. 'Big brother best friend forever', I think you said? If you considered him to be your best friend, then by all means, he must be the most trustworthy pony in all Equestria. None of us realized the way that awful Changeling Queen had her claws in him, so when he declared you to be wrong, then you simply had to be, because the person you trust most in the world said you were wrong." She bowed her head. "It does not, however, clear our guilt for not apologizing after you were proven to be right. That is clearly inexcusable, and I, for one, will be working to redeem myself for hurting you so terribly much." "Wait," Twilight said, raising a hoof as she reluctantly pulled away from Luna's comforting embrace. "You're saying that the reaction I got from all of you was because you trusted my word about my brother? You'd never met him!" "But you grew up with him and liked him enough to call him your friend!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, hovering about a foot off the ground. "Not everypony gets along that well with their brother or sister, so hay, if you liked him that much, then he must be cooler than the average pony! Maybe even as cool as me!" She punctuated the last statement by buffing her hoof on her chest. She deflated quickly though and settled to the ground, looking at the dirt. "But I'm supposed to be the Element of Loyalty. Some loyal pony, huh? Turn my back on you and don't apologize after you save our butts. Again." Twilight looked around the assembled group, and her friends were all looking at the ground. To her shock, Pinkie's mane was dull and straight, and she'd taken on that greyish pink hue she'd had when she thought everyone had abandoned her. "I don't understand. You were all right. I was being a silly little foal. I should have found another way to expose her. Why can't you see that?" "Hindsight is almost always perfect, Twilight," Luna said. "I still berate myself for things I could have done to avoid becoming Nightmare Moon, but then I realize that, at the time, I was within the situation and things were not as clear then as they are now." She brought her face in close. "Can you truly say that you would do things differently, if you were in the situation again, having only the information available to you at the time? Remember that so much of what you know now is what was learned because you were already being too effective for the Changeling Queen. Think upon it. Canst thou truly say that thy actions were wrong, knowing naught but what was before you?" Twilight closed her eyes, and the assembled crowd grew even more silent. "No, I can't," she said softly, almost too quietly for even Luna to hear. Luna raised the mare's head and looked into her eyes. "Then be proud that thy actions saved us all, dear Twilight. Worry not on 'might-have-beens', for their only purpose is to make thee doubt thyself. Thou art once again savior of Equestria, and shall be known as such." "Please, no!” Twilight cried out, nearly panicking. “I didn't save everyone from Chrysalis, that was Shining Armor and Cadence. They should be known for it." "But if you hadn't rescued me -" Cadence began. "No. I'd really rather not be remembered for my part in this, to be honest. No matter what everypony seems to be saying, my behavior was shameful, and to hold me up as something to emulate? It sends the wrong message to other fillies. I don't want others thinking they can throw a temper tantrum and everything will all work out fine. It doesn't work that way." Celestia smiled. "Twilight? Will you not rethink your decision about being my student? You continue to prove to me that you are a joy to mentor when you can come to such a mature realization." "You'd still … even after that letter I sent? I tried to make it sound right, but really, in the long run, it was a whiny little -" "Stop," Celestia said, raising a hoof to Twilight's mouth gently. "You said what you needed to say, and it showed me the depth of the hurt I caused you, my good and faithful student." She looked carefully at the lavender unicorn. "That is, if you will still have me as your teacher?" Twilight couldn’t stop herself - she threw her forelegs around the princess and hugged her. “Yes! I quit because I thought I had let you down so badly!” “And yet your actions continue to make me proud, my student.” “It’s true,” Luna interrupted. “She brags to the leaders of other nations about you.” Celestia’s response was to go as pink in embarrassment as she had gone white in horror earlier. “Really?” Twilight asked, her eyes going amazingly wide. “Why not?” Applejack said. “You’re a pretty amazin’ pony, whether you admit it or not.” She looked over at the blue pegasus who had begun to hover again. “Might even be twenty percent cooler than Rainbow over there,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes. “Hay!” Rainbow yelled. “Not possible … wait, this is Twilight we’re talking about.” She met the lavender unicorn’s eyes. “Probably the only one in all of Equestria who might be cooler than me. Maybe.” She looked around. “But none of you heard me say that.” “So much for publishing it in the Ponyville Gazette,” Rarity said with a small smile. “You wouldn’t!” Rainbow Dash. Her look seemed to give the impression that she knew what Rarity was doing, and was willing to play along. “Of course not, Dash darling. If we did, then Ponyville would be overrun with ponies wanting to hang out with her, and we’d never see her anymore through all the throngs.” She turned to Twilight, her eyes shining, both with mirth and unshed tears. Twilight shook her head. “I said it in the letter to Princess Celestia, but I will say it to you all now. Yes, it hurt, but I forgive you. I didn’t say it the right way, so it was very easy for you to think I was just being a spoiled little thing who was losing her exclusive access to her brother.” “Speaking of said brother,” Shining Armor interjected, “I’m running into a bit of a problem. I kinda said some really stupidly hurtful things to my little sister, and now we can’t have a wedding because I chased away my Best Mare. Y’think you could help me out, little sis?” “You really want me in your wedding party?” she asked in a voice just shy of tears. He looked up and past her, and a moment later said, “There won’t be a wedding without you.” Twilight scowled and spun to face Cadence. “Cadence, talk to him! Tell him he’s being an idiot!” “I can’t. He asked me first, and I agree with him. It wouldn’t be right to hold the wedding without you there, so there won’t be one without you.” She smiled. “And I know it’s terribly unusual, and probably improper and no end of other unflattering adjectives to describe it, but if we can manage it, would you be my Mare of Honor as well? I can think of no one better.” Twilight gulped. “Really?” she finally asked in a small voice. “Really. I know you’ll stand with him, but I want you to know that we both want you there. No Twilight; no wedding.” Twilight blinked a few times, her eyes dripping tears, before she grabbed her brother and her soon-to-be sister-in-law and hugged them tightly. “Yes!” she cried. “Thank you for forgiving me!” “No, thank you for forgiving your idiot brother,” Shining Armor replied. “Hey, no pony calls my brother an idiot except me,” she said with a happy sob. “Insult my BBBFF and face the wrath of Twilight Sparkle!” “Ah’d listen if ah were you,” Applejack said with a smile. “She can get right scary when she’s protecting ponies she loves. Anyone in Ponyville can tell ya that.” Chapter 4The wedding was considered a success, between Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Rainboom and Twilight’s gift of song to the new married couple. Luna stepped up to her sister in a quiet moment and shook her head. “You have no idea how much I envy you, sister. Twilight Sparkle is an amazing mare, with such heart, and such a connection to you. She loves you very much. In some ways, you are more mother to her than her own flesh and blood. That in itself is amazing, given how clearly her family loves her.” “You should begin your own set of correspondences with her, Luna.” She looked at her younger sibling and smiled. “You complain about your usage of archaic language, perhaps you could convince Twilight and her friends to tutor you and gently correct you?” At Luna’s soft blush, she corrected herself. “Perhaps just Twilight? Since you would obviously be embarrassed by too many knowing of your problem.” “That would perhaps not be a -” “I agree,” Celestia interrupted. “It would certainly not be a bad idea. Twilight!” she called out brightly in the Royal Canterlot Voice, humor evident in the call. “May I speak with you for a moment?” “I shall get you for this, ‘Tia,” Luna said through gritted teeth. “If I am wrong, and you are hurt, then by all means, I shall stand still and let you ‘get me’,” Celestia replied. “But I suspect that it might be the best thing for you since you were freed from your time as Nightmare Moon.” “You know that she was me, and not some overlay from elsewhere?” Luna said. “You always refer to that time as if it were an entirely different being.” “I know, my darling sister, but I say it as such to remind you that it was a different time. There is something inside me that … well, the histories do not talk much of it, but something similar happened to me in my anger at my inability to stop you without exiling you. Call it a blaze, since there is perhaps not a word to describe a similar darkness befalling one connected so deeply to the day. That was not a happy time for our little ponies. But make no mistake, sister, I love you, and interfere at times because I love you. Much as Twilight did for her brother.” “Did I come over at a bad time?” Twilight asked softly. “No, I was just reminding my dear sister that she has ponies to lean upon when she needs to. I called you over because Luna was commenting to me about her tendency to slip into archaic language. Perhaps you would be willing to tutor her?” “Of course! I would be glad to!” She looked to the princess in question, who was attempting to look regal, but was still sporting a very slight pinkness to her cheeks. She smiled. “Perhaps over a series of lunches? Private, so that she isn’t embarrassed if she slips up? Maybe even some nice picnics in Ponyville, to give her a reason to get out of the castle now and then?” Luna’s eyes widened for a moment, and then she smiled. “I think that I would enjoy that, Twilight.” “I thought so.” Her smile widened. “You perhaps said more than you knew when you thanked me, and that could be worth exploring … Luna.” Celestia’s eyes widened, but sparkled with mirth. It was the first time that she had ever heard her student refer to either of them without prefacing their name with their title. I believe that this could be the start of something very interesting, she thought as the two walked off, working out a schedule of visits.
Chapter 1Even with magic available, destruction on the level caused by the changeling invasion is not repaired in minutes, or even hours. Because of this, it was necessary to push the wedding of Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza back a week. Twilight Sparkle, of course, made lists for each person, which were all duplicated on a master check list that was sent to Princess Celestia at the end of each day, with the day’s completed tasks marked off, and those in progress marked as such. Twilight resolutely refused to begin new wedding planning until the city was back in top shape. It was the end of the fourth day of repairs when the usual list appeared on Celestia’s table, but the packet seemed thicker than it had been for the past few days. For that matter, it clearly had not been sent by Spike’s flame, either, which also struck Celestia as unusual. Both Luna and Cadence were with her, as they were finishing their own duties in the city’s repair, and were getting ready to re-commence preparations for Cadence’s wedding. “Perhaps Twilight has some new ideas,” Cadence said when Celestia commented on the unusual thickness of the scroll. “Shall we find out?” Celestia nodded and opened the scroll, and quickly proved to both of the other princesses that it was, in fact, possible for her to go even whiter. “Oh dear,” was all she managed to say for a moment or two. “This is bad. How did we let this get this way?” “What dost thou -” Luna began, and then scowled. “What do you mean, sister?” she asked. Celestia’s answer was to turn the enclosed letter toward Cadence and her. Dear Princess Celestia, I apologize for once again being a silly little foal, but I just can’t do this. I can’t go through the process of rebuilding the city and then rebuilding my brother’s wedding as if there is nothing wrong. It hurts too much to stay, so I’m returning to Ponyville. I need to have some time to myself to think about things, because there is something wrong that needs fixing, and I have to figure out precisely what it is first, before I can even contemplate fixing it. I give you a Pinkie Pie Promise that I am merely going back to Ponyville, and will not run away to parts unknown to “find myself” or whatever the phrase might be. If I find that such will be necessary, then I swear to you that I will tell you and the girls first. Pinkie Pie Promise. I will also stay in contact through our letters, although I’ll need Spike around for any that follow this one. This one will be easy to send, since I am in the castle, but over the distance between Ponyville and Canterlot? I can’t power it myself. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle “Well, I can’t say that I’m too surprised,” Cadence said simply. “I would like to go to Ponyville to talk to her, however. I would like her there at my wedding.” Celestia reared back slightly, as if Cadence had attempted to physically assault her. “You are not surprised by this reaction?” she asked. “Not really. From what I can hear around the castle - and more precisely, what I haven’t heard - I don’t think that anyone has apologized to her for what was said and done. You all seem to be acting as if ignoring it will make the problem disappear. It doesn’t quite work that way.” Luna glanced at it again. "She might be sick as well. This letter does not bear the usual mark of her … oh, now I go in the other direction!" She gently stomped her foot. "I am trying to sound less archaic. Her thoughts seem jumbled in this missive. Perhaps she wrote it and ran? I have read the letters she has sent to Celestia, and they are far more … I believe coherent would be the word. She doth be -” She sighed. “She is confused.” “You’re doing fine, aunt,” Cadence told her. “I’ll help you with it, if you want. But yes, that letter is a bit disjointed. She hurts, some for how ponies reacted, but I suspect more for how they did not react once the trouble was over.” Celestia looked quite troubled. “My last real comment to her, other than that she had a wedding to prepare, was that she had much to think on, and it was said in some anger. Let her know that we will have a long conversation when she returns, should she choose to. And that I have much to apologize for.” She hung her head. “Despite appearances, Cadence, age does not necessarily bestow wisdom.” “She is forgiving,” Luna said. “Perhaps too much so, but a truly felt apology will likely do much to ease her mind.” “It will be given,” Celestia said, “but to her face. I will not trust something so important to a simple missive, no matter how long I might make it.” She opened her mouth to say more, but was startled by the sound of hooves thundering outside her hall, coming to a stop outside. The door popped open, showing the culprit to be Shining Armor. “Princess! My sister! She’s missing! Everything from her room is gone!” “We know, Shining Armor,” Cadence told him. “She sent a letter to Princess Celestia. Luna and I are going to Ponyville to see if we can convince her to return to Canterlot.” He slumped. “She left because of me, didn’t she? I said some cruel things when she accused ‘Cadence’. I was going to apologize to her and saw her stuff gone. I was hoping she might find it in her heart to forgive her idiot big brother, even though he doesn’t deserve it.” “She has a huge heart,” Celestia said. “Luna is correct in that she will likely forgive. Right now, however, she hurts. Cadence, you and Luna take my chariot and be with her. Please - give her the thanks that I should have. I shall speak to her other friends to see if they have spoken with her.” Author's Note Did an edit of the chapter, since I had a pre-reader fix some of the mistakes.
Chapter 2Twilight Sparkle sighed as she heard the knock on her door. She had seen the chariot arriving and had started her way downstairs. “Come in, Princess.” “Thank you, Twilight,” Cadence said brightly. “Luna is with me. May she enter as well?” While startled, Twilight was still a gracious host. “By all means. Enter, both of you.” She looked out the door toward the chariot. “Where’s Princess Celestia?” “We felt it was best if we talked to you first,” Cadence said. “If you return to Canterlot, she will want to speak to you, after a very large apology.” “Apology? For what? I’m the one at fault!” Twilight exclaimed. “How do you come to that conclusion?” Luna asked her. She stepped forward. “Dad always said to ignore anyone who called you a foal, because they were usually jealous. But if everyone is calling you foalish, you might want to take a good look at yourself. The eight closest to me all considered me a silly little thing for what happened. It hurts that no one apologized, but they don’t need to, because I was clearly in the wrong on how I handled it.” She sighed. “That reminds me. When you return to Canterlot, could you take this letter to Princess Celestia? She’ll need to see it before she decides to apologize to me.” “I hope you didn’t say anything you can’t take back,” Cadence said. “Might we be permitted to read it?” Luna asked softly. “No offense will be taken if you say no.” “You probably should read it, if only to make sure that I wrote it properly - that I don’t say something that offends when I never intended to.” Dear Princess Celestia, This is probably the hardest letter I have ever written to you, and I will explain why shortly. I’ve been doing some soul searching, Princess, and I do not like what I have found. I am on the cusp of adulthood, but am clearly still a silly little foal in the eyes of everyone who matters to me. If not, I would not have gotten the reaction from everyone that I got. You told me that I had much to think about when you left the rehearsal with everypony else. The only other pony to say anything to me was my brother, who ‘fired’ me as his Best Mare, and even told me not to come to the wedding, albeit it with a somewhat more polite phrasing. I still consider him to be my Big Brother, Best Friend, Forever, even though his words hurt. They needed to, though, because someone does not grow if they never feel pain. It hurt greatly, but my crime was great. It is also why I left Canterlot. When I left, the repairs to the city were nearly done, and the preparations for the new wedding were about to start. I would so love to be there to give my obsessive list-making talents a work-out; to make sure that my brother and my foal-sitter get the absolutely amazing wedding that they truly deserve. But I can’t face it, Princess. If I weren’t such a silly foal, I’d be able to be there beside my brother when he marries the most amazing pony it has ever been my pleasure to know who isn’t you. If I’d been wrong, I would have hurt them both beyond measure, and that is an unforgivable crime to me. So, being a silly filly, I decided to run away, only this time I ran away to my new home. That brings me to the difficult part of this letter. I did as you said, and gave my actions much thought. A decision will need to be made, since you sent me here, and it was implied that my position here in the Ponyville library is due to being your student. As I have said, I am a foal - everypony’s actions toward me show that, and I would be even more of one were I to ignore what so many have told me by their actions. I DO NOT BLAME ANY OF YOU. In fact, if any feel that they need it, I forgive them all, even though they don’t need forgiveness. I needed to know this about myself. But part of the problem with learning to grow is that it is difficult to change if an effort isn’t made toward it. Staying in a familiar routine makes it all too easy to fall back into the foalish attitudes that plague me now. Our relationship is a friendly one, and I pray that it will always be so, but it is still much like that of master to apprentice. I had thought that I had perhaps graduated from apprentice to journeypony, but I see now that I have not. But the lack of trust you showed in my actions shows that there is a flaw in our relationship, one that I MUST find and repair within myself before I can hope to properly apprentice with someone. In that vein, I must regretfully sunder our relationship of teacher and student, My Princess. Do not think that I do this in anger or foalishness, My Princess. Know that I do this because I need to learn to become somepony that you can be proud to teach. Somepony that you can be proud to admit to knowing. I do this because I know now that I still have so very much to learn, and that if things stay as they currently are, I will fall back into the patterns that allowed everypony to think the worst of me. Everypony thought the worst of me for a reason, Princess, so I need to find that reason and deal with it. I cannot in good conscience remain your student while so great a flaw resides within me. Please think fondly of me in the future, my good and gracious teacher. Perhaps someday I shall be worthy of being your student once again. Your ALWAYS faithful ex-student, Twilight Sparkle Luna sat heavily on the floor, as if someone had kicked her back legs out from beneath her, while the noise Cadence made sounded as an Ursa Major had just attempted the Haymlich Maneuver on her. “I think Aunt Celestia needs to see this right now, Luna.” “I agree,” she said. “Perhaps she will see how badly she failed.” There was a flare and the scroll was gone. “What are you talking about?” Twilight asked with some anger. “How did she fail?” Luna managed to speak first. “Of all involved, only one pony does not need to give you an apology, and that is Cadence. All others, including myself, owe you a debt of gratitude and thanks, and we have repaid it by ignoring the fact that you were correct.” “You weren’t even around for the problem, Princess!” Twilight said. “You had other duties! Why would you need to apologize?” “Because I was there afterward, and didst see -” She stopped and sighed before looking skyward. “I will learn to speak as a normal pony,” she murmured. “It is normal, Your Highness. It’s just not modern. And you don’t need to apologize to me for something you had no idea about.” “But I did,” she said slowly. “When the situation was explained to me, I noted the reactions of those around you, and began to suspect. I said nothing until your letter of today.” “I Pinkie Pie Promised twice in one paragraph, right?” Twilight asked. When she received an answering nod, she said, “I’m kinda glad that was the one that got read. There was an enchantment on it to display an entirely different letter if the sun managed to go down before the letter was opened. More precisely, the other letter would have been displayed after eight hours of being ignored by Princess Celestia. Suffice it to say that I would have known by the end of the day tomorrow whether or not she had read the letter, and if the other letter had come up, I would not have been here by the time that the Princess arrived in Ponyville.” She blushed. “And trust me, she would have, if only to either give me a very public spanking or perhaps a very public hanging. It was a dark and bitter thing.” She drooped. “No, I would have been here. I wasn’t lying in my signature. Even if she had ignored my original letter, I’d remain faithful to her.” “Even with your anger, you still allowed for a positive outcome,” Luna allowed. “I had to. The Princess has never been mean that I know of. But if she had been in the presence of the letter and never bothered to open it, then it would have shown that what she truly thought of me after the rehearsal - that I was not worthy of her time at all. That would have damaged the relationship past the breaking point, and that other letter would pretty much have ensured that it stayed broken. While I wasn’t abusive, I was angry, and let it pour onto the parchment.” She shook her head. “But that’s not important. What is important is that I can’t stay her student. My actions were foalish in the extreme, and even the youngest among us thought that - Spike. I haven’t received apologies because everypony was right about me. I was being petulant and acting like someone still in magical kindergarten, so they treated me that way.” “No, they were all in shock,” Cadence said. “Shining Armor nearly skidded into Celestia’s chambers in a panic when he realized that you were gone.” She nuzzled the lavender pony. “He loves you deeply, and knows that what he said was wrong. He said so to me.” “It is true, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said. “It was said before the three princesses.” She paused. “That sounds as if it should be a musical group of some sort. Perhaps with Twilight Sparkle as our … what do they call it? A ‘front pony’? ‘Twilight Sparkle and the Three Princesses’. We could tour Equestria." Twilight blinked for a moment, and then giggled softly, looking down as she did, so she missed the significant look that Luna gave Cadence, and the answering nod. “I think you three have other duties. Besides, my singing tends toward more spontaneity.” She sighed. “But I can’t see why anypony should need to apologize. I have a problem that I need to deal with.” She began to walk back and forth somewhat nervously. “Apologize for what? Being right? I went about it all wrong. If I hadn’t been a foalish little filly, perhaps they could have trusted me.” Her next laugh, devoid of any humor, was more of a bark than her usual whinny. “And then, after Cadence was freed, I was given an important task and ran away from it rather than complete it, because I wanted to feel sorry for myself, thereby proving once again that I can’t be trusted when it comes to something important.” “I see it differently,” Luna replied. “I see a pony who was faced with the daunting task of fixing something that never should have needed fixing, had ponies been willing to listen to one who knew. I see a pony in such pain whilst everypony else tries to ignore that their actions nearly destroyed Canterlot and Equestria and that those actions could have been avoided had they but listened to one pony’s voice. I see a pony berating herself because none who should be apologizing to her will apologize, lest they acknowledge how badly they have hurt her.” She walked closer and lifted Twilight’s head so that she could look in her eyes. “I see a pony whom I know that I can trust with my very soul, for I met her when she saved mine,” she finished softly. “I apologize to you for not saying anything, for I might have been able to be a voice of reason and helped prevent the pain you now feel.” “I won’t apologize,” Cadence said. “I was rather indisposed at the time,” she said, her eyes sparkling slightly. Twilight blinked at her, and then nickered slightly before falling fully into giggles. The giggles turn into full laughter, which turned hysterical. Without a thought, both princesses stepped forward and enfolded Twilight with their wings just as the laughter turned to sobs. They held the grieving unicorn pony close and let her cry herself out.
Chapter 3“Heard enough, sister?” Luna asked somewhat incongruously. “More than I wanted to, but less than I am sure that I deserve,” came the soft reply from outside. “I have failed in such a basic way that I can only say that it is due to Twilight Sparkle that our kingdom even remains. I have failed as a monarch and as a teacher, and most importantly, as a friend.” “No, Princess!” Twilight exclaimed, her head rising from between Luna’s and Cadence’s wings. “I’m the one who was wrong! I should have come privately to you with my suspicions, not exploded into the rehearsal!” “When?” Celestia asked. “We had all been quite busy. When was it that you could have notified me?” “I could have scribbled a note and had Spike send it, but I didn’t!” “And I could have noticed that my niece was not acting like herself, rather than assume that it was stress. I could have listened to what my faithful student was saying, rather than follow the herd in thinking that you were being foalish. I could have trusted you as I have so many other times, rather than instantly assume you were wrong.” “That’s the point I’m making, Princess,” Twilight said earnestly. “When the chips were down, you acted the way that your heart felt it must - I could not be trusted to be right about this. My previous actions clearly led you to believe that I was acting like a foal. That means that there is something wrong with me, Your Highness, and that is why I can no longer be your student. I am not deserving of that honor until I can be trusted.” Celestia’s wings drooped at Twilight’s comment. A very male sob sounded outside the door. “I did this to her,” he said. “Some big brother I am. I hurt her worse than any of the bullies in her school. I’ll understand if you want to call it off, Cadence.” Twilight actually broke free of Cadence and Luna’s wing embrace. “Don’t be an idiot, Shiney!" she said, stomping to the door. "The whole time we were escaping, she was worried for you. It was her feelings for you that saved Canterlot. All of Canterlot has a very real example of how much she loves you, and how much you love her - the two of you, alone, cleared the entire city of the changelings. Don’t you dare break it off with her because of me!” He stepped forward, just inside the doorway, and bumped his head gently against hers. “But I hurt you so badly, Twiley. We all did. I said such awful things to you, because I was hurting. I should have known that you wouldn't have accused your foal-sitter without reason. That little rhyme - even horribly stressed, Cadence would have said something, but Chrysalis didn't even know it, and you tried to tell me that. Instead, I ignored you, because you're my little sister, and how could you know what you were talking about?" He snorted. "Amazing that my sister, who hadn't seen Cadence in years, could tell something was wrong, when I couldn't." "You were too close to it, and she had a ready excuse - stress." "Yet the stress of no one listening to you is not a good enough reason for your actions," Luna said. "Why is that?" "Because they're totally different things!" Luna looked at her for a long moment. "Yes, I can see. Shining Armor is allowed to have acted the way he did because of the stress of the situation, which was manufactured by Chrysalis to keep him from noticing. You, however, are wrong for having acted the way that thou didst due to the stress of the situation, which was taken advantage of by Chrysalis in hopes that none would pay heed to thy statements. Totally different situations." She had apparently used her years on the moon to sharpen her sarcasm to a fine edge. "You see? You even make my point for me!" Twilight said, managing to miss the sarcasm. "Chrysalis was the reason that no one would listen to me!" "How does that absolve us of our guilt in our words to you, my dear student?" Celestia asked softly. "Chrysalis fooled everyone! You're apologizing to me for being taken in by someone whose entire existence revolves around that sort of masquerade! My crime was being a stupid little foal in how I tried to bring it to everyone's attention!" "And now thou hast gone from being merely foalish to having committed a crime. Why dost thou so desire that we punish you?" "Because I deserve it!" she cried. "I should have found some way to make everypony realize! Instead, I acted like a foal and my brother and my friends hate me and if Chrysalis hadn't been dumb enough to place me with Cadence then Equestria would have fallen and it would have been all my fault!" Luna was the one to enfold her within her wings this time, and let Twilight cry against her. "Oh Twilight," Celestia said softly. "I have done so poorly by you in this. We owe you a debt and repay you by making you feel that there is something wrong with you. I am so sorry for that, my wonderful and dear student." "But if you didn't listen to me, then there must have been -" "No!" Celestia said. "There was naught wrong with you. It was myself, choosing not to notice the changes in my niece. I needed for you to be wrong about Cadence, because if you were wrong, then I wasn't for not noticing the changes in her. It was not a conscious decision, but it was there nonetheless." "Y'r Highness?" Applejack asked, surprising Twilight. She had thought that only Celestia and her brother had come, but apparently the princess had brought all her friends as well. "May I add somethin'?" Celestia nodded, and Applejack turned to Twilight. "We all did wrong by you, sugarcube, and for that I am just so sorry. But ya talked about us not trustin' you, and that just ain't true. Problem is, we didn't keep trustin' you. We met your brother, and well, shoot, he's your best friend. Why shouldn't we listen to him?" She frowned. "Dang it, I just ain't good with words. I know what I want ta say, but it just ain't comin' out right." Rarity stepped forward. "I think I know what you wish to say, darling. May I try?" Applejack nodded and stepped back, her annoyance at her inability to make her point clear on her face. Rarity spoke up in her posh tones. "I think what dear Applejack is attempting to say is that we immediately trusted your rugged and handsome brother - and may I add that Princess Cadence is a very lucky pony? - because you referred to him as your best friend. 'Big brother best friend forever', I think you said? If you considered him to be your best friend, then by all means, he must be the most trustworthy pony in all Equestria. None of us realized the way that awful Changeling Queen had her claws in him, so when he declared you to be wrong, then you simply had to be, because the person you trust most in the world said you were wrong." She bowed her head. "It does not, however, clear our guilt for not apologizing after you were proven to be right. That is clearly inexcusable, and I, for one, will be working to redeem myself for hurting you so terribly much." "Wait," Twilight said, raising a hoof as she reluctantly pulled away from Luna's comforting embrace. "You're saying that the reaction I got from all of you was because you trusted my word about my brother? You'd never met him!" "But you grew up with him and liked him enough to call him your friend!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, hovering about a foot off the ground. "Not everypony gets along that well with their brother or sister, so hay, if you liked him that much, then he must be cooler than the average pony! Maybe even as cool as me!" She punctuated the last statement by buffing her hoof on her chest. She deflated quickly though and settled to the ground, looking at the dirt. "But I'm supposed to be the Element of Loyalty. Some loyal pony, huh? Turn my back on you and don't apologize after you save our butts. Again." Twilight looked around the assembled group, and her friends were all looking at the ground. To her shock, Pinkie's mane was dull and straight, and she'd taken on that greyish pink hue she'd had when she thought everyone had abandoned her. "I don't understand. You were all right. I was being a silly little foal. I should have found another way to expose her. Why can't you see that?" "Hindsight is almost always perfect, Twilight," Luna said. "I still berate myself for things I could have done to avoid becoming Nightmare Moon, but then I realize that, at the time, I was within the situation and things were not as clear then as they are now." She brought her face in close. "Can you truly say that you would do things differently, if you were in the situation again, having only the information available to you at the time? Remember that so much of what you know now is what was learned because you were already being too effective for the Changeling Queen. Think upon it. Canst thou truly say that thy actions were wrong, knowing naught but what was before you?" Twilight closed her eyes, and the assembled crowd grew even more silent. "No, I can't," she said softly, almost too quietly for even Luna to hear. Luna raised the mare's head and looked into her eyes. "Then be proud that thy actions saved us all, dear Twilight. Worry not on 'might-have-beens', for their only purpose is to make thee doubt thyself. Thou art once again savior of Equestria, and shall be known as such." "Please, no!” Twilight cried out, nearly panicking. “I didn't save everyone from Chrysalis, that was Shining Armor and Cadence. They should be known for it." "But if you hadn't rescued me -" Cadence began. "No. I'd really rather not be remembered for my part in this, to be honest. No matter what everypony seems to be saying, my behavior was shameful, and to hold me up as something to emulate? It sends the wrong message to other fillies. I don't want others thinking they can throw a temper tantrum and everything will all work out fine. It doesn't work that way." Celestia smiled. "Twilight? Will you not rethink your decision about being my student? You continue to prove to me that you are a joy to mentor when you can come to such a mature realization." "You'd still … even after that letter I sent? I tried to make it sound right, but really, in the long run, it was a whiny little -" "Stop," Celestia said, raising a hoof to Twilight's mouth gently. "You said what you needed to say, and it showed me the depth of the hurt I caused you, my good and faithful student." She looked carefully at the lavender unicorn. "That is, if you will still have me as your teacher?" Twilight couldn’t stop herself - she threw her forelegs around the princess and hugged her. “Yes! I quit because I thought I had let you down so badly!” “And yet your actions continue to make me proud, my student.” “It’s true,” Luna interrupted. “She brags to the leaders of other nations about you.” Celestia’s response was to go as pink in embarrassment as she had gone white in horror earlier. “Really?” Twilight asked, her eyes going amazingly wide. “Why not?” Applejack said. “You’re a pretty amazin’ pony, whether you admit it or not.” She looked over at the blue pegasus who had begun to hover again. “Might even be twenty percent cooler than Rainbow over there,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes. “Hay!” Rainbow yelled. “Not possible … wait, this is Twilight we’re talking about.” She met the lavender unicorn’s eyes. “Probably the only one in all of Equestria who might be cooler than me. Maybe.” She looked around. “But none of you heard me say that.” “So much for publishing it in the Ponyville Gazette,” Rarity said with a small smile. “You wouldn’t!” Rainbow Dash. Her look seemed to give the impression that she knew what Rarity was doing, and was willing to play along. “Of course not, Dash darling. If we did, then Ponyville would be overrun with ponies wanting to hang out with her, and we’d never see her anymore through all the throngs.” She turned to Twilight, her eyes shining, both with mirth and unshed tears. Twilight shook her head. “I said it in the letter to Princess Celestia, but I will say it to you all now. Yes, it hurt, but I forgive you. I didn’t say it the right way, so it was very easy for you to think I was just being a spoiled little thing who was losing her exclusive access to her brother.” “Speaking of said brother,” Shining Armor interjected, “I’m running into a bit of a problem. I kinda said some really stupidly hurtful things to my little sister, and now we can’t have a wedding because I chased away my Best Mare. Y’think you could help me out, little sis?” “You really want me in your wedding party?” she asked in a voice just shy of tears. He looked up and past her, and a moment later said, “There won’t be a wedding without you.” Twilight scowled and spun to face Cadence. “Cadence, talk to him! Tell him he’s being an idiot!” “I can’t. He asked me first, and I agree with him. It wouldn’t be right to hold the wedding without you there, so there won’t be one without you.” She smiled. “And I know it’s terribly unusual, and probably improper and no end of other unflattering adjectives to describe it, but if we can manage it, would you be my Mare of Honor as well? I can think of no one better.” Twilight gulped. “Really?” she finally asked in a small voice. “Really. I know you’ll stand with him, but I want you to know that we both want you there. No Twilight; no wedding.” Twilight blinked a few times, her eyes dripping tears, before she grabbed her brother and her soon-to-be sister-in-law and hugged them tightly. “Yes!” she cried. “Thank you for forgiving me!” “No, thank you for forgiving your idiot brother,” Shining Armor replied. “Hey, no pony calls my brother an idiot except me,” she said with a happy sob. “Insult my BBBFF and face the wrath of Twilight Sparkle!” “Ah’d listen if ah were you,” Applejack said with a smile. “She can get right scary when she’s protecting ponies she loves. Anyone in Ponyville can tell ya that.”
Chapter 4The wedding was considered a success, between Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Rainboom and Twilight’s gift of song to the new married couple. Luna stepped up to her sister in a quiet moment and shook her head. “You have no idea how much I envy you, sister. Twilight Sparkle is an amazing mare, with such heart, and such a connection to you. She loves you very much. In some ways, you are more mother to her than her own flesh and blood. That in itself is amazing, given how clearly her family loves her.” “You should begin your own set of correspondences with her, Luna.” She looked at her younger sibling and smiled. “You complain about your usage of archaic language, perhaps you could convince Twilight and her friends to tutor you and gently correct you?” At Luna’s soft blush, she corrected herself. “Perhaps just Twilight? Since you would obviously be embarrassed by too many knowing of your problem.” “That would perhaps not be a -” “I agree,” Celestia interrupted. “It would certainly not be a bad idea. Twilight!” she called out brightly in the Royal Canterlot Voice, humor evident in the call. “May I speak with you for a moment?” “I shall get you for this, ‘Tia,” Luna said through gritted teeth. “If I am wrong, and you are hurt, then by all means, I shall stand still and let you ‘get me’,” Celestia replied. “But I suspect that it might be the best thing for you since you were freed from your time as Nightmare Moon.” “You know that she was me, and not some overlay from elsewhere?” Luna said. “You always refer to that time as if it were an entirely different being.” “I know, my darling sister, but I say it as such to remind you that it was a different time. There is something inside me that … well, the histories do not talk much of it, but something similar happened to me in my anger at my inability to stop you without exiling you. Call it a blaze, since there is perhaps not a word to describe a similar darkness befalling one connected so deeply to the day. That was not a happy time for our little ponies. But make no mistake, sister, I love you, and interfere at times because I love you. Much as Twilight did for her brother.” “Did I come over at a bad time?” Twilight asked softly. “No, I was just reminding my dear sister that she has ponies to lean upon when she needs to. I called you over because Luna was commenting to me about her tendency to slip into archaic language. Perhaps you would be willing to tutor her?” “Of course! I would be glad to!” She looked to the princess in question, who was attempting to look regal, but was still sporting a very slight pinkness to her cheeks. She smiled. “Perhaps over a series of lunches? Private, so that she isn’t embarrassed if she slips up? Maybe even some nice picnics in Ponyville, to give her a reason to get out of the castle now and then?” Luna’s eyes widened for a moment, and then she smiled. “I think that I would enjoy that, Twilight.” “I thought so.” Her smile widened. “You perhaps said more than you knew when you thanked me, and that could be worth exploring … Luna.” Celestia’s eyes widened, but sparkled with mirth. It was the first time that she had ever heard her student refer to either of them without prefacing their name with their title. I believe that this could be the start of something very interesting, she thought as the two walked off, working out a schedule of visits.
