“So quill tells me that there was a staff member that was very kind to you, yet you still hate the place.” Celestia said to Twilight when the two of them were eating lunch. Twilight looked down at the table for a moment before answering.
“Well... I guess she’s the only reason I never wanted to run away... A terrible place can’t be made unterrible because of one nice pony.” She answered.
“Oh, I see. I know what you mean. Anyways, I hear you’re a lot younger than we thought. The instructor in charge of the exam never shows me the registration papers unless I ask for them personally and I almost never do. It just makes your magical talent and level of maturity that much more impressive.” Celestia said.
“Miss Care always said that all of my reading was going to put me way ahead of the other orphans... I thought she just meant like smarter.” Twilight said.
“Well you must have been reading since you were able to walk, then, with how smart you are.” Celestia said with a giggle.
“That’s... Actually true.” Twilight said after a moment.
“Oh... Well that explains a lot, then. Anyways, I want to try something with you for our lesson today. We’ll be entering the waking dreams again, but instead of nightmares we’ll be reviewing some of your memories. Good times or bad, you can learn from your past. I also want to know a lot more about you. In return for invading your privacy like that, I’ll show you some of mine to learn from. Deal?” Celestia offered. Twilight looked up at her, then back down at the table and was silent for a few seconds.
“But... I don’t want to invade your privacy like that either...” She said.
“Oh don’t worry. I’ll control what I show you, and you can do the same with your own memories. If I delve into something that you’d rather keep private you can just tell me and I’ll move on without question.. We can talk more about it when we get started, I think I smell the chefs coming.” Celestia explained, finishing by sniffing the air and looking towards the kitchen doors. Twilight giggled at that. In the small amount of time she had known the princess, it was obvious that she rather enjoyed food. She never gorged herself or ate too much as to be rude or disrespectful, but it was a very thin line.
---
“When was this?” Celestia asked when the scenery of the waking dreams turned into the large yard of the orphanage.
“Um... Not too long ago. It was before I turned nine, though.” Twilight answered. Celestia looked around and saw Twilight sitting in the very far corner of the border with a large book. None of the other orphans would pay her much mind. That is, until a few colts walked up with not so friendly looks on their faces.
“Oh no... Is what I think is about to happen going to happen?” Celestia asked when they started calling insults at her.
“I learned how to deal with bullies a long time ago...” Twilight said softly. She hadn’t asked the princess to move on, though, so it couldn’t have been all that bad. Celestia returned her attention to the scene unfolding in front of her.
“Come on you weirdo! Say something!” One of the colts yelled. Twilight looked up from her book.
“Please, go away...” The filly said calmly and returned her attention to the book. The colt growled and tried to wrest the book from her magical grasp with his own magic, but she didn’t seem to notice. He tried to physically throw it to the ground, but she fought it.
“Heheh, wups!” He exclaimed when he ripped a few pages off. The filly gasped and gave the ripped pages falling to the ground a horrified look.
“This is from the royal library! How could you?!” She exclaimed, giving the colt a mean look. Her horn started glowing and he took a step back, but something came between the two. It was Miss Care.
“Now Twilight, you know you shouldn’t use your magic against another pony in anger...” The mare said. Twilight’s horn stopped glowing and she huffed.
“And you...” Care started again, turning to the colts she probably just saved. “Everyone knows that it’s not alright to ease your fellow orphans. You destroyed private property from the royal library and you tried to instigate violence between a filly you really don’t want to get violent with.” She continued.
“Has anypony gotten you violent before?” Celestia asked.
“I kind of accidentally threw somepony onto the roof before for kicking one of my books into a puddle... And a few other things... I never actually hurt them or anything!” The real Twilight explained. Celestia nodded slowly before returning her attention to where Care was using her magic to mend the damaged book. The colts had run away and the memory-Twilight didn’t look like she was in a good mood.
“Now Twilight, you really need to make sure you stop going straight to magic. You could really hurt somepony.” Care said.
“But Magic is all I have... I’m not strong and no matter what I say they don’t listen... I even asked them to go away nicely!” Twilight retorted. Care sighed and tried to find a way to say what she wanted to say.
“I know it’s the only thing you really have, Twi... But if you’re going to use it against bullies don’t do stuff that can possibly hurt them. You threw that one colt onto the roof and he almost fell off. If you were to ask me, I say just scare them a little bit, not scar them for life. Make some flashes or something. I’m worried you’ll really hurt somepony someday and you’ll feel absolutely terrible about it. I’ve seen you when you’re miserable and I do not want to see it again.” Care explained.
The Twilight in the memory sighed and nodded.
“Good. Now go back to reading your book.” Care said. Twilight smiled and nodded again, accepting the mended thing with a big thank you.
“You know... Back then I didn’t really understand what she said here completely... Now that I know the extent of what I can do, I think I understand it...” The real Twilight said. The scene froze in place after she said that.
“Well, let’s hear it. I’m interested to know what you made of it.” Celestia said.
“Back then, I always thought that when she told me things like this she just wanted me to stop being disruptive or something shallow like that... But now I think I see what she really meant.” Twilight started. Celestia gave her a look that said ‘go on’ and Twilight thought of how to word it.
“I guess it’s exactly what she said... I need to learn how to control my magic so that I don’t hurt anypony with it on accident... She wasn’t just scolding me, she was stopping me from doing something I regretted... I don’t really know how to word it...” She said.
“I think I get your meaning. It’d be hard to iterate it without just repeating what she said though. Let’s move on, shall we? We delved into one of your memories. How about one of mine?” Celestia offered.
“I-If it’s fine with you.” Twilight agreed. Celestia closed her eyes for a moment and the scenery started moving again. Twilight slowly recognized the palace’s main hall, where the day and night court were held. Celestia was there, but she looked much younger. Her mane was pink like it was before, and that made Twilight think while the memory was still constructing.
“Princess, if you don’t mind me asking, why did your mane turn that color before?” She asked. Celestia smiled.
“I thought you’d ask about that sooner or later. It’s rather simple, really. My mane and tail are pink, as you see now and saw before, but my affinity with solar energy and solar magic cause the majority of the spectrum of colors to show. I can store some of that energy to keep up that look, since it seems it’s become expected of me... We can talk about that more after today’s lesson. This was nearly a thousand years ago.” Celestia explained.
Twilight looked out upon the room. The place gave off a feeling of depravity, like something was missing. The Celestia in the memory kept looking to her side to find nothing there, and it seemed to annoy the pony who was talking.
“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.
“We just moved the palace into Canterlot and... I had just lost one of my best friends before the move. It took almost a year for me to make it look like I got over it.” Celestia explained softly.
“But you’re not over it, are you?” Twilight asked. Celestia met the filly’s eyes and smiled sadly. She motioned back towards the memory with her head and, with some hesitation, Twilight returned her gaze to it.
“Princess, would you like to just suspend the court for a little while?” A pony next to Celestia asked.
“I think that would be best... I can’t do this on my own... Not yet...” The Celestia in the memory said. She quickly made her way out of the room while the pony made a few excuses. They followed the Celestia all the way back to her quarters, which were much more bare and empty than the current version.
“Princess, why are you showing me this memory? It seems like a really bad time for you... I don’t think I can learn anything positive from watching you be miserable...” Twilight said when the Celestia in the memory silently laid down on the bed.
“It’s the fact that I was miserable. Any living thing has feelings, and they can be devastated. I’m always seen as that indomitable will, the princess that is perfect. Some even call me a goddess... But even I have my vulnerable moments... We first met during one of them, actually, though it wasn’t nearly as bad as this.” Celestia explained.
“But what’s the lesson I need to learn here?” Twilight asked after processing the information for a little bit.
“I can’t tell you. Every time I review this memory, it only strengthens my resolve to make sure I keep that perfect image up for my little ponies as best I can. Equestria was miserable with me and I never want even a single pony suffer because I’m not well. The lesson you learn from this will be something different and that makes sense only to you. I don’t have anything else planned and it’s still another hour until suppertime. Take as long as you wish.” Celestia said.
“But... I... A-Alright... I’ll try.” Twilight said and she concentrated on what she saw. Celestia chose to jump back into Twilight’s memory they saw before. Twilight didn’t even seem to notice. She watched the filly being bullied and she felt just a tiny bit of rage and a huge wave of protectiveness when she saw it again. It surprised her. She guessed she never liked seeing anypony suffering in general, so that’s why she had that feeling. Right?
It was during supper when Twilight spoke again. She was in the middle of bringing a spoonful of soup to her mouth when it froze and slowly floated back down into the bowl.
“Is there something wrong with your soup?” Celestia asked. The chef who had made it gave her a dejected look, as he had just peeked out to ask them how it was.
“N-No! Of course not! It’s the best vegetable soup I’ve ever had.” Twilight started, the chef sighed and returning to the Kitchen. “I think I know what I can take from what you showed me...” She continued.
“Really now?” Celestia said. Twilight nodded.
“I told your assistant that I saw you without your composure and that it made me feel more comfortable around you... Now that I’ve seen you so bad... It’s more than just your composure or even a mask. Like you said, you have your image to uphold- and for very good reason. But with me, you don’t bother with a lot of it. I think what I learned from it is that it’s alright to be yourself around those you’re comfortable with. When things are going bad, though, you need someone who you can be yourself around.” Twilight explained.
“I see, I think I get what you’re saying.” Celestia started. She giggled after a moment, though. “Maybe I should start calling these friendship lessons, for the both of us. We’ve learned more about making a good friend than magic in these two days.” She continued.
“Both of us?” Twilight asked.
“Oh, you’ve probably seen it but Quill is probably the only one here that I can actually call a friend. We have an employer-employee relationship, though, so we can’t just go out and have mindless fun like real friends do and ultimately I am her boss... You, though. I can do whatever I want with you and as long as it has some semblance of education or instruction I won’t even get in trouble with the nobility.” Celestia replied, a bit playfully at the end. Twilight giggled and continued eating her soup.
“I never spent much time around other ponies, mainly because stuff like what you saw happened, so I’ve never really had any friends.” Twilight said after a minute or two, going back to the original subject.
“Well then I’m glad I can be your friend. Quill wants you to think of her as a friend too and, according to her, the two of you partook in a bit of mindless fun on the way to the orphanage.” Celestia said.
“She’s really fun, she acts like a little filly when she wants to.” Twilight giggled.
“She’s always poking fun at me. I think it’s the reason I made her my assistant after she graduated from the school.” Celestia said.
“I know I’d want to keep a pony like her around... Especially with how boring your work is.” Twilight said.
“The only thing worse than the courts is the paperwork...” Celestia agreed. “But fortunately it’s only mundane and tedious and doesn’t take very long.” She continued.
“Would you like dessert for tonight, Princess?” The chef came out once more and asked.
“Oh, how about one of those cakes you’re always so good at making. The ones with all the waffles and syrup.” Celestia replied.
“But it is so big... Are you sure the two of you could finish it after eating dinner?” The chef asked.
“Probably not, it is a breakfast cake so we can finish it in the morning.” She answered.
“As you wish, it will be ready in five minutes.” The chef said with a small bow and returned to the kitchen.
“Breakfast cake?” Twilight asked.
“Of course! Little known fact, I have quite the sweet tooth. I once had him make me cake and ice cream for every meal. My metabolism stops me from fattening up, but he didn’t know that at the time. Chef Iron is a genius when it comes to food, he invented a few different types of cakes that could be considered a normal breakfast, lunch and dinner.” Celestia explained.
“A dinner cake would certainly be interesting...” Twilight said after a moment, trying to imagine what it would look like.
“Perhaps another time. I have night court soon, I have a lot of paperwork to get through with after so I’ll be quite a bit later than last night to check on you so we’ll say goodnight after dessert.” Celestia said.
“Alright, I’ll try to get some sleep without you having to make me.” Twilight said.
“Good. Ah! Can’t you smell it? An aroma fit for a god.” Celestia said as a heavenly aroma wafted into the room.
2576974 I told you I've tried and it just doesn't work out for me. Thirty minutes is a big deal, in that time waiting I go and do something to pass the time and then it gets set back by at least a day because I have a relatively short attention span when i'm bored. and then of course, if I ever lose the drive to write this story, but it's nowhere near the ending I have in mind(if I have one) then i'm lucky to finish a chapter in thirty days.
It's not like I'm all anti proofreader, I'm just speaking from experience
well in response to the last line of your authors note great stories are well rewarded
This is agreat story thats the reason its got so many faves and likes.
Love this so far, Dark. keep up the good work!
here's a small suggestion. keep doing what you are doing until you finish the story, then if people still want the story to be polished you can have someone proof the whole story
Love the story
Love the chapter.
I just LOVE this Story. It's so much Love in this... I can't stop reading and waiting for the next Chapter.
2577214 I explained it in a previous comment, but it'll probably be in the next chapter or two depending on how much content I can get in without rushing it
2577275 Thanks! It's part of a larger pic I had commissioned for my Pokemon crossover. (I'd link, but that's in poor form to link stories in the comments of another.)
2576808 i know i ment to say that not every day can be interesting, everybody have had at lest one slow day in their lives and that would be a boring tale.
Good luck getting out of the circle. You will be trapped forever
hmm, I'm surprised she has said Mommy yet, but then again this just the beginning I think a lesson will probably show up and that feeling she had earlier is going to enter full flutter as she thinks that word over. As an orphan though it maybe a bit... difficult. My dad used to tell me stories about stuff like that.
2577359 i'm not going to include every little bit of every day lol, though The reason there's so much of it is becuase the chapters need a bit of filler while I think up more to write. Not all ideas can make a good chapter on their own so I kinda pull some of it out of my ass. Trust me, I don't like writing some of it just as much as you don't like reading but otherwise these chapters would be like two pages long.
2577381 what... circle?
2577382 I was thinking that 1 week would be a good amount of time of them constantly together before quill starts poking fun at the two of them. Celestia goes out of country, leaves twi with cadence and then revelations happen
2577432
enough said you freakin genius
A new chapter on my birthday? Awesome. I am so looking forward to the moment in this story when Twilight first calls her mom. I imagine it will be very heart meltingly adorable.
2577497 so Celestia, what did you choke on the most? your heart or your tongue?
loving this story! SO glad I liked and followed, since it's easier to know when you update
Do you like Pancakes?
great chapter cant wait for the next update
Iron Chef!?
We are glad we stumbled across thy scroll in the canterlot libraries. Thou hast excellent writing skill and We enjoy thy character definition greatly. We await thy next chapter with baited breath.
We hope thou updates soon or We shall suffocate with excitement.
I haven't read the story yet because I don't have the time right now to read it!
Favoriting now so can read later!
I'll give my opinion about it after I do!
2577573 ... yeah... I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO CALL HIM!
2576732
Who says it's Spike who was hatched. If the eggs were taken from a random bucket of eggs any of them could have been grabbed.
IMOH the idea that hatching the egg is actually something a tester can accomplish is a bit odd, I honestly believe the egg presented to the testers was unfertilized and none of the examiners actually expect the egg to be hatched, they just want to see how the foal goes about it, and in Twilight's case a colossal surge of magic was enough to fertilize the egg and cause the new dragon within to grow quickly.
Actually, you could make that pretty much day-to-day activity as well. I always thought it to be the true meaning of slice of life, anyway.
Also, this fandom needs A LOT more Celestia-without-superiority-complex. So yay to that.
pinky's gonna have so much fun with this... chef iron guy.
2577700 Twilight seems a little expressionless in this chapter. She doesn't have any movement or characteristics that set her apart from a background pony that doesn't move and is used only to fill up the scene. Sure, Twilight talks, but she needs a little something else.
What, so I'm the only one that finds your lack of Rainboom disturbing then?
Deprivation, not depravity.
i presumed that Shining was still alive, i assume he is in a military academy, training to be a royal guard. and that Cadence would foal sit. i am courious about the event that landed Twi in the orphanage in the first place
Ahhhhhhh... I'm going crazy! I love these kinds stories for the moment the filly in this case ophan Twilight calls the adoptive mother mom which is Celestia in this case but you haven't finished and I'm going crazy cuz twilight hasn't said and AHHHHHHHHHH the story is so amazing and I wanna read more and AHHHHH WY CAN'T YOU MAKE MOAR SOONER I NEED IT!!!
A brilliant story thus far. I love silly Celestia and that image of her snorting and zoning out in the middle of Court, priceless!
So C.4 is the next chapter huh? I guess it'll be...
*puts on sunglasses*
An explosive read.
2577132
What this guy said.
MOAR!
2578571 YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
2577767 This theory was confirmed as Faust's intention. The test was meant to be a trial of imagination and to be failed, but so epic was Twilight that she actually forced it to hatch a baby dragon because that was what was on her magical mind.
Before I read, tell me this:
Will my heart explode cause of the D'aww or cause Twilight was orphaned and Celestia is suffering from guilt that she is now being called "mommy"?
2578989 the first. definitely the first
*reads description*
*instant like, instant fave*
The feels are strong with this one
2579204 uhh... theres some huge plothole here, they were in the memories... then suddenly they are back eating... zero transition, well, not a very noticeable one, i had to reread it like 3 times to -sorta- see it. every time i read it though, it just completely throws me off.
is it just me?
2578975
Twilight hacked the Kobayashi Maru.
2578975
Seriously!? I can't believe my little bit of fanon was actually canon. Faust gets +1 respect points from me to add to her pile.
2579363 I gave the transition it's own paragraph, but I do agree it was a bit sudden. I don't really know how to make it better without making it a complete scene change with the '---'. I didn't do it like that because it's kind of short for a complete scene change and it directly corresponded to what was happening.
I fail to comprehend how there can be any dislikes.
2578975
2579386 Exactly how I felt
but I also believe that Twilight donated a bit of Spikes DNA.
increase your likes by about 50%. I'm apparently like # 750.
Also, try to take it slow and work out all the early ideas you can. I'm pretty sure Twilight can't age backwards and it would be weird to have flash backs that aren't covered and are in between the "present time" and the point in time where the story started. Don't stress yourself though, if you think there isn't anything else you can do, fast forward to the next point in time that you can do something. Also, over arching story lines often come naturally so just keep up with the little "one-shots" that tie in together and you should end up with a decent one. It's like those amazing stories old people tell. They're mostly stemming from actual life lessons and tales of times both good and bad. The over arching line is basically an amazing life that's never quite like any other.
Some things to consider as she ages:
Advancement of technology.
External events in the nation.
Political manipulation or scandal
Side relationships that don't necessarily involve Twilight but intertwine with her life in some way.
Changes of opinion and perception of the world (As ignorance wanes with age, so too do simple ideals and misguided goals. Also note that the "right" ideas might be replaced with "wrong" ideas just a readily as the opposite.)
Lies and miscommunication. (whether directly involving Twilight or simply being something she heard, they can often change one's entire outlook)
The temptations of easy rewards.
ALSO! If you ever feel the need for someone to go through and fish out the little "mundane flaws" such as grammar and spelling. I'd be happy to give anything you send me a look over. Either link me to it in a PM or send it to my E-mail: " StudentofHeresy@hotmail.com ". I'll send it back, more or less in better shape than before. Anything questionable relating to style, I'll just attach suggestions about it that you can pick and choose what exactly you want to say.
Keep writing bro! this is great!
At first glance at the title I passed this over as being a Twilestia ship-fic. Boy was I wrong.
And boy am I glad I was wrong. Bravo, good sir.
2579204
Oh, well thats good
Cute and I look forward to more