Golden Secrets

by Backlash91

First published 10th of May, 2015

To find hidden truths, one must dig deep... but how deep would you be willing to go for it?

It is said that secrets have power over those that know of their existence, and for Twilight Sparkle, secrets mean untapped knowledge. But when she uncovers something buried long ago and meant to disappear, can she come to terms with what she finds? or will it destroy her and everything she knows?

It is also said..."Sometimes secrets should stay buried."

Good bye and Hello

Author's Notes:

With every choice comes the pain of losing a different option. In life we are almost always regretting taking a wrong path and thus, suffering thereafter. For some this doesn't mean much, they accept that they are at fault and move on, always telling themselves they’ll make up for it. For others, it is a constant burden, dragging them down forever into their own palaces of despair. For life to exist decisions must be made, and choices must be lost. This has always been, and always will be. Therefore always cherish the choices you've made, for better or worse, because you are now what those choices made today.
You are you, and that is the best choice.

Snow drifted reverently down onto the small village beneath the lifeless grey clouds, pinpricks of light cracking through to illuminate it's parched rooftops, before disappearing behind the gloom again.

Ponyville, a town known around the world as the epicenter of harmony and also the home of its bearers. A quiet yet energetic place, usually filled with music, song, mirth, and smiles. A place most species would gladly call home; a place where foals could be seen running around with one another, enjoying the rapture of youth. A place where parents could mingle at cafes and shops, reminiscing the old times with friends.

Usually.

Today was obviously not so energetic, appearing to be in a state of silence. Winter tended to close doors and light fires, and the townsfolk knew that the innocent white flakes falling now were an imminent warning to the nearing storm. One that had been planned for months in advance by Cloudsdale, the home of the weather factories.

While not an immediate problem, it was declared that at first sign of flakes falling, the townspeople of Ponyville were to remain indoors while the storm blasted the town with it's icy gale.

And yet, one pony was breaking the rules.

While she understood the risks of being caught in the soon to be blizzard, the protégé of Princess Celestia chose instead to sit alone nearly three miles from her home. A scarf, a saddlebag, and some coffee in a thermos that currently warmed the unicorn mare's hooves.

her only company was a tombstone in front of her.

For several moments she sat there staring at nothing in particular, choosing to not think about anything.

A rare situation for her, not thinking.

She sighed softly, her breath catching the temperature change and turning to mist before disappearing among the falling flecks of white.

“Just like your spirit...” the words were out of her mouth before she registered their meaning, but she made no movement to act surprised or curious how such things occurred.

Living in Ponyville would do weird things to anypony.

Another sigh, another sip of her coffee, and Twilight Sparkle felt her eyes finally lock onto the dark marble tombstone that sat before her, its magically enhanced defenses making the rock impenetrable to the wear of time, as well as making the name etched across it glow brightly even in the evening light.

Twilight glanced at her saddlebag, lit up her horn, and levitated a medium size box from within to sit on the ground in front of her. Setting aside the coffee, she refocused her magic to sweep off the snow that had coalesced atop the stone's surface in the half hour since she'd arrived, and opened the box.

Inside were several small instruments. A long thin incense cradle made of polished onyx, a set of incense sticks, and a light lavender rose, grown straight from the crystal empire and enchanted to never wilt.

All the necessities of a mourner's chest.

Placing the incense cradle and sticks atop the slab, she lit one with a small spark of magic from her horn tip and then placed the rose down gently on the bottom of the tombstone's square base, just beneath the inscribed words.

With a moment to compose herself, Twilight brought herself to her tallest, drawing her front hooves from the snow to lift and gently clack together, before closing her eyes and slowly...she started to sing.

From life's caress I pray to thee
keep thy spirit forever free.
from souls below, to moonlit sky,
a daughter of yours, hear my cry.

Break thy chains, and pull thy strings,
enchant the heart, so our souls may sing,
mother, mother, your daughter, I care,
touch my heart, for I know you're there.

You watch as I pray,
above where you lay,
...I sit vigil...over your bones,
A resting place for you to call home.

I cherished thee when above hallowed ground,
But death is thy keeper...forever now.

Mother, oh mother, forget you I can't,
Accept our song, our unicorn chant,
Death guard you now within the night,
My mother Velvet...my mother Twilight.

Twilight finished the prayer, and blinked. The last words had nearly been whispers, and the feeling of tears at the edge of her eyes made it hard to stay unruffled until the end. She always cried after that song, she always would. She unknowingly had been holding her breath, and suddenly exhaled loudly. After softly wiping at her eyes with her fetlock, she tenderly collected the rose and incense, and returned them to the box.

Her hoof reached out and slid across the smooth stone.

“I will see you next year mother, I have to get home now but...but...” she felt a single tear slide down her cheek, before watching it fall to the snow beneath her. She shook her head and forced a smile on her face, before turning and walking away from the tombstone and the ones that surrounded it.

As she exited the cemetery, a gentle popping noise was heard, and the mare was gone.

All that remained of her presence, was a single frozen tear, sitting among the long since dead, and it's newest additions.

Two months later.

Twilight groaned and banged her head into the desk for the third time that morning. Her attempts to knock herself unconscious were as fruitful as a dead apple tree trying to bear oranges in the middle of a drought, while on fire.

“You're gonna put a hole in the desk Twilight if you keep that up!” Another thump signaled to the speaker that their words weren't helping. “It wasn't that bad ya know, we were only five minutes--”

“There is no excuse Spike, I was late. Tardy! me, the Princess' personal student!”

Spike, the adolescent dragon she had dubbed her little brother, fidgeted with his claws clasped together, unable to figure out how to help. Four years had gone by since their arrival in Ponyville, and Spike was still getting use to new things almost everyday. He was now taller than Twilight, stronger than her, and even had wings sprouting out his back.

And yet his adoptive sister still managed to exasperate him.

“It was five minutes Twilight! Princess Celestia didn't even react like you--”

The mare had been mere inches away from hitting her head against the divot-laden desk for the fifth time, when her skull halted and practically ground sideways to lock eyes with the male drake, effectively silencing him. Her neck had somehow managed to make a sound like scraping metal gears when she had moved.

Spike dared not question it, because currently Twilight was giving him a look so terrifying he simply clamped his mouth shut and looked at the nearby bookshelves.

“...No excuses.”

He merely took a step back as she stood and trotted past him and through the kitchen doors. He followed reluctantly.

“F-Fine, I admit we were late, for once! I'm not making an excuse for that, what I am trying to say is that your reaction is out of line. Celestia didn't reprimand you, she didn't get angry, and yet you're acting like she's declared you an enemy of Equestria!”

Twilight didn't answer, instead she rummaged through the fridge for something to snack on. There wasn't any reason to reply anyway. She'd try to tell Spike her thought process, he'd get confused, she'd try to explain, thus more confusion and they would end up throwing their limbs into the air and walking two different directions in an attempt to calm down from sheer annoyance.

A normal relationship between siblings.

“I'm just saying you're beating yourself up over nothing. Again.” Spike leaned against the door frame to the living room and crossed his arms, tapping a claw against his bicep. Twilight lifted her head out of the fridge, an apple in her magic as she groaned.

“I deserve it spike, I was late. I failed to prove myself as a reliable resource to the Princess' services.”

She took an aggressive bite out of the fruit and marched past him. He flexed his claws and sighed, glaring at nothing in particular.

“Mares...”

Twilight halted mid-step and snapped her head back, glaring at him.

“What was that, Spike?”

Normally Spike would freeze up and act like he hadn't said anything, this time however, he merely slanted his gaze at her and glowered,

“Unless you're lodged halfway in some ancient tome, you're anything but deaf, Twilight. Do I really need to repeat myself?”

She snorted, raising her nose haughtily.

“I will have you know that being a female has nothing to do with this argument, therefore, your comment is invalid. Besides, stating genders as a rebuttal in a debate merely shows a lack of emotional stability.”

He growled deeply and unfolded his arms, jabbing a claw at her.

“And yet you're the emotionally unstable one, with no logical reasons for beating herself up mentally, has a heat cycle every other month that makes you lock yourself in the bathroom for two weeks straight, and—oh, might I add—has a panic attack every time the Princess so much as clips her hoof on the floor. Face it, Twilight, if you were male you'd be far more reasonable about this situation!”

a half eaten apple hit the floor.

Spike was tackled in his midsection as his sister launched herself at the dragon.

“TAKE THAT BACK!”

“No! You 'deserved' it!”

Tooth, claw, hoof, fire, magic, and horn flailed about as a mass of pony/dragon tumbled around the kitchen, random guttural growls coming from both sides as they fought.

“Take it back you arrogant lizard!”

“No! I'm right and you know it! you emotional horse!”

“And I'm the cupcake ninja who strikes at noon!”

Spike and Twilight blinked in tandem and looked up in surprise as a pink blob landed between them, somehow separating them. Twilight slid back against the far kitchen wall and spike slammed back against one of the counters.

Twilight was the first to recover.

“Pinkie Pie!? Where did you—mmphg!” Twilight was promptly cut off as a cupcake got shoved into her mouth, silencing her. The same happened to Spike though he hadn’t tried to speak. Pinkie Pie giggled, trotting in place.

“That looked like so much fun you guys! we should wrestle more! or were you squabbling? Would that make it wrebling? Wrostling? Tee hee! Funny word that, squabble, sounds like a type of fruit. Anyhow whatcha two arguing about?”

She looked to Spike who folded his arms and blew a raspberry at Twilight, and then pinkie followed said raspberry across the floor to the mare who was growling and looking at the dragon with contempt. Pinkie Pie smiled.

“Ooooh, thaaat kind of squabble, here let me fix that.” She was suddenly across the room and sitting next to the young drake, with her arms crossed just like spike. She imitated his scowl just the same.

“Spike, ya gotta look at Twilight and tell her you're sorry, and you don't care about being a little late, and that she shouldn't worry about it too much either.”

A split second later she was next to Twilight, glaring at Spike.

“Twilight, ya gotta just shut up and listen to your friends.”

“Pinkie, I can't just--”

“SHUT UP AND LISTEN!” The shout startled the unicorn into a standing position and she found herself looking at the floor unable to speak.

Pinkie took on an air of wisdom, and sat cross-legged against the kitchen wall.

“This ninja has spoken her sweet words and now demands you two dispense with the meanie words and make up.”

It was several awkward moments of silence before Spike took initiative, standing and walking over to crouch in front of Twilight.

“Er...sorry Twilight, I shouldn't have said what I did, gender has nothing to do with it, you're right, but worrying over the unchangeable past is a pointless fight and I won't stand there and let you beat yourself up for it. We were late, yes, but nothing bad happened.” He held out his clawed hand to her and she sighed.

“Spike I...fine, yes. We were late, and I cannot do anything about it, worrying over it solves nothing. I'll just...make sure to prepare better next time.” They hugged and Twilight stood with Spike for a moment longer, and then they were both hugged by the pink mare.

“Great! Now that that's over with, what were you late to Twi?” Pinkie gave her friend a raised eyebrow and a cocked head. Twilight smiled, then chuckled, and then sighed, walking back into the living room.

“Nothing major, now that my head is clear. Princess Celestia merely invited me for our weekly tea time. I got lost in the castle and took a wrong turn.”

Pinkie flicked an ear sideways.

“Huh, you don't get lost in that castle Twilight. Is it cause they're doing construction?”

Twilight kept her smile and shook her head. When Princess Luna had inquired about the ridiculousness that was the castle's labyrinthine halls, Princess Celestia had stated that the additional hallways and doors had been a great distraction for her enemies in older times. Now it was more obvious that they were becoming a nuisance, and construction had started weeks ago to clean up the mess. So it would be true to say that the new rooms and different looking halls were a distraction, but it hadn't been the main cause of her late arrival. Spike interrupted whilst picking up some stray books off the nearby table,

“Nah, she was lost in one of her books that Luna sent her. Something about dream magic...” Pinkie 'ooohed' and giggled.

“Are you going to be Princess Celestia's student by the day and Princess Luna's student during the night Twilight?”
Twilight shook her head again,

“No Pinkie, and Princess Luna doesn't take on students, or so she told me when I asked, she said she wants to wait a couple hundred years before trying it out. I personally think she just wants a student that is free of judgment from her return, but it's only a hunch.”

Pinkie nodded sagely, and then walked to the front door.

“That makes sense, anyhow I thought I'd pop by and say hi before heading back home, I gotta put away the groceries I bought and then Dash and I are going pranking tonight.”

Twilight went to nod but then stopped and blinked.

“Pinkie Pie, you don't have any groceries with you!”

Pinkie grinned mischievously and opened the door, “Or do I?”

Before Twilight could answer her, the pink mare had bolted out the open door, and an orange had fallen out of her hair, rolling over to Twilight's hoof, who had a look of complete confusion written across her face.

Spike snickered while putting books away,

“I bet she got those cupcakes from her mane too.” Twilight gagged,

“I would rather hope not Spike, that would be very...Ew.”

Canterlot Castle.

As night time fell across Equestria, so too did one of The Royal Sisters. As the charge of the Sun, it was Celestia's job to guard the day, whilst her sister Luna kept the night in check. As the moon rose above the horizon, Celestia stood next to the dark coated mare and watched her sun disappear quietly behind the mountains. She sighed, an ear flicking ever so quickly, but Luna caught it. That subtle sign that something was bothering her sibling.

“What troubles you Sister?” Celestia didn't answer for several seconds, her eyes watching the light display as it lanced across the sky,

“Nothing, Lulu, nothing...” The White alicorn watched the moon raise itself up until she suddenly noted how it had stopped completely, and lower than it needed to be.

It was then that she felt the glare.

“Lulu....the ponies need their--”

“Our ponies can wait, we think. Especially when thou just blatantly lied to us. Our sister does not lie so simply, and with no cover up at all...What troubles you sister?” Luna emphasized her interest by leaning forward and rubbing her cheek into her sister's neck, feeling the muscles tense and then relax.

Celestia bit her inner lip,

“The moon isn't high enough Lulu, you nee--” Luna shook her head, rubbing more.

“What we need is verification sister, that you will speak about what ails thee, the moon will rise once that truth hath been laid bare to us.” To emphasize her point, Luna pulled back and sat with a frown in front of the moon's path, forcefully blocking it from her sister's sight. Celestia stared at Luna for several moments before sitting as well.

A heavy sigh drifted between them.

“As you know Luna, our little ponies care about us a lot more than in the past, they have guards for us, special armor for us to wear in times of war, and of course they have personal servants to tend to our every need.” Luna neither nodded or showed any movement to acknowledge her, she merely waited. Celestia tended to wind down to the actual problem and the princess of the night had found out very quickly that trying to make her jump to the point flustered the alabaster mare.

Having a student who craved every ounce of knowledge had that effect on one's way of explaining things.

Celestia stood and walked to the balcony, looking over the expanse of water that was a nearby lake.

“About a hundred years or so back, our ponies decided they needed more assurance to our health. They started requesting, and then outright demanding I see a doctor on regular visits, and I was okay with this. What I feared, however, was what our blood would tell them.”

Luna perked up at that, flicking her ears forward in curiosity, it had been noted by her assistant scribe that they had to get checkups the next day; Celestia at dawn, and Luna at dusk.

“Are thou ashamed of thy bloodline Sister? No...you are worried for another reason....do the records have to be made for public viewing?” Celestia chuckled,

“Not if we wish them to be kept personal, but one pair of eyes sees it regardless and that's all is needed for gossip to arise.”

“Ah, thou means the nobility beneath us, the elites yes?” A simple nod confirmed it. Luna smirked and moved to stand next to her sibling, nuzzling the mare's neck again gently.

“Tia, we know they cannot find any error in our birthright, we are of the celestial lineage, a bloodline that dates back to an immortal era, one only three beings still remember. Regardless, even if they dislike our ancestor's choice of lover, they can do little if anything about it.”

Celestia nodded slowly, “No, you are correct, I don't fear what they'll learn of us, but...” She sucked in her breath.

“But what they may learn of others.” She turned to Luna and smiled, knowing the expression her sister now held was one of surprise and confusion.

“Tia...you jest, surely. We are not among those who have living relatives any longer...unless, you have found one?”

Celestia chuckled and looked back across the expanse, her eyes locking onto a small town not ten miles from where she stood.

“Found? no....but, also yes.... Lulu, we are no longer the only beings with the celestial bloodline.”

Luna gasped, and then frowned, her voice but a whisper.

“Who shares our blood?”

Celestia felt her happiness drain, when Luna had returned from her exile, Celestia had spent an entire day laying her soul bare and answering any question truthfully no matter how dark it's answers, and almost a year later she still was uncovering truths hidden beneath the royal mask...but this...how could she tell her the truth?

Then again...how could she lie about it?

“I...inside Lulu, I want no stray ears to hear this information, and no matter who it is, I want you to promise me you will NOT tell them, are we clear?” Luna stopped from following her indoors and scowled.

“We promise nothing Tia, thou said these given truths were a 'non prison hold' questionnaire.” Celestia frowned.

“It's pronounced 'no holds barred' and I...I can't tell this to you without some sort of security for the unknowing participant.” Luna smirked, her tail flicking sharply back and forth.

“Then tell us not, we want nothing but pure truths from our sister.” with her nose lifted she trotted past her sister and to the sun emblazoned doors. Opening one she paused.

“The Night has begun and we must tend to our court, but Tia,”

They locked eyes. For the briefest of moments Celestia saw sympathy on her young sister's face, and then to her utter fear, Luna grinned slyly.

The fox had found a loophole apparently.

“The information will be visible to us tomorrow nonetheless, and we will have our answer.” With that she swung the door shut quietly and pranced off to court.

Celestia groaned.

As Luna entered the luxurious grand hall known as the royal throne room two guards fell in step next to her, one of them spoke up, his thick bat pony accent rumbling like a soft growl.

“Your highness, we are sorry to inform you that tonight your scribe, Lustrous Quill, is unable to attend due to family issues. If it pleases you one of us will be willing to call in representatives.” Luna never faltered in her trot, merely nodding and choosing the one who spoke to do so.

As she reached the throne her horn shimmered and a large dark blue cushion appeared, thumping down atop the stone seat that her sister dared call a sitting place. It was a terrible piece of furniture, one that 'withstood time itself', yet it guillotined the rump of whoever sat atop it too long. Celestia said she never felt uncomfortable but Luna preferred to have her plot rounded and not marble flat.

Sighing as she sat down she shook herself and levitated a gavel to the podium and then spoke loudly.

“Our Lunar Court is now in session!”

With a simple thwack of the gavel, she flopped sideways and stretched across the throne in a mock attempt to look as lazy as possible. She wasn't expecting anyone for several hours at least, if at all, as being only four years into her return Luna had found that her night court was still very unnoticed to the nightlife ponies of Equestria. But if she was lucky, she'd get a case every other week...or a criminal.

Those were always fun.

With this information logged away she had begun to pull a comic book from her podium when the door creaked, and then opened.

Luna blinked and immediately shoved the comic book underneath the cushion and sat bolt upright, her body relaxed and calm.

Yes, calm...that was the right word...

Luna was as calm as a spring loaded school filly who'd just earned her cutie mark in demolition.

A griffon entered, to everypony's surprise. Obviously startled by the large empty space, he simply stood there at the end of the red carpet, unmoving. They shuffled uncomfortably and then said something but were too far away to be heard. Luna smirked and waved one of her guards to fetch them. The throne room was quite large, and on normal days was packed with ponies vying for Celestia's attention. (or Luna's, should she be awake). Night time was a whole different feeling. The room was empty, devoid of life almost, and airy to the point that if one listened they could almost hear Celestia snoring two towers away.

Or so Luna told the guards.

After a bit of chatting the guard brought the griffon—a young male—up to the dais before assuming his position. Luna looked him over, her ears going down rather quickly. The young griffon was currently wearing a dark travel cloak, foreleg bracers, and a neck scarf, a sword was belted around his waist but hidden by the cloak, the handle and pommel being the only parts visible.

His tussled white neck plumage showing signs of either heavy exercise or wind turbulence, Luna assumed it was the latter. His eyes were a deep forest green that held firm as he eyed Luna curiously atop the throne. He bowed griffon style before her. Splaying his front talons out and lowering his beak till it nearly clipped the carpet.

“To her majesty, The ruler of the night, I bring a message from the northern military outposts.” Luna blinked, this was something new. She never got military reports, let alone from another race. She nodded.

“Tis an acceptable reason for visiting, but thou hast forgotten to state thy name and rank, fair griffon.” The griffon looked a little flummoxed by the statement and sat up straighter.

“Er...Avian Technical Sergeant...Dawnclaw Songfeather, of the second variety platoon under her Highness Princess Celestia...and Princess Luna... as well?” He looked from the guards at her side to her with an eyebrow raised.

Luna smirked.

“A rather ironic title Dawnclaw, considering the court you arrived in. Pray thee tell us, is this the first time thou has entered our court?” He nodded slowly.

“Please pardon my confusion, I don't get out much your grace, so I expected to find Princess Celestia here.”

Luna brushed aside the fact that even if Dawnclaw had arrived an hour earlier he would not have seen Celestia, and instead leaned forward with a smile.

“And we assume thee flew here with haste?” Another nod.

“Very well! Let us see this report, sergeant.” The griffon retracted his cloak and reached into his saddlebags, searching for the scroll. While he did, Luna eyes viewed the sword at his side, she was surprised to say the least.

It was not any normal sword.

Dawnclaw pulled out a sealed, cream colored scroll and placed it at the foot of the dais, before backing away and sitting. Luna, eyes still locked onto the pommel of his sword, levitated the scroll over and opened it, before silently reading.

To Their Royal Emissaries, the Sun and Moon.

E-7 Master Sergeant Hard Hooves.

Second variety platoon, Equestrian border patrol/ Air Force.

Under requisition fourteen dash sixty-two of the compact for the Equestrian/Griffonian military Union Pact, we have been notified to alert their royal Highness' of any new recruits to our platoons from Griffonian position swaps, as well as any new rank promotions.

Under my direct Instructions to deliver this to you personally, Dawnclaw Songfeather is also instructed to stay at the Canterlot castle barracks under either of your Highness' command, until further instructed. There is an additional scroll attached per this spell matrix:

(It was here Luna fell into actual mumbling, as she'd starting reading magical gibberish, and something about cake offerings to her sister.)

This list is the information pertaining to the new recruits. As for Dawnclaw, He has been transitioned to my platoon, however with his rank in Griffonia as high as it was, he was overqualified to be in my charge. I decided to send him to your capable hooves and allow you to place him where you feel it safest. As of you reading this, Dawnclaw's new rank is below.

E-8 Senior Master Sergeant, Dawnclaw Songfeather.

In salute, E-7 Master Sergeant, Hard hooves.

Royal Equestrian Air Force.

Luna re-read the scroll to be sure, and then let it slowly roll back in upon itself. For a few seconds she merely watched Dawnclaw as he sat before her. The she grinned, said grin grew wider until it was easily creepy.

“Eheheh...ehehehehe...” Both her guard gave worried glances to one another before Luna stood tall and smacked her hoof down onto the stone, being far louder than the gavel she'd used previously. All the guards, Dawnclaw included, snapped to attention.

Luna fixed her stare on him.

“Technical sergeant Dawnclaw Songfeather, step forward.”

With a very audible gulp he shook himself and walked slowly up the steps, before sitting right in front of Luna. Quick as a whip her hoof shot out and pulled his sword from it's scabbard before the griffon realized what had happened. It was simple really, his sword had decided to just vanish, and inexplicably find itself in Luna's hooves without warning him.

Luna almost purred as she beheld the blade in her hooves, it was a weapon she had not seen in a millennium.

It was a Lunar Katana.

From her time as Nightmare moon, Luna had crafted her own weapons and armor for her soldiers, and those who did good(or evil) in her name were given gifts such as the sword she now held. The blades and armor were something she'd come up with all her own. After finding a way to weld silk, moonlight, and crystal iron together, The product was a blade that could cut straight through steel and was as light as a feather. To emphasize it's power she channeled her magic into the blade, before quickly swiping it in a sideways slash.

To his credit, Dawnclaw only flinched as the blade swept past the top of his head by mere inches. Several seconds eclipsed by in silence before a low thrum was heard in the room, then a resounding whistle, and then a dying whine as the voice the blade created died off. Luna grinned and held the sword out, blade flat and just above Dawnclaw's right shoulder.

“This blade is of an era long since forgotten, where did thee get it?”

Dawnclaw actually smiled at the inquiry and relaxed,

“It's been in my family for almost--”

“A thousand years?”

He stopped and cocked his head,

“Y-yes, um... it was my ancestor's, I believe his name was General--

“Crueldual Songfeather.”

Dawnclaw furrowed his brow but nodded, choosing to stay silent after the second interruption and instead admire the carpet. Luna smiled and gently tapped him with the flat of the blade, bringing his attention back, her voice crisp and clear,

“Tis a fine sword. One such as you Dawnclaw, who bears the name of thine forefathers should do well to keep in mind that this blade—whilst beautiful—is ancient, has a dark history, is slathered in blood lust, has killed hundreds of soldiers, peons, and prisoners alike, and--” Her voice peaked as she leaned forward with each snippet of information, until she was inches from the Griffon's beak. She could smell a slight amount of fear from his breath, or maybe it was grilled chicken....

“Tis also, one of the finest pieces We ever crafted, We would see no reason to part it from you, Senior Master Sergeant Dawnclaw, your forefathers would be proud.”

Dawnclaw for the most part blinked and stared at her without a word. It was not until she cordially went through the process of formally ranking him up, reading him the scroll, and sheathing his sword, did he fully grasp what she had said.

“S-senior...Master...S-s-”

“Is something the matter, Sergeant?”

He snapped to attention, his talon flying to his brow in a salute.

“N-no your Grace!” Luna smiled and sat back down in her cushion.

“Good, then as of now We would request you relax, and take your leave, one of our guards will escort you to your new quarters, We expect to see you first thing in the evening tomorrow at nine o clock sharp. We will have new armor and a proper harness for your sword when you arrive.”

As one of Luna's guard passed him, he stopped and looked confused.

“I...I'm not sure I follow, your Highness, why will I be attending night court again?” Luna smirked.

“Because Dawnclaw, Your Princess, she who guards the night, has a new Lunar Sergeant.”

He gulped. The two sentinels frowned.

And inside, Luna squeaked with glee.

Disruption

Sunlight.

Beautiful...

Glorious...

Blasphemous...

Celestia damned--

“Errg...sunlight...Why do you not understand the term 'late riser'?” A very groggy Twilight Sparkle groaned from her bed sheets. It couldn't be morning. It shouldn't be morning. She refused to believe it without convincing proof.

Because merely factual proof wasn't wanted until coffee had been served.

A low purr thrummed from the sleep mangled mare's throat at the thought of the liquid in savior form. She rolled over, glaring at the crack of sunlight that had so valiantly pierced her curtains and assassinated her dreams. Sadly, grumbling wasn't going to fix it, and neither was coffee, but coffee would dull the annoyance at least. Swinging her self out of bed she felt her four hooves hit the living wood floor a lot harder than she had meant to, sending a violent wobble throughout her limbs, before a resounding THUD announced her face to the floor as well.

“I...hate...mornings...” was her only comment. Finding her limbs again, she waddled/crawled/dragged herself into the bathroom and closed the door. Looking into the mirror made her grit her teeth and thrust her magic into a nearby drawer. After withdrawing a large brush from the confines of her drawer, she took a moment to glare at her mane before attacking what Rarity would simply call “a hairstylist's nightmare”.

Once her mane was within recognizable shape she stepped into the shower and closed the curtain. Grasping the knobs in her magic she twisted them sharply in opposite directions. As the pipes churned, she awaited the watery assault, and she was quickly greeted with the second most unpleasant thing about her mornings.

Cold water.

“S-sweet Celestia!” Twilight felt her body go rigid as ice water blasted her back and neck, before trickling wickedly down her sides to collect and drip from her belly fur. As she stood there shivering, she made a mental note to bring her coffee into the bathroom before taking a shower, maybe then she wouldn't die of a heart attack every time she showered.

Or maybe it'd just help that process along faster, she wasn't sure.

As the water slowly changed in temperature from antarctic to equatorial, she sighed, closing her eyes and allowing the stress to ebb away, soon the water was hot and comfortable, and after a thorough scrubbing, mane wash, and tail drench, Twilight stepped out and dried off before actually combing out the few knots that dared remain in her mane and tail. She checked herself over before looking in the mirror, and for once, admired how she actually sparkled in the steamy condensation that floated around the bathroom.

Then she shrugged and left it behind. She had places to be, things to do, and coffee to drink!

As she entered the main living room, She noted how Spike was nowhere to be found. It wasn't overly odd, just not normal for the drake. Usually, Twilight would find him lounging in the windowsill on Saturdays, or perhaps in a comfy chair reading comic books. Today it seemed he wasn't around at all.

She decided to take that as a blessing given the previous day's antics, and headed further downstairs to the actual library. As usual it was in a state of destruction. Partially cleaned near entrances and heavy traffic zones, but for the most part the floor had been swallowed by books. Hopping and grumbling as she did so, Twilight made her way to the kitchen and peered in.

Empty.

Good, the last thing I need is Pinkie Pie jumping out at me from a random direction. Twilight smiled and trotted over to the counter, and started her morning coffee ritual.

Step one: A mug. Deep enough in volume to last through the first hour of work.

Step two: Filtered water. Gotta keep it healthy.

Step three: Brew.

Step four: Agonizing wait mixed with general mutterings.

Step five: Coffee.

As Twilight levitated several spoonfuls of dark coffee grounds into the machine, her ears perked up to the sound of laughter coming from outside her kitchen window. Judging by the pitch, and quantity, it was a group of foals running by on their way to the park. The muttering continued.

Pouring the water and setting the machine to work it's 'magic', Twilight went and sat at the table. Suddenly, a single beam of sunlight touched her back, slowly running along her shoulders and down her side. The mixture of sleepiness, comfort, and warmth that mingled together managed to produce a low mewl from the unicorn as she subconsciously arched her back into the light, letting it caress her more.

The sun was in a constant battle for Twilight's acceptance.

Even though she acted like it was the bane of her existence, she couldn't help but appreciate its beauty in many ways. It was a subtle power, sunlight. Able to reach a person drowned in stress and simply whisk away the negativity for a brief moment or two and let the target of affection simply breathe.

For Twilight, the feelings went quite a bit farther. The sun's touch was like an ethereal hug given from afar, and yet always feeling so close. As if given from Celestia herself, it gave Twilight a moment of security, in both herself and her situation. It was a sign to her, that her teacher was always there, watching, and protecting her and her subjects. Twilight's mewl turned into a loud purr as a cloud moved out of the light's path, fully bathing her in it's warmth. Shivers ran down her spine and she almost moaned, her hooves titled almost to the point of her tipping over. if not for the beeping of the coffee maker, she might have kissed the floor.

Again.

Pulling the mug out from its container she poured a generous helping of coffee into her mug, labeled 'best student' and then added creamer and other preferred condiments. She then walked back into the main lobby where her eyes fell on the closed door, and the window next to it. It was not uncommon to get early customers to the library, but Twilight didn't expect to have anyone today. The weekends usually weren't very busy until later in the day, as most people usually chose to sleep in during their days off.

Setting her mug down on the main dais that complimented the room, she slid the most recent newspaper over with her hoof, noting that Spike had taken the courtesy to remove the comics section before she even got to see it. He always did that.

Scanning over the newspaper she read a few snippets of information, but sighed. Without the usual hype surrounding her friends, the newspaper felt rather bland. Flipping over a few pages she soon found an article that piqued her interests. It appeared to be an article on Celestia and Luna. As she read, she sipped her coffee and flicked an ear every so often. Whenever an interesting word found its way to her eyes she would slightly tilt her head to the side. Celestia has said it was an adorable habit of hers. The article in question was what had made her head tilt.

Apparently, every twenty or so years, the royal medical corps would do checkups on the celestial sisters. Twilight vaguely remembered Celestia commenting on a doctor's appointment in her recent letters. She nodded to herself, reading on and finding that the records were to be withheld from the public for legal purposes, making the mare frown. What use were records of immortal beings if they were locked away in some dusty vault?

She went to sip her coffee again but blinked when her eyes rolled across the dates that the appointments were to happen.

“T-they're taking place today!” She jumped to her feet and shot upstairs, diving into her room to grab a nearby scarf before teleporting back down next to her coffee. In a single sweep of magic she pulled a thermos from the kitchen, poured the remaining coffee into it, sealed the lid, and with another magical pop found herself at the train station.

“This sort of thing hasn't happened in my lifetime! Maybe if I'm lucky Celestia will let me see them before locking them away!” she spoke while prancing in place as the train station headmaster came into the desk window, and sat down. He smiled up at her,

“Let me guess—“

“OnetickettoCanterlotplease!”

He smirked and nodded, handing it to her. She snapped it up in her teeth, threw a pile of bits at him, and bolted onto the nearby train.

He chuckled.

The library would be closed for the next week.

As the train came to a stop, Twilight felt her heartbeat speed up.

“Twenty three-minutes and eighteen seconds left, twenty-three minutes and eighteen seconds left!”

she had been repeating the sentence ever since the city had come into view, and a few of the patrons inside the car had relocated to others almost immediately. As she waited for the train to halt, her mind was dancing around her head in an attempt to get her thoughts in place.

She was curious, frantically curious. Would a celestial being's blood have any difference to it? Would it be a different color? Was there any way to prove it made one immortal if a pony drank it?

Twilight froze instantly and promptly stuck her tongue out at the morbid idea.

EW.

That was not where she would go with this research. The moment the train door was open enough for her to exit, she was literally gone in the blink of an eye; coupled with a loud zapping noise.

The Castle Gate guards were very surprised to say the least, when Twilight Sparkle appeared roughly ten feet from them with a dizzy stance, twirling eyes, and a singed mane and tail. She sat down on her rump for a moment and groaned.

“U-um...Miss Sparkle? Are you alright?” One of the guards approached her, he looked no different than his partner.

Both were surprised.

Twilight, after getting her bearings straight blearily looked at him and then her world righted itself and she grabbed him by his chest plate, pulling him a few inches from her face.

“PRINCESS CELESTIA! WHERE IS SHE!?” Both Guards jumped to attention at her volume change and the one she was currently gripping felt his grip on his spear tighten a bit.

“D-Duh- she's in the infirmary m-miss Sparkle—WAA!” Without waiting for any more information, the unicorn mare teleported away, leaving the poor gate guard to fall flat on his face in the dirt. His guard partner waited a few seconds, and then chuckled.

“And that, Midnight star, is why I don't go near Princess Celestia's personal protégé.”

“S-shut up Jeraal.”

Leaving the two guards behind, Twilight reappeared in the one place she could legally teleport within the castle walls, the main court.

With a full house.

And Princess Luna on the dais.

The entire room gasped as she appeared out of nowhere right next to an earth pony stallion who was now sputtering gibberish at her flamboyant arrival. She looked from him, to his pie charts, to Luna, who currently beheld a bemused expression. Before she could speak however Twilight beat her there.

“Uh, can't talk, gotta find Princess Celestia, hi Princess Luna, good weather yes? Earth pony, your pie chart is two years old and not up to date. Look in Horus Ratio's guide to wheat crop percentages, page twenty three for more accurate numbers.” With that she took off around the throne, and through a door hastily opened by a guard pegasus.

She failed to hear Luna's thunderous laughter, or the crowd's reaction to her bombastic entrance. Right now she needed Celestia. Diving through two more rapidly opened doors she found her self before the doors to the infirmary.

Without so much as a knock she swung the doors open and trotted in. The infirmary was larger than most halls, but smaller than the grand throne room. It could easily house and bed four hundred soldiers, civilians, or any other form of creature, assuming they weren't adult dragons.

It could only house two of those.

In a nearby bed Celestia was sitting with her back to the mare. Her wings were relaxed, and her mane was, oddly, pink and unmoving. While Twilight already knew that the celestial colors and movement were caused by the sister's connection to the sun and moon, she was still surprised into silence. Celestia rarely ever showed her true colors...sometimes literally.

Celestia and her doctor hadn't noticed her entrance, and as he was still doing the checkup. She felt it prudent to simply wait quietly.

Currently the doctor, Dr. Whooves, had his stethoscope sliding around Celestia's chest slowly in different directions as the Princess breathed. He frowned.

“Hmm... your heart rate is slightly elevated, breath in slowly please.”

Celestia sucked in her breath, her wingtip tapping the ends of the bed as she counted seconds. her lung capacity being quite larger than most ponies made it take a littler longer to reach her maximum intake.

“And....breath out slowly.” exhaling, Celestia felt her eyes drift over her Doctor's head and to the far wall. Two glass murals depicted two unique pictures.

The first was of a battlefield. In it, a pegasus mare with a red cross and shield was holding a beaten soldier's hoof and looking down at him. His smile said everything. She had saved his life, and countless others.

And she was from then on the first battle medic I had. I miss your gentle touch, Red Cross. Celestia hummed lightly, making Dr. Whooves smile.

“Hold out your dominant hoof please, I need to cleanse it before drawing the blood. Celestia nodded and lifted her left foreleg, allowing him to grasp it and dab it with a sterilized cotton swab.

The second picture was of a zebra standing in a field of flowers, her long spiked mane and golden eyes ever sharp as she looked into a potion she'd crafted by hand. The same potion that had cured Celestia's top soldiers from wormrot fever; a deadly illness that had claimed the lives of countless soldiers and citizens. She'd gone back to her country to become a national hero and revered ally.

I'll never forget your wisdom Imani, you were a great fri—

Celestia winced as the needle pierced her skin. Her thought left to itself, she watched as a vial of her silver blood was drawn out and then capped, and then another, and another.

She frowned.

“I hope you understand that the information gained from these vials is to remain secret yes Doctor?” He smirked, and capped the final tube, before locking eyes with the princess. She shivered for no known reason. For as long as she'd known him, Dr. Whooves always seem to surprise her. His eyes were scary, yet kind. Intimidating, yet overflowing with wisdom.

Like the eyes of an ancient being far older than I.... Celestia found herself thinking that same thing every time she had dealings with the earth pony.

“Yes Celestia, I know, although it's hardly a secret worth keeping under such scrutiny. Honestly, your blood is silver, type A-, has a bit of a magical aura to it, and shows no sign of negative entities in it's flow. You're as healthy as can be.”

He paused, letting his eyes drift past her for a moment, before they rejoined with hers, and she shivered again.

“Or do you mean the other pointlessly 'hidden' secret?” She frowned.

“What are you implying Doctor?” he followed her frown with a scowl of his own.

“That I'm not daft, Celestia. This little secret you've kept, it's only going to bend your mind until you let it out, and when you do...well, it'll be like dropping the crown's weight off your shoulders.” He smirked and set the vials in his bag and removed a clipboard, handing it and a pen out to her.

“If you ask me you're hiding it about as deftly as the court hides it's dark side. You're not. I know at least a hundred ponies out in Equestria that already know, or otherwise assume it to be true. I do believe there's even a cult based around it that worships—“ He was stopped as the pen was ripped out of his hoof and repositioned at his throat. He barely reacted,

Celestia held it at his throat, a dark frown on her face, and a whisper as her voice.

“Do not speak further. I knew you were among those that had figured it out... Even so...I've known for a long time that you're different than our little ponies. I don't understand you, nor how, or where you get your information so simply, but I do know this... You're more like Luna and I... Also I find that my agencies are unable to get any useful information on you. Either way, watch what you say around me.” He smirked again and to her surprise, he leaned into the pen, letting it jab at his throat firmly.

“And you might want to watch what you say to me, you may startle somepony, Princess.” She went to retort but noted how he was looking past her. Whipping her head around she felt her heart plummet into her stomach.

“T-Twilight Sparkle!?”

Her voice was so shrill that Dr. Whooves winced. Twilight had seen the whole situation and was now more confused than anypony there. She'd certainly seen Celestia when she was mad, but this had been different; She'd turned on her own citizen and brandished a pen like a knife just because he knew something about the princess. While Twilight wasn't dumb, and knew that certain secrets were best kept as secrets, she couldn't help but hear the Doctor's words ringing in her ears.

the other pointlessly 'hidden' secret.

A hundred ponies that already know...

It was several awkward moments of silence as he packed up his things and exited. At first he paused next to Twilight, and he felt like explaining more to the now confused mare next to him, but why spoil the fun when one know everything right?

He simply left, closing the door behind him.

Silence reigned supreme as the doors closed, and it was uninterrupted, until Celestia spoke,

“..W-what are you doing here, Twilight?” Her voice was a hushed whisper, but it still held a hint of the furious anger boiling within. Twilight was sitting in the same spot since she'd entered, never actually believing there WAS anything secret about the royal sisters bloodline, but now she knew.

And Celestia was mad.

“I...I just wanted to know..” her voice quivered, and her eyes dropping away from Celestia's hard gaze to fall on the floor tiles beneath her hooves.

Celestia sighed, her frown lifting slowly. Twilight sparkle was always on the hunt for new knowledge, she knew this and didn't even think to post guards at the front doors to the infirmary.

Like they could have stopped her, You're digging a hole you cannot hope to climb out of Celestia... Brushing the thought aside she stood,

“I'm sure anything you wanted to know could have waited until after my examination Twilight. It's very rude to barge in on somepony's visit with their doctor. Nevertheless...what did you hear?” Celestia knew her tone was scaring Twilight but she had to know how much the mare had been privy to.

“N-not much, something about a secret with your blood, but that's it...” The unicorn's voice was almost a whisper, and her shoulders trembled slightly as she got up to leave.
“I should go...um...I need to get home a-and—“

“Twilight Sparkle, stop.” The room gained a new level of awkwardness. Twilight Sparkle stopped moving and simply stood there, trembling like a leave in the wind. Celestia bit her lip, she hadn't meant to sound so sharp with the mare, but she was almost literally standing on pins and needles.

Assuming Dr. Whooves was blowing smoke about knowing so many ponies with this information, I should be able to curve this into my advantage again.

Celestia maneuvered around the white hospice beds and approached her student, noting how with each footstep, the mare seemed to get smaller and smaller, until she was literally laying down on her belly before the princess. laying down next to her Protégé , she draped a wing over Twilight's back, and immediately felt a pang of guilt as the unicorn flinched.

“I...I am really sorry P-princess....I didn't mean to in-inter—“ she was silenced by a gentle hug and a nuzzle into her neck.

“Hush twilight...it's, its alright, I'm sorry I scared you like that.”

While Twilight was used to letting Celestia nuzzle her before, right now it felt wrong. Now, she felt like Celestia was getting ready to strangle her. That was it, Twilight sparkle had heard too much and would die via bone crushing wing cuddles....she lowered her head into the princess' chest fur and accepted her fate.

And then the nibbling started.

At first it was gentle, applied to the back of her nape, then her mane, and then it went farther down, between her shoulders into that sweet spot. She frowned, twitching. This was very odd torture. Then she couldn't frown anymore, as a tingling sensation wracked her body, she smirked, then giggled, and then tried to roll away, only to find Celestia's wing block her path. Instead she accidentally bared her belly to Celestia who grinned viciously,

In a playfully triumphant voice she spoke,

“Twilight Sparkle you hath heard too much, and now we must exact punishment!” Sucking in her breath she descended upon the unicorn's belly button, blowing a loud raspberry that echoed around the infirmary. Twilight's eyes widened and her mouth contorted into a gasp and she flailed helplessly.

“GAH! Daahahah! N-nono-no s-stop it that tickles! I b-beg—DAHAHA—!” I- we c-command you t-to st-stop it!”

Celestia paused and looked at Twilight with mock surprise,

“You command us? High treason!”

Twilight squeaked.

Another loud raspberry, nibbling, and a cacophony of high pitched giggles, and Twilight's stress had vanished completely, replaced by a wall of giggling, crying for mercy, flailing and tickle torture.

By the end of it, both Celestia and Twilight were reduced to a pile of limbs, feathers and hooves askew in random directions. After a bout of embarrassment on both their parts, Celestia helped untangle herself from the smaller mare. Intent to stay there, she noted how Twilight had rolled over and was now attempting to rise.

A single slip of the wing and the mare found her self on the floor again, laying upside down against the princess's side. She was so surprised she merely blinked up at the alabaster mare,

“W-what?”

Celestia chuckled and nuzzled Twilight, draping her wing over the mare and whispering in her ear.

“Wait a moment Twilight, I want to apologize for my actions.” Twilight craned her head back to lock gazes with the princess, a look of confusion and worry etched into her face.

“But you didn't do anything wrong prin—“ she was halted by a gently hoof to her lips.

“No, I was rude, I spoke in anger and should have calmed down, you didn't deserve that and I suppose an explanation is in order, yes?” Meekly the purple mare nodded.

“That would be nice, I seriously thought I'd walked in on military secrets between you and your Doctor.” Celestia kept her smile and lay her head down atop twilight's.

“I suppose I should start back at the beginning. A few months ago I got a report that I'd been waiting for to come back in. The information I'd received from it was very helpful. The problem, was that if it got out to the general public, well, my life would probably become far more hectic, as well as yours, Cadance's and Luna's.

“The information was about something that came up concerning our bloodline. I had a special agent do some reconnaissance on how far the information had spread and my suspicions were confirmed. The information has been leaked and other ponies, perhaps other countries, now know more than they should.”

Twilight, who had felt rather content with the arrangement they were currently in, decided to flip over, dislodging Celestia's head from her chest, She then leaned back into the princess' side, her head cocked at an odd angle as she spoke,

“So...this information concerning you two, its bad that others know...because it puts you in harms way? Or is it because they can use it against you politically?” Celestia snorted.

“They could try to hurt us physically, but they'd be hard pressed to succeed. As for the latter, yes they could use it like a weapon in a sense, it would shut down several plans I currently have going and would put others I have hidden right in the sunlight at risk.” She smirked and nuzzled Twilight just above her horn. It elicited a purr from the mare, making Celestia smile warmly.

“You have your mother's eyes, Twilight.” Twilight gave her a flat look.

“No offense Princess Celestia, but you are terrible at compliments, my mother's eyes were light blue.” Celestia merely hummed and then sighed

“Either way, this information will eventually reach your ears, no doubt from Rarity and your friends, but when you find out...I merely ask one thing from you Twilight. Can you promise me something?” The tone that Celestia was now using was strained, like she was forcing the words out. Twilight nodded and put a hoof over her left eye.

“I cross my heart, and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Celestia blinked and raised a brow, questioningly.

“I...I'm not quite familiar with the legalities of that particular oath...does it even have any?” Twilight laughed.

“Ask Pinkie Pie about it sometime, trust me, you should start making criminals say it, no one breaks a pinkie promise...cause Pinkie Pie is just...”

there was a pause where Celestia watched Twilight's face scrunch up in concentration, and then deflate.

“Nope, I still got nothing to explain it, she's just Pinkie. Either way I promise...to...um...what am I promising to do or not do again?” She looked at Celestia to find her staring at the floor with a melancholic expression.

“...I ask that you promise me, no matter what it is you hear, please... Please don't assume the worst, don't hate me.”

As Celestia said it, Twilight noted how the princess' voice pitched into a whisper, her eyes shimmered, before she leaned forward and gently kissed Twilight right above the horn.

Celestia then stood and folded her wing, walking to the door like a mare heading to the gallows.

“If there is one thing in this world I think could kill me Twilight, it would be that.”

And with that, she opened the doors and left Twilight Sparkle sitting there;

Completely and utterly... dumbfounded.

Author's Notes:

If there are any errors please point them out to me, I'm terrible at grammar. O>o but I love to write.

Much appreciated.

Resurfaced

Dear friends,

I am sending you this letter to inform you that Princess Celestia has invited us to stay in Canterlot castle for the next week. You do not have to come if only out of obligation, but it would be appreciated. I understand if you’re busy.

Spike, sorry for disappearing like I did without previously informing you. That was rude of me and I apologize. Take some time off, hang out with friends, and check up on the library while I'm gone.

Pinkie Pie, if you can make it, Princess Luna requests you bring some of your cupcakes. She has been having… cravings as of late.

Please reply as soon as you can.

Your friend,

Twilight Sparkle

As the letter burned away to be sent to Spike, Twilight yawned and removed herself from the folds of her blankets. It was just before dawn when she'd awoken, and the growl that permeated the air around her was heavy with indignation. The sound of an alarm clock going off somewhere in her chambers had woken her up. At first she'd mumbled and tried turning it off with her hoof, but her hoof had met no interference and had instead thumped the empty desk.

To her confusion, it was not where it should be.

Somepony had hidden it.

And therefore somepony was going to burn in Tartarus after she crushed the damn thing.

After scrounging around her room with her ears swiveling in every direction, she finally located the little cretin underneath her bathroom sink of all places.

Promptly, it was silenced.

Sighing, Twilight withdrew her head from the sink's bowels and looked in the mirror. She looked like a mess as usual. After closing the door she stepped into the shower and ran through the motions of waking herself up. As the hot water drizzled through her fur Twilight thought back to the previous day's events.

She'd barged in on Celestia and her doctor, heard information that she shouldn't have, and then been assaulted by her teacher with tickles until she was blue in the face. From there the two had spent morning court together, and by together it meant Twilight got to replace Luna so the dark mare could finally go to sleep herself. Twilight never said it, but she envied Luna's sleeping pattern. It involved less sunbeams in the face after all. While Celestia had listened to citizens and elites banter about unjust laws and civil squabbles, Twilight sat on a cushion next to the marble throne and watched with rapt attention. Each case was similar in form, but complex in its resolve. If one pony wanted taxes changed, and had proven a reason for its change to be valid and worth looking into, then it meant that a group would be dispersed to figure the best and most efficient way to do this. However, if it was a civil dispute between landowners, as an example; the situation was far simpler.

Twilight chuckled as she lathered her mane with shampoo.

Some ponies could get very verbal when fighting over territory. Celestia had mentioned during the recess that whenever in court, she would fine anypony who cursed in her name four bits. Twilight thought it was hilarious when the alicorn caught an upper crusted mare whispering idle insults about Twilight's close proximity to her highness' seat, and the mare lost twelve bits by the time it she put a hoof in her own mouth.

Sometimes Celestia would ask Twilight for her opinion on a case, or for information regarding a law or where to gain the most up to date information for a ruling. For Twilight, it made her feel useful. She wasn't just there for ornamental purpose, and she got to be part of the court dealings as an adult partner to Celestia and her work.

Celestia for the most part enjoyed the answered Twilight gave, and sometimes used them to turn a case over or to advance to approval.

Twilight sat down in the tub and started scrubbing her tail, frowning at the next part of the memory.

After court was out Twilight yawned and stood, beginning to stretch out her limbs as her teacher did the same. Celestia groaned as her wing joints popped rather loudly, and then stood fully, facing her student.

“Twilight, I was thinking now might be a good time to have a break with some tea, would you care to join me?” Twilight shrugged,

“Sure, assuming you don't have any--”

Her words were cut off as the private doors behind the throne, used by the princess' to enter the room, were flung open with quite a loud bang, and in strode Luna.

Quite literally fuming.

Both Celestia and Twilight were taken aback as she marched forward, her mouth in a scowl aimed directly at her sister. Celestia balked and took a step back,

“S-sister? Whatever is the--” Luna growled, silencing her and turned to Twilight with a less than friendly false smile,

“Twilight, would thou allow us a moment to speak with our sister?” The unicorn didn't get a chance to reply, as Luna cut her off, glaring at her sister once more.

“Thank you.”

“B-but Princess Luna--” Luna snapped her eyes down to Twilight and glowered at her.

“Thank....you.” she said through gritted teeth. Twilight squeaked and visibly shrank back,

“Heheh...uh, yeah sure I'll just be on my way.” And with that she teleported out of the room. Once she had left Celestia huffed and turned to her sister to speak, she did not get that chance however, as a scroll unfurled and slapped itself against her face.

“What...is...this?” Luna's voice was laced with such fury that Celestia swore she could taste the malice that permeated the room. Calmly pulling the scroll from her muzzle she looked and saw that Luna was sitting rigidly and her celestial mane was whipping about in agitation. Her wings were twitching as was her left eye. Celestia sighed and looked at the scroll reading it's contents.

She quickly lost any color that might have called itself home in her face.

Final results of Princess Celestia:

blood type: A-

coloration: silver

genus: Celestial

status: ungodly healthy.

Parents: unknown

Final results of Princess Luna:

blood type: A-

coloration: silver

genus: Celestial

status: reverently healthy.

Parents: unknown

Filed notes:

No known relatives to the genus 'Celestial' Save for two known living entities.

Patient A: Princess Mi amore Cadenza.

Residence: Crystal Empire.
Blood type: A-
coloration: silver
genus: Celestial
status: beautifully healthy.
Parents: unknown

Patient B: Twilight Sparkle.
Blood type: Ab+
Coloration: crimson red
Genus: Celestial
Status: Knowledgeably Healthy
Parents: Princess Celestia: mother. Father unknown.

Records to be withheld by order of Princess Celestia, Princess Cadance, and Princess Luna.

Approved Doctor:

Dr. Whooves

Celestia blinked and re-read the scroll. Her frown deepened, and she glanced at Luna. It was clear the princess of the moon was not happy.

“So sister...when didst thou think thee would tell us such important information?” Luna stood and stalked towards Celestia like a lion cornering it's prey. Celestia stood as well but she backed away slowly,

“Lulu, I can explain! Just--"

“Pray thee tell us why our sister did not find it important to say that she was with child!?”

“Lulu. you're scaring me; calm down please and just--”

“WE WILL NOT BE CALM!”

Celestia wilted under her sister's gaze, physically lowering herself to the floor. Luna was now inches away from her and their muzzles were gently touching. Luna held her hardened expression for several minutes whilst watching her sister stutter incomprehensible sentences.

With a quick movement Luna's hoof struck Celestia square across her jawline, easily turning the alabaster alicorn's head to the side. Celestia blinked, her mouth gasping like a fish out of water. Tentatively she lifted a hoof and touched the spot where her sister had hit her. Luna turned and walked to a nearby window, staring out it at nothing in general.

“That, was for keeping such a secret from us. A secret that we would have rejoiced to hear, a secret you kept from us because of—because of fear!” Luna heard Celestia stand, she heard her hoof steps as she moved closer to Luna, until they were almost side by side.

“...We....we are s-sorry...Sister.” Luna snorted loudly. She was still very upset with Celestia but while she felt like hitting her hadn't done the job, once was definitely more than was needed.

“If thou were sorry, thee would have told us last night regardless of promises. Neigh, if thou were actually sorry thee would have not kept it a secret at all!” She turned and leveled a glare at Celestia, only to find her sister's head lowered, her solar mane obscuring all but the tip of her muzzle.

A droplet hit the floor, and with it's descent came the short, wracking sobs of Celestia.

“I..we...w-we are sorry Lulu...I c-couldn't tell you b-because...”

“Yes?” Luna did not soften her words, knowing Celestia was hurt, but also knowing her sister had hurt her far more than the alabaster mare knew.

“B-because if you knew...you might...might tell her...” Luna blinked, and turned, moving to sit in front of her sister.

“We would not have done that Tia.” Celestia finally lifted her head and Luna noted how the tears were streaming down her cheeks unobstructed. Celestia's political mask had shattered and she was showing her inner turmoil.

She was terrified. Luna felt her energy drain a little at the sight of her elder sister crying in earnest.

“Luna...would you...do you mean that?” Luna nodded,

“Tis not our responsibility to tell her of her heritage, but thine own.” Celestia balked, her wings trembling.

“I-I can't...I've tried many times but....I just can't.” Luna scowled and leaned down taking her sister's chin in her hoof. It was an odd feeling, being the reassuring one.

“Thou fears are reasonable for a mother, but we are confused. Why did thou lose her in the first place? Did thy courts disagree?” Celestia shook her head and inched forward, nuzzling her sister's shoulder.

“No... although many things influenced my decision to do so...the courts were a small part, but the larger part...was Discord...” Luna felt her breath hitch.

“The snake of chaos? What has he to do with all of this?”

Celestia sniffed and nuzzled Luna again, prompting Luna to place a wing around her sister.

“I was doing my rounds around the garden one evening, about twenty years ago. Not all of the garden statues are enchanted villains, but the few that are, I like to keep them in check. I was checking Discord's statue and I...I found something.”

Luna raised a brow and nodded.

“When I found I was pregnant, I failed to notice that my magic was changing focus, it was protecting Twilight inside me. But it was weakening the bonds of the seals in the garden. I couldn't fix them either while with child. It gave too much strain and I could risk the possibility of harming Twilight's growth.”

Celestia lifted her gaze until Luna and her horn were gently connecting at the bases.

“Eventually I knew, Discord would return, but I couldn't figure out when. To ensure he couldn't find out I was her mother, I erased all the files of my pregnancy and any that connected me to her. Eventually Discord did break out...and well, you know the rest.”

Luna frowned,

“But why not tell her after Discord was reformed? Did that not remove thine initial fear?” Celestia smirked wryly,

“Yes, it did. But by then I'd built a special relationship with her, a bond I am loathe to break. She sees me as the teacher, her the student. I don't want to ruin what I have Lulu. She is so happy now, and with the recent passing of Twilight Velvet, her adoptive mother, I can't just pop in and tell her something like that...can I?”

Luna kept her frown,

“I still sense this is all out of fear, She has yet to ascend and you and I know how badly that will affect her if she doesn't know. You and I both remember when our wings came thr--” Celestia's eyes widened suddenly and then just as quickly scrunched shut and she gagged.

“N-no no no stop! Just...no...I ….I remember... it was...unpleasant.” They sat there in silence until Celestia stood and leaned in to Luna,

It wasn't a request, Luna reached out and hugged her sister.

“Will....will you be there...when I tell her?” Luna nodded, but it was a pointless gesture.

She was going to be there even if Celestia hadn't wanted her present.

Twilight stepped out of the shower, and sighed, The royal sisters had not left the grand hall that day and she'd eventually wandered back to her tower room in the observatory to do some research. Albeit not something she had planned to research, Twilight had distinctly heard Doctor Whooves mention that Celestia's blood was silver in coloration, and that had tweaked a nerve in her thoughts.

Basically, there had to be a reason it was silver.

After spending half the day verifying that no, the castle library had no records on Celestia's previous checkups, and that no, they did not have any previous blood samples, Twilight found herself perusing the anatomy section for any reference guides on alicorns.

The hunt was so far...fruitless.

“Erg, why can't there just be one snippet of information on them, Celestia has been around for more than a couple thousand years, Luna likely just as long, so why is there nothing!?” She thumped her horn in between two books on the shelf and sighed in frustration...

“Why indeed.”

Twilight had been so absorbed in her work she barely noticed the gray unicorn that had sidled up next to her. She shrieked and backpedaled into the next shelf, threatening to knock it over with the sheer force. The gray unicorn quickly steadied the shelf and reset any books that may have fallen, before fixing his gaze on the younger purple mare. Twilight looked at him and sized him up.

He was old, well beyond his hundred and fiftieth year, and for unicorns that was an accomplishment. The average unicorn lived to be about one hundred and fifty or so, two hundred if they were extremely healthy.

This unicorn was light charcoal in coloration, with two-toned black and gray hair for his mane and tail. His beard was also of similar coloration. On his nose bridge was a pair of glasses, and covering his chest was a red college vest with a white collared shirt underneath it.

His cutie mark was an inequality sign.

Twilight frowned and stood back up, glaring at the elder unicorn; she'd never seen him before.

“I'm sorry, I couldn't hear what you said over the sound of my heart disintegrating instantaneously, could you repeat that?” He merely smiled and turned to the shelf, pulling a dusty tome from the shelf and flipping it open leisurely,

“I think you heard me, heart attack or no, Twilight Sparkle.” She blinked, lifting a hoof defensively,

“W-who are you? And how do you know me?” He chuckled, flipping a page with a flicker of magic,

“I suppose the proper question is not who I am or how I know you, but what you want to know and how to get it.” Twilight gave him a deadpan stare.

“Okaaay, a random unicorn I’ve never met tells me he knows what I’m after and I guess I'm supposed to ask you what that is right?” the unicorn closed the book and slid it across the floor to her, it came to a stand still facing her right side up. Twilight looked down and read the book's spine aloud,

“The genealogical history of the Armor and Sparkle family? What they hay is that doing in the anatomy section? Why on earth would I want....” She looked up and suddenly realized,

The unicorn was gone.

“...This?” She looked left and right but saw no sign of him. Stifling a gulp, she trotted to the end of the isle and peered out, looking around, but she was truly alone.

Okay...that isn't creepy at all... Shaking her head she walked back to the book and lifted it up in her magic, watching as soot and dust fell of it in sheets...no, that wasn't dust...

She leaned forward and sniffed.

“Its...dirt? Old sedimentary deposits, but definitely dirt.” She then inspected the slot in the shelf where he'd retrieved it, only to note that no sediment or dust was on the shelf...this book hadn't been there at all...in fact..Twilight lifted her head up and look down the hall from where the unicorn had disappeared down.

“It was never in this library...he brought it with him...but why would he have a genealogy book on my family's houses?” She shook the book and grimaced as a few crumbles of sand fell out from between the pages...

“And even more important....where did he get it? I've never even seen a genealogy book on my house...”

She was brought out of her thoughts by a gentle sound, a bell was ringing back and forth slowly somewhere in the building. It was coming from a large grandfather clock on the far wall notifying the library patrons that noon had arrived. This elicited a growl from Twilight's stomach that made her ears pin back against her head.

“Maybe it's more important that I get some food. I need to stop and eat before leaving for research expeditions into the castle...seriously Sparkle, you need to be more organized.”

She berated herself whilst exiting into the many halls and pathways of the castle, heading for her room...when she stopped and looked down at the book in her magic. It was obviously very old, the tome was frayed, the pages were yellow with age, but got considerably cleaner and whiter the farther into the book one went. The front had once held a title but now lay bare from the test of time. The only title she'd found was on the spine, and it was just barely readable for her.

She thanked spike for having terrible almost illegible writing... For once.

She flipped open a few pages and slowly started walking again, randomly dodging ponies while she read as if she had a second sense for their presence.

“Genealogy is the study of one's heritage throughout the ages...yada yada... This book details that of the Armor family, born under King Elictus?... Who the hay is that?... And passed on to living relatives...yada yada... Thus from here the Sparkle family was formed—wait what?” She stopped and flipped the page back, re-reading the passage.

“The Armor family was well known for their magical prowess, but around the time of Nightmare Moon's coup, almost all heritage is lost, save for rare lines near coastal regions. It is presumed that to safely protect themselves from the celestial war that raged near Mount Canterhorn, the Armor family crossed over the sea. Later, they returned, albeit now a mixed breed of pegasi, earth pony, and earth pony, originally being only unicorns.

“Upon their return to Equestria, another family had been created, equal in magical power to that of the Armor family, The Aurora family. It was decided that both houses could not own the title of “Magical Master' and thus a tournament was held, but after many disputes, scandals, and bloodshed, the houses came to an agreement that they would form one house, thus from here House Sparkle was formed...”

Twilight blinked, she never knew that, she'd never even heard this story! She flipped the book over and searched for an author's name or a date when the book was published...she found the latter.

And she laughed.

“Aha...Ahahaha! Th-that can't ehehehe....that can't be..this book couldn't...possibly be...that old...” Then she read it again. And again. And slowly, after each re-reading, her smile was overwhelmed by a frown.

Date published: 105 B.C.E.(before Celestial era)

Twilight's frown turned into a scowl and she slapped the book shut, before resuming her walk, albeit now a march.

“Hogwash! There is no known book that predates Celestia and Luna, this is a fake book and a joke...and who the heck is King Elictus!?” She frowned. She needed to see Celestia, she needed answers and she was going to get them even if it killed--

WHAM!

Twilight was brought out of her mumblings by a blue blur that had literally appeared out of no where and slammed into her. Together, they both tumbled down the hall and finally came to a stop outside a broom closet door where a maid was startled into action from her nap.

Okay, note to self. Don't make death comments in the castle while holding old tomes...Twilight groaned and opened an eye to see exactly who she assume it'd be.

“Rainbow Dash...” Said mare shook herself and stood over Twilight with a frown,

“There you are! We've been looking all over for you, Twilight!” She practically yelled the words, making Twilight grit her teeth and almost buck the mare in her stomach, but she was saved from committing assault on the cyan horror by a gentle magic aura lifting Dash off her.

“Really Rainbow Dash, must you go careening about the castle in such a fashion? It is very uncivilized of you!” Twilight smiled as an pristine hoof was put within grasping range and she was helped to her feet by none other than Rarity. The mare was sporting no clothing and no hat, a rare situation for the fashionista when inside the castle.

“Terribly sorry about that, Twilight, we were on our way to find you and this brute decided to do things the unreasonable way.” she jabbed a hoof at the cyan mare but the pegasus merely shrugged whilst standing and looked away,

“I found her before you did Rare's, I call that progress.” Rarity huffed and turned her nose up at the comment, Twilight smirked and floated the tome onto her back, before continuing on,

“If you two are here, does that mean the others are as well?” Rarity didn't stop moving, but she did slow down slightly,

“Er, well sadly no, Applejack is preparing for the spring rodeo competition, and Pinkie Pie has been...grounded? Yes, grounded, by Miss Cake for ahem...blowing up her oven. Again.” Twilight looked surprised.

“What was she trying to bake this time?” Rarity smirked,

“Oh you know, a triple decked three way cheese whatsit...something to do with a lot of cheese and icing...honestly, that mare can mix anything and make it taste good. However I peered into the kitchen to see what had happened, needless to say it looked like Pinkie Pie has blasted the room with cheddar cement, and...well, its not aesthetically pleasing.”

Twilight cringed at the visual imagery, if Rarity said it was that bad, then it probably was.

“Well, at least some of you came by, that's good, was Pinkie Pie able to make any cupcakes for Princess Luna?” Rarity smiled,

“But of course! I told her it was a royal craving emergency, and she made them on the spot.” from one of her many bags she procured a white box with twelve delicately crafted cupcakes, each one had blue icing with white sprinkles atop themselves. Twilight nodded and continued walking with her friends until they reached her observatory room, and while she set the tome on a nearby desk, the girls meandered around, inspecting the room. Rainbow Dash thought it was pleasant, open enough for her to zip back and forth from one side to the other without much trouble, while Rarity felt it was reasonable in the sense that it would suffice for a bedroom, she commented that it could use a couple couches and dining furniture.

“I mean honestly, hasn't anypony heard of lounging under the stars? How am I supposed to do that if I don't have a proper couch? And some nice wine mind you...” She flipped her hoof through her mane and lay down near the large window, overlooking Canterlot. Dash floated up and peered out the dual paned glass,

“I must admit though, the view is quite nice, you can even see Ponyville from here!” Twilight humbly smiled,

“Well the Princess wanted me to be able to have space for myself, but not feel detached from the world, any who, what do you girls want to do?” The three fell silent as they thought.

“We could go see a Wonderbolts show!”

“Dash, dear, those aren't happening for another month or two.” the cyan mare slumped in mid air,

“Crap, I got nothin.” Rarity huffed at the mare's inability to think beyond flight based subjects,

“How about a shopping day? We haven't perused the streets of Canterlot in quite sometime.” Twilight frowned,

“While I'd like the idea of getting out for a bit, I think I should stay here.” Both Dash and Rarity looked confused. Rarity flipped her ears back,

“Why ever would you need to stay darling? It's not like the princess' need us currently...or...oh my, did something happen?” Twilight shrugged and looked out the window, her expression dower.

“I don't know, Luna barged into the main hall yesterday and seemed livid about something, and demanded she speak with Celestia. but I was not made privy to that particular conversation and had to leave the room. Since then I've not seen either one of them....I'm, I'm kind of worried something did happen. I've never seen Luna so mad before, and I want to stay close by just in case.”

Dash groaned and plopped her rear down onto the floor,

“So what, we just sit here in the tower and chat idly? Come on! We do that at home, this is Canterlot, Twilight, I'm sure whatever the Princesses are arguing over isn't even related to us! Lets go somewhere!”

Twilight frowned, and looked around her. Her eyes fell on the tome the old unicorn had given her.

“W-well you guys can go shopping or, adventure around, I need to finish...something.” She levitated the tome over and started flipping the pages to where she'd left off, only to hear Rainbow Dash groan and Rarity sigh.

“Sweety, you read books all the time, and while it is very admirable of you to extend your vocabulary, Dash is right. You can do that at home, besides,” Twilight felt a light jab at the book and looked up to see the fashionista grimacing at it,
“Where on earth did you get that? It smells like it was in a morgue!” Twilight blinked,

“A...a morgue...” Suddenly, Twilight had a small inkling of where the unicorn had gotten the book. Her magic faltered and the book slapped the floor with a rather strong noise.

“Its...its not dirt...its...” Rainbow looked curious, and Rarity felt slightly ill, the book smelled like it'd been rolled around in death, it was even covered in a fine layer of gray dust and soot...

Twilight felt a cold shiver run down her spine. It all made sense, the book was extremely old, she'd never heard of it, seen it, or even knew of the stories within its binding. She was given it by a Unicorn she'd never met before, and yet he knew her....was he actually a....

“Twilight? Earth to Twilight, whats up? It's just some smelly--” She was startled into silence when Twilight shrieked and backpedaled away from the book.

“ Its ashes!” Twilight frantically dove into the nearby bathroom, washing her hooves and scrubbing them dry. as she finished, she began mumbling incoherent sentences as Rarity and Rainbow looked at one another in confusion.

“Twilight? Darling, what's the matter, it's just an old book...right?” Rarity gently tapped the door and found it slightly open, pushing it open she found Twilight standing on her back hooves with her face inches from the mirror,

“Twilight?”

“It was in a grave...”

“Pardon?”

“The Unicorn was a ghost....”

“Twilight dear, you're mumbling, you know we can't understand you when you’r--”

Twilight whipped her head sideways in a furious shake and then locked her eyes on Rarity,

“Earlier today I was researching information about Celestia and Luna's bloodline, but I couldn't find anything on it, nada, zip, zilch! Then I noticed I wasn't alone in that aisle, ohohoh no, he snuck up me, the sneaky little—anyway, that book, it was given to me by a weird old unicorn I’ve never seen before while in the library, when I turned to ask him about it, he was gone, poof! Now it all makes sense, the dusty tome, the unknown knowledge, the illogical date, the smell of death, the unicorn...Rarity, I think I was talking to a ghost in the Canterlot Library!”

She paused, catching her breath, never realizing how close she'd gotten to Rarity's face. The white mare had physically crouched and their muzzles were inches apart.

“T-twilight, you're scaring me, darling...” From outside the bathroom they heard Rainbow snickering, and then full out laughing. Twilight blinking, donned a confused, then embarrassed expression.

“I...s-sorry Rarity, I just had a really weird encounter a few hours ago...He never said his name either, but that book, I’ve never heard of it, and the book definitely did not come from the library...it does smell deathly, and I think you might be right...” They shared a look,

“While ghosts are most certainly a possibility, You don't think this stallion might have simply...” Twilight frowned, and left the bathroom, Rarity right behind her. They passed by Rainbow Dash who was rolling around giggling.

“Ahahah! G-ghost of the library, w-was he tall and handsome T-Twilight? Bwahahaha! D-did he ask you on a date?” She ignored the mare and sat in front of the book that had been left discarded on the observatory floor.

“You know what I think Rarity? I think some pony went and did something awful.” Rarity nodded solemnly,

“A most heinous crime, but who would do such a thing? And more importantly...who did he take it from?” Twilight frowned and levitated the book up, looking it over.

“This book is a genealogy book on the history of my family lines, the Armor and Sparkle houses. If it was taken from any pony, it would be from one of those houses...” She gulped, and slowly flipped the book open to the cover page. After searching for the property owner's name, she found it scrawled in the small space designated for names.

All color left her face.

This Book is Property of:

Mrs. Twilight Velvet

Author's Notes:

If there are any errors or misspellings, I would appreciate it if I could have them pointed out so they can be fixed. thanks ^^

A big thanks to Shadowed-ember for editing.

Dead Answers

Twilight stared at the page in front of her as if it had slapped her across the face.

“W....w-what?” The word dribbled out of her mouth with a mixture of incredulousness and fear. Behind her, Rainbow dash and Rarity were staring at their purple friend, unsure of what to do. By the time Rarity decided to step forward, Twilight's shoulders were shaking,

“T-there is no way...he...couldn't have....NO!” With a strong surge of magic Twilight threw it across the room where it smacked a wall and lay still on the floor soon after. Rarity and Dash both reeled backwards from the magical wave as it brushed against them.

“T-twilight dear please! Calm down!” Twilight whipped around and glared at the unicorn,

“Calm down? CALM DOWN?! My mother's grave has been desecrated by the hooves of some old codger unicorn for the sake of...of...AAAG!” Twilight stomped a hoof into the floor, her nostrils flared, and with a audible growl she marched past them and flung the doors to the hall open, startling the guards standing nearby.

Her mane was whipping about around her, caught within the grasp of her magic as she tromped towards the Castle gates, there was only one place she needed to be right now.

The Ponyville Cemetery.

It was all ready, she would walk in, have a chat with them both, there would be crying, anger, fear, and a whoooole lot of explaining to be done. But she was ready. Her entire life knowing this time would come and she was finally at it's edge, ready to slice into it with her words of determination.

So why was she shaking so badly?

Celestia repositioned herself on the cushion and looked over to her sister. Luna seemed to be fine, her mane was relaxed and swaying slightly to the right. Her eyes were locked on a book she was reading, although where she'd gotten it was not known to the alabaster alicorn.

“Calm down sister, all will be well after this, we assure you.” Celestia felt her ear flick,

“Calm down? How can I? I'm about to tell twilight that this entire time I'm her mother and you expect me to be calm?” She stood and began to pace about the room,

“I can't be calm, very much sit still, Lulu. I feel like my stomach is on fire, and my head is filled with mud...what if she gets angry?”

Luna flicked a page with her magic,

“She will be.”

“What if she thinks I’m a horrible pony?”

A nod,

“She will.”

What if...what if she hates me?”

“Twas bound to happen, dear sister.” Celestia finally stopped and looked at her sister, frowning. Flipping both her ears back, she walked over and sat down on the cushion again.

“Your not being very helpful with answers like those...” Luna cocked an eyebrow at her elder sister, flipping another page,

“And fretting over the inevitable is?” Celestia sighed, why did Luna get to be her voice of reason, she was too good at it. They sat like that for several more minutes until Celestia stood again, Luna merely kept reading,

“I mean sure, she'll be mad at me, I would be mad at me...well, 'disappointed' sounds good too,” Luna frowned,

“Be assured sister, there is nothing good about this situation your in, Twilight will have her world turned upside down, and all because you couldn't tell here the necessary truths she needed.” The white alicorn bit her lip,

“Well-I was--...oh come on Lulu, can't you agree with me at least once?”

The dark mare smirked and closed the book,

“We cannot, not when our sister is attempting to mask her fears with falsehoods and sugar coated comforts. Think of it this way, I'll never lie to thee. Take comfort in that fact, for we give it rarely.” Celestia grinned wryly,

“I don't believe that for a second, lulu. If memory serves, you lied to me for a whole three centuries about how you were feeling and look where that got us.” Luna sighed and tossed the book aside onto her sister's bed and stood,

“Yes well, we had a diamond dog on our shoulder, and could not see past it's hairy behind...” Celestia regarded the sentence with a look of confusing and disgust.

“I..think you mean you had a grudge...” Luna shrugged and waggled a hoof,

“Tis the same thing.” They both chuckled, and Celestia sighed, nuzzling into her sister's neck for comfort, to which Luna replied in kind.

“Thanks for being here, Lulu, it means a lot to me.” Luna chuckled, poking Celestia's chest,
“Do not forget that we are now her aunt. As such we have every right to be here when she is told...however, something confuses us.” Celestia paused in her nuzzles and looked down at Luna, she had her eyes on the doors to Celestia's chambers.

“Does it normally take your guards this long to locate thy pupil?” It was here that they both blinked, and looked at one another. Celestia found he self mentally checking the time, and found the number to be rather uncommon for twilight's arrival...it never took a half hour to find her.

“No, no it does not, I wonder where she is...” Celestia stood and opened her door, peering out. One of the guards looked back and nodded,

“Is everything alright Princess?” Celestia smiled,

“Yes, I was merely curious what is taking up the guard that went to retrieve Twilight Sparkle, has he returned yet?” The guard shook his head,

“Negative ma'am, would you like us to go and search for Twilight as well?” Celestia nodded,

“That would be appreciated, thank you.” She watched as the two guards left together before closing the door and sighing.

“Apparently she's playing hide and seek with my guard.” Luna giggled and went back to her cushion,

“We find it rather out of character for her to be doing such things...but the idea is humorous.” Celestia sighed, and for the first time that day,

a real smile sat upon her face.

As the train clacked along down the tracks, Twilight remained infuriated. Pacing back and forth in the middle if the isle. Her eyes attempted to bore holes into the floor and the tracks beneath it, and given enough time, she was sure she could have succeeded.

“Twilight, please sit down, I’m sure it's just some misunderstand--” Twilight silenced the unicorn mare with a glare.

“Aha...yes well...continue...” Next to her, Rainbow dash was lounging on the seat, her face contorted into a mixture between worry and anger, if that were even remotely possible.

“I don't get it Twi, how did this pony get your family book, and who the hay is this King Elictus guy?” Twilight stopped and blinked, looking back at the mare,only to find the book she'd discarded in the mare's lap. Quickly darting over and snatching it from the cyan pegasus, she growled at her.

“When did you grab this!?” Dash shrugged and put her head on the sill,staring out the window sourly,

“Jeez Twilight its not like its your diary or anything, I grabbed it when you stomped out the door. I figured it was important to ya so I brought it with us. But really, who is King Elictus?” She lifted her head and leveled a look of curiosity at Twilight. The mare sighed and sat down in the middle of the floor, cradling the book in her hooves.

“I..I don't know, this book, if legitimate, is from before Celestia and Luna's time. On top of that it has history I’ve never read in any books or scrolls. I think the only ponies who might know of King Elictus are Celestia and luna, and maybe Discord, but I'd rather not ask him.”

Rarity scoffed,

“He'd give you an answer I think we'd both find infuriating, that would only reveal itself as useful after we needed it.” A murmur of agreement went between around. Twilight clenched her teeth, It was true that Discord was now 'reformed', but the chaos god had shown little skill at being friendly.

Probably doesn't drink coffee in the morning...Despite the situation she'd found herself in, she smiled at the humor of the thought.

As the train rattled onward, Twilight eventually did simmer down; she even sat down for a bit next the the girls, but it was mostly out of the fact that she had nothing else to do. She didn't feel like chatting with the girls, and they seemed to be in a similar mood. Eventually the train did come to a halt and She Scooped up the tome in her magic, gave one look at the girls, and disappeared in a flash of magic.

Rarity sighed, running a hoof through her mane in frustration.

“I will say this for her sake, I hope this is all a farce, don't you?” Beside her Rainbow Dash was looking around, pensively,

“Um, yeah sure...” Rarity lifted an eyebrow,

“Your hardly the type to get jumpy Rainbow, what has you so worried?” Rainbow Dash shifted her wings and then shivered.

“N-nothing...I just don't like where this is going, ya know? Creepy books with knowledge locked away in burial sites, unicorns who show up out of no where, and...I...never mind.” Dash flipped her ears back and hurried forward, not allowing the conversation to continue. Rarity frowned, and followed.

Twilight arrived just outside the gates to the Ponyville memorial grounds a split second after she'd left the train...and immediately wished she'd taken her time getting there.

Well...this is awkward...

The purple mare quickly sidestepped off the path and allowed a group of thirty or so mourners; all of them unicorns, with a fresh casket levitated amongst them to pass by. By the looks on their faces, they were merely surprised by her appearance, but some were also frowning in her direction. She stole a glance at the casket and found the cutie mark wasn't one she personally recognized.

After watching them pass, twilight scoured the surrounding area for any other occupants, but found to her relief that she was the only other pony around. Quickly finding her bearings she trotted down the isles towards her family's branch field.

Each part of the property were sectioned off by gates with magically enchanted locks. These locks were imbued with genetic signature spells, directly linked to the specified bloodline it guarded. Should a grave robber try to desecrate the hallowed grounds beyond them...well it wasn't pleasant to say the least...

Having a ghost come out of the grave you'd robbed chase you down was terrifying in it's own right. Even scarier was that they would not stop until they'd caught you, and mortal ponies needed air to breathe and keep running...ghosts did not.

Twilight had been told this when she was younger, and while originally thought to scare her from breaking the rules, Twilight soon had found the stories to be very true.

Upon her first visit to the grave site, twilight had gotten a first hoof experience with ghosts.

She was about to have her second.

As she came to the large gate that held her family's burial grounds, she could already tell something was wrong.

Very wrong.

The air was thin, cold, and felt like freezing metal was placed against her throat every time she breathed. Fog was obscuring the area within and she could only manage a glimpse at the nearest headstones.

On top of this she felt like she was being watched...

“Twilight...”

“GAAH!” Twilight leaped forward and latched onto the nearest object in her location with the grip of an earth pony, which happened to be the gate. With a loud groan the gate rattled violently and the fog whipped around her in a frenzy, Twilight scrunched her eyes shut and felt the gate rattle for a few seconds more, and a loud click echoed off into the silence...

With the mare still holding on, the gate swung inwards slowly, eerily, and now, deathly quiet.

After several seconds of very hard breathing Twilight felt it safe to open her eyes. The area was still enshrouded with fog, and considering she was alone and had clearly heard someone speak her name, yeah, she didn't feel safe or comfortable anymore.

“O-okaay...twilight, just go in, check on your mother, and get out...no biggie...”

Sliding down off the gate, she inched forward just past the border between her family's grounds, and the outside world. The moment she'd completely crossed that physical line between life and the dead around her, the great iron gates slammed shut with such ferocity that She screamed and bolt forward, using a tombstone as a defense...

The gates remained solid and unmoving now.

Slowly picking her self up off the ground twilight slunk over to them and tried to open them, to her dismay they didn't even budge.

“Well...I’ve got one foot in the grave already...might as well dig further right?” She said looking at the tome with disdain, to which it gave no answer.

“Right, talking to myself, coping method for fear...totally doesn't help right now...”

“Twilight...”

Said titled mare froze, and darted her eyes around, but nothing came to her eyes save the fog and near by markers. For a few brief seconds she stood there, unsure of her decision.

You wanted answers, now go find them. Slowly she nodded with what she hoped was her conscience and not some long dead ancestor. Taking a deep breath she spoke aloud to the grave site,

“I-I am Twilight Sparkle, and I enter a-as a patron of said house, I mean no soul here harm or dishonor...please let me pass...?” several seconds ticked by, and she felt like berating herself for thinking it'd do anything, when the fog suddenly swelled, and then dissipated to the sides, revealing the path before her. She flipped her ears forward in curiosity.

“Huh..I never thought that would actually work...” walking forward on uneasy hooves, Twilight began her trek to her mother's resting place, which she hadn't visited for a few months now. Normally she'd only visit on holidays or particularly melancholy days where she felt lost or truly alone.

The latter days were few and rare since she'd moved to Ponyville.

Twilight had once asked her mother why their house grounds were located in Ponyville and not Canterlot, and Velvet had smiled, petting the small foal's mane gently.

“Because Canterlot is no place for the dead, Twily. It is a place to live and become something for others remember, and Ponyville, well Ponyville is a place to remember what you became, and to always cherish it.”

At the time Twilight liked that answer...now however, she scowled, never realizing the deep inset wisdom of those words until her mother was gone and she couldn't ask more.

As she rounded the bend of a particularly sharp corner with oak trees shrouding the light over head, she shivered, the feeling of eyes on her made her neck hairs stand on end.

“...I know your there...I'm just, just here to see my mother...”

The words came out crinkled and forced, alas, she got no reply and the feeling didn't abate.

Finally she rounded the bend and came within sight of her mother's tombstone. As she approached it though, her footsteps stopped short and her eyes widened, both out of surprise and fear.

She really was not alone any more.

“Hello...Twilight...”

The apparition stood just in front of the tombstone that had her name so smoothly inscribed upon it, a light frown creasing the face of the former matriarch of House Sparkle. She was a ghost of her former self, literally, and Twilight could barely see through her to the next tombstone.

Twilight was shocked into a state of stone cold silence. Her mother was both out of her grave....and very much dead.

A few seconds whisked by and Twilight finally moved, if only to shake her head and continue staring. She eventually spoke, lifting a hoof as if to move forward but didn't, fearing the image of the older mare with evaporate like the fog around them.

“..M-Mom?”

Velvet smiled and turned her head to look at Twilight, and the younger mare suddenly felt warmer than she had since she'd entered the grounds. That smile was genuine, that smile was safety...

That smile was home.

Velvet chuckled and trotted forward, her form neither shifting the grass nor disturbing the fog. She lifted a hoof and brought it to The unicorn's face, a hint of mirth leaped across her eyes as twilight tried to lean into the touch but found no contact.

Tears.

Tears immediately started streaming down her face. Velvet frowned and sat down.

“Twilight...”

“I-I'm sorry, I can't help it...y-your dead...your gone..and yet..your here!” she lifted her head up if only to make eye contact with her mother briefly and then looked away,

“You..you should be sleeping...”

“I cannot...”

“....Is...Is it because of this?” twilight pulled the book off her back and sat down, setting the tome between them. Velvet grimaced if only for a second, before nodding.

“Yes...and no, have you read it?” Twilight wiped at her eyes and coughed, glaring at the book.

For the first time in her life, Twilight contemplated burning a work of literature, if she could call it that.

She shrugged,

“Bits and pieces, not the w-whole thing...why? Why is it so important that I read it..who is King Elictus? Why didn't you show this to me when you were alive? Where---” Velvet lifted a hoof, effectively stopping the mountain of words that would have no doubt exploded from twilight's mouth.

“First off, it is imperative that you read this, and DO NOT show it to Celestia or Luna, you'll never see it again, that I can assure you of. Secondly, King Elictus was a royal unicorn king who came from far up north, the book explains further, but not much was known about his life. If you want more information, talk to Discord, tell him I sent you, and he'll drop the randomness.” she paused, and waited till Twilight's sobs were calmer before continuing,

“Thirdly, I wasn't allowed to tell you when I was alive, it was an order.”

Twilight blinked and flipped her ears forward in earnest curiosity,

“B-but you weren't a guard mom, shining and dad were, but not....were you?” Velvet frowned and yet again nodded,

“At one point, yes, I was a solar guard for Celestia, and then...I wasn't. I removed myself from her army after starting a family.” Twilight frowned, that momentary pause in her mother's speech made Twilight squint at the older mare.

“There's more to it then that..you didn't just quit, that's not like you. you're still not telling me everything are you?”

Velvet pointed to the book,

“It has answers you seek, ones I am bound even in death not to speak of. From there you must go see night light, for more information...I assume he is well?”
Twilight nodded,

“If by 'well' you mean alive then yes, and he still is terrible at golf.” They shared a chuckle and Velvet stood,

“I must be off, this spell only lasts so long sadly, but you must know two things Twilight, my grave was not unwillingly robbed of that book, I allowed it to happen, because you need to know this secret, and I needed to have this talk with you...and secondly,” walking forward she gently placed her horn against Twilight's making a wave of fresh tears alight on her cheeks.

“I will always love you...even in death I hear your songs when you visit, and I sing of your life, I rejoice that we lived together, and I watch over you...No matter what happens...” As she spoke her body began to fade, and her voice dropped in volume.

“You will always be my little Twilight Sparkle, my daughter.”

As the last worse left her mouth, she vanished, leaving Twilight with so many more questions, so many more words to say...

and so many more tears to shed.

It was several moments later that she finally stopped sobbing and managed to lift her head up, only to blink in confusion.

The fog was gone, and in it's place was a familiar male Unicorn. With the same college vest, glasses, and double colored mane. He was currently hunched over a gray metal fog machine that was sputtering little gout’s of acrid smoke, He sighed and tossed the wrench into a bag of tools. He turned, stood and leaned on the thing, gracing twilight with an all to creepy grin.

“Ponyfeathers. Machines these days, never built like they used to be. Oh! Hi there Twilight, have a good chat with Velvet?”

his eyes...they were yellow now...

Twilight frowned deeper...that voice...that grin...

“I must say you were quite good at the gate, I didn't think you could scream that loud, I think you might've even broken the record for—GLURK!"

Twilight jumped to her feet and had seized the unicorn by his throat lifting him off the ground and shaking him vigorously.

“YOU!”

“elugruheg...” The unicorn wheezed as the noose tightened and he was suddenly slammed into the ground face first.

“You VILE,”

another lift off and the unicorn smashed into the ground again.

“LOATHESOME,”

another body to earth contact was made,

“EVIL,”

Thud.

“LITTLE,”

Thud.

“COCKROACH!” She paused just long enough to see the unicorn was still present and in one piece, and...smiling?

“Well...that's certainly...Erg...no way...to treat a friend...Twily---”

With a scream of fury Twilight wrenched the body over her head and launched it up into the clouds where it made a draconequus shaped imprint.

She huffed, her breathing hard as she stamped a hoof several times into the ground for good measure.

Now she really wanted to burn that damned book.

Author's Notes:

I regret nothing.

if any errors are spotted please point them out, I'll fix them asap.

Book of Truth

Author's Notes:

I sadly lost an editor whilst working on this chapter and chapter six, so please notify me if anything is incorrect.

Sorry about the distance in chapter updates. I have been backed up in life work and had to get that squared away first.

Also! I big shout out thank you to :iconMehWasAlreadyTaken: They went through every previous chapter I posted and blast edited it. O.O I was stunned, elated, and very surprised by the gesture. it is appreciated.

“Are you going to say anything to her?”

“Why should I be the one to say it?”

“Because you noticed it!”

“Just because my eyes saw it doesn't mean my mouth should speak it, it's rude.”

Twilight groaned and stopped walking, making Rarity and Rainbow Dash halt just behind her.

“What is it girls? What did you see?” Rainbow grimaced and looked at Rarity with an expression of expectancy. Rarity scowled,

“Oh fine,” Walking around to stand in front of Twilight, Rarity gently patted the purple mare's shoulder,

“Nothing too bothersome, just, well you seem to have this expression about you… it's not like you, darling.” Twilight slowly lifted her head, and as she did Rarity took a step back, and then another.

“An expression of what, exactly?” Rarity gulped and laughed nervously,

“Ahahah! Y-yes um, well you...you like like you want to er--kill somepony? Yes, that...a-and considering how you just came out of the graveyard, we felt it um… necessary to... ask what happened?” she looked to Dash for confirmation,who nodded and landed next to Rarity.

“Yep, we wanted to know that.” Twilight's expression didn't soften, in fact, it might have gotten worse.

“I don't want to kill anypony Rarity,” Rarity and Dash both sighed in relief.

“I just want to incinerate a book.”

They both blinked.

As Twilight walked towards the train station, her horn kept at goring point, Rarity gulped, looking at the ground.

“Well...I think we just got our answer...Are you scared? Because I most certainly am.” Beside her, Rainbow Dash folded her wings and decided to walk.

“It's a dark day if Twilight Sparkle wants to destroy a book...” Rarity nodded,

“I find I should agree, ever since we left the cemetery she's had that expression and won't talk about what transpired within it, it's driving me mad with curiosity.” Rainbow shrugged as the trio rounded a street corner and found themselves nearing the train platform.

“I don't think I’m too curious to find out what happened now, but I'm sure she'll tell us eventually.” Rarity merely nodded as they caught up with Twilight.

Canterlot Castle

“She went back to Ponyville? But she just got here!”

Celestia sat perplexed just inside her open bedroom doorway. In front of her stood the three guards she'd sent to find Twilight. On her left, Luna stood with an inquisitive gaze,

“Did she leave details as to why she left with such haste?” The guards shook their heads.

“Sorry ma'am, we were unable to find out, if you like we can have a messenger get a hold of her, would you--” Celestia lifted a hoof, halting further speech, she then continued to lift her hoof until it was messaging her temple.

“N-no it's quite alright, thank you for your help, you may go.”

The guards saluted in unison and backed out. Once the doors were closed, Luna watched as her sister flopped unceremoniously onto her bed, belly up.

“Well...that certainly wasn't what I expected to hear, why would she leave so suddenly?” Luna meandered over and lay down next to the flustered alicorn, placing a wing over her sister. Celestia graciously accepted the touch.

“We are not sure sister, but she had her reasons and they are probably logical ones.” Celestia stared up at the ceiling, her eyes following the design of painted clouds in random directions.

“I guess you're right, she does not really do sporadic things unless they are important...”

“...Or if she wants her mother's blood.” Celestia sat up suddenly and smacked Luna in the shoulder with her hoof.

“That is not funny!” Luna giggled nevertheless and retracted her wing from her sister's belly.

“Tis quite humorous actually, we were informed you almost killed your Doctor with a fountain pen.” Celestia huffed and folded her front legs, looking away.

“He was talking about classified information and had no right to—wait...how did you hear of that!?” Luna giggled harder as Celestia's cheeks reddened and filled with air.

“We hmm mhmhm, we are sorry sister, but it is quite well known around the castle as of now. But if thee must know, we had two night guards hidden in the ceiling rafters to make sure no ill will came to thee.” She giggled harder, and Celestia splayed her ears back.

“What is so funny?”

Luna smiled coyly, poking her sister's chest with a silver shoe.

“Thou has greatly lowered the punishment for high treason sister...”

Celestia blanched. Luna snickered and leaned closer.

“We thought it quite humorous that giving one's enemy a 'raspberry' is now equal to planetary banishment.” Before she could laugh further Celestia tackled her sister into the throw pillows.

“Oh is that so? Well how's about I give you a proper raspberry sister?” Luna squeaked and laughed, grabbing a pillow and boffing her sister in the face with it. Celestia leaned back in mock shock.

“Y-you would assault your dear sister? “ Luna smirked and before Celestia could react, she flipped them over, making Luna the top pony.

Celestia squirmed and giggled.

“Let me go!” Luna laughed and pinned the white mare's wings down against the bed,

“Neigh! We shall show thee true punishment for treason...” Celestia blinked in confusion.

“And what would that be Lulu?”

“A lunar loogie.”

Celestia 's expression plummeted into despair.

“N-no, Luna I forbid it. Let me up. Now.” Luna continued to grin and started to regurgitate flem.

Celestia panicked.

“Luna don't! D-don't you dare missy!” flailing helplessly she found she couldn't move much due to her wings being held. She whimpered as Luna let the glob slowly lower itself down towards her face.

Celestia tried to teleport but Luna was faster, and she countered the spell with her own. Celestia whimpered louder and flailed harder.

“NO! LUNA! Get—errg!—GET OFF ME!” Luna chuckled and let the saliva extend further, forcing Celestia to lean her head back into the bed pillows.

“Rethithtance ith futhile Thithter.”

It was now an inch from her cheek, Celestia screamed.

“LUNA I SWEAR TO FAUST ABOVE IF THAT TOUCHES MY FACE YOU ARE HISTORY!” Luna smirked and suddenly sucked the glop back up into her mouth. Beneath her, Celestia was panting, her hair was a mess and her cheeks were flushed. Leaning down, Luna nuzzled into her sister.

“We already are, sister..we already are.”

A frustrated grumble was her only answer.

From there the sister's simply lay there, waiting. Celestia eventually fell asleep and Luna had to go raise her celestial charge. Looking back, Luna giggled as she beheld all that was her sister's majestic form, slumped sideways, wings askew, leg twitching, clutching a pillow in her forehooves, and mumbling gibberish as she began to nuzzle into it lightly.

“Sleep well, my sister, all will hopefully be well soon.”

Exiting her sister's room to the outside balcony, She opened her wings and took flight, aiming for her tower balcony. Considering how close it was to Celestia's, the flight was short and simple. Once there she alighted on the cool stone and shivered lightly, the wind had felt really good on her coat, and it was the first element she'd embraced upon getting her body back from the Nightmare.

Flight was a good thing for her as well, it gave her freedom she had long missed. On many nights she would fly around the castle, watching the lights of the surrounding city vanish, only to be replaced by neon signs and glow sticks wrapped around ponies necks and legs. Tonight however, she felt no urge to spread her wings more, and instead trotted to the edge of her balcony. Her eyes scanned the horizon for anything out of place. When nothing revealed itself she lifted her head to the moon, just now peeking over the distance Canterhorn mountain range.

Rearing up to place her hooves on the ledge, she grinned playfully.

“Look at you, trying to hide from us are you? HA!” she chuckled and lit her horn, gently nudging the celestial body into the sky. The smile stayed on her face as moonbeams jumped out across the sky like spotlights. The light brought her worries to a halt for the time being, and she could finally breathe and enjoy herself.

It did not last long though, and her thoughts came rushing back like a tidal wave.

With everything as it is, Celestia is going to be rather busy placating Twilight's emotional trauma. This means I'll have to take up a more permanent mantle on the marble guillotine. Perhaps it would be a good idea to get my own throne now...Luna hummed, and turned her eyes on Ponyville.

For several sparse seconds, she remained like that. The small village's lights were like a brightly burning candle in the darkness, allowing travelers to see it from miles, or a curious princess like herself. Her mind once again found itself empty of any thoughts, and she was able to fully let go of the day's events. Then, just as she was preparing to leave she spotted the train near Ponyville, it was departing the station.

Her eyes watched it's path, and then she smiled.

“With any luck, Twilight will be on that train, and our Sister's worries relieved.” Exiting her balcony, Luna made for her doors, and passed through them. On either side of her, a guard fell into place. Both of them were bat ponies, one on her right was female, and on her left, a male.

The female's name was Reverent Wake, she was the perky, curious, and adventurous type. She was hand picked by Luna for her social skills and information. Reverent, or Rev, for short, had literally leaped at the chance to teach Princess Luna the modern lingo and way of life in Equestria.

For this, Luna was gratefully making leaps and bounds in her knowledge gaps. Currently, Rev had a bit of a bounce to her step, showing she was eager to begin the night's processions. Luna looked to her left, and noticed her second personal guard.

While he was well known for his combat prowess and strength, Luminary Star was actually chosen by Luna to be her go to colt for legal affairs. When she'd inquired as to why he chose such a field of knowledge, he'd explained,

“So I can actually read Miranda Rights to ponies who deserve to know them.” It had taken only a week for him to get her caught up to speed on court legalities that Celestia had either missed or left out. In general, he'd gone to college to become a court attorney, but when he did less than was acceptable, he became a guard, and kept the legal knowledge on the back burner in case it was ever needed.

And boy did it come in handy sometimes. While the elite ponies of Canterlot thought it odd, many times Luna would call Luminary up next to her to inquire about something or another, and he always came through. As the trio walked Luna slowed in her pace and set her eyes on the pair.

“How does our guard fair this night hmm? Anything of interest to share?” Reverent smirked and looked up at Luna.

“Not really, Lumy got startled by a spider while on the way to your chambers.”

Luna slanted her gaze to the colt to find his cheeks flushed but his face firm as he stared ahead, after a second or two of silence he noticed the alicorn's eyes upon him. He coughed into a hoof gruffly.

“Twas a big spider, ma'am...” Rev giggled, and leaned closer to Luna, who lowered her head to listen.

“”It was a baby star spider, no bigger than a crumb.” Luna frowned faintly and brought her head back up. She was hoping for something more interesting to say the least.

“Ah, well then, assuming nothing else exciting went on, I suppose I'll need to go over the night's schedule, is my scribe Lustrous Quill still out of commission?” at her guard's simultaneous nod she frowned.

“Pray thee tell us, what befell our scribe? She is not usually one to gain illness.” Rev spoke up first, waggling a hoof.

“Oh nothing too bad, one of her herd mates failed to inform her that a family reunion was coming around, and she was basically caught unawares that it was quite soon. She packed pretty quick too, was out the gates in an hour or so for the train station.”

Luna let her frown dissipate.

“At least we are not too busy then, otherwise one of you would be swamped by predatory elite ponies...or spiders.”

Both mares giggled as a visible shiver ran up Luminary's neck and he bristled. He paused to wave his hooves in the air at them.

“It was a big spider okay!”

Luna put a shod hoof on his shoulder, making him look up at her with a sour expression.

“You're both incredibly cruel you know that?” She smirked.

“We assure you “Lumy” we do it in jest alone.” her smile increased in size when the colt's left eye twitched at the self imposed nickname.

“Yeah, sure your Highness.” By the time the alicorn stopped giggling, they had reached the throne room back entrance. Pushing it open, Luna entered and walked over to the throne. After making her cushion appear she sat and rapped the gavel against the dais and then sighed.

“Court is now in—“ Her words halted as the doors opened and a familiar griffon stepped into the hall. Luna grinned from ear to ear.

“DAWNCLAW!”

The griffon jumped visibly, flared his wings open and slammed his back into the now closed doors. His feathers puffed as he snapped his gaze up to her.

“Y-yes Ma'am!?”

He looked adorable with his feathers ruffled.

She stifled a giggle, and waved him over with a hoof. Once within normal talking distance Dawnclaw sat in front of the dais and tried to relax. He wasn't expecting to be shouted at when only halfway across the threshold of the throne room entrance, needless to say he wasn't sure if the smile Luna now wore was out of glee for his arrival, or something more...sinister.

“We are most pleased by your appearance Dawnclaw, please calm thyself, thou are not in trouble.” Luna relaxed her expression and lay down on her cushion watching the griffon slowly breathe more regularly. Once he was at ease, she spoke.

“We have called for the castle smith to appraise your sword and get it properly cleaned and prepared for thee. They have yet to show up, and so while we wait, Tell us, hast thou been enjoying thy stay?”

Dawnclaw blushed faintly, and nodded.

“Yes, I have your Highness. I took a walk around and got a map so as not to get lost. The gardens are rather beautiful this time of year.”

Luna nodded.

“That they are, did thee have any trouble with meals? We are aware of a griffon's eating habits.”

Dawn shook his head, albeit he did frown.

“N-no, although they weren't very happy about the requests I made, when I told them my rank though, they got right to it...”

Luna smirked, she had expected the outcome would be as much, the castle staff wouldn't lift a finger to help anyone unless that being had status of some sort, and that fact alone drove Luna mad with irritation.

Back in our day they would be flogged on the rump for such snobbish behavior... Luna giggled while imagining the wretched 'prince' blueblood bent over and being whacked right in the--

“Er—princess?”

Luna blinked and noticed Dawnclaw was rubbing an arm and looked quite uncertain of himself.

“Hmm? Oh! Pardon my laugh Dawnclaw, it was not aimed at thee.”

He nodded and sighed.

“S-so what do I do while we wait for the smith?” Luna thought for a moment.

“Has thou ever played poker?”

Dawnclaw was yet again surprised, but nodded, and Luna smiled. Magicking a deck and chips from thin air. Behind her, Luminary groaned and ran a hoof down his face. Reverent whooped and bolted forward to stand next to Dawnclaw, who seemed confused.

“Er...I take it you three do this often?” Luna nodded with an air of haughtiness about her.

“We, the princess of the night, are now on recess from the grueling pains of commoner court. If we are needed we shall be playing poker in our meeting room, come Dawnclaw, we go!”

Before the griffon could even muster a reply, there was a burst of magic and the three vanished.

By the end of the night Dawnclaw found out just how interesting being in the night guard would be.

He was still terrible at poker, however, and was bit-less by the time the castle smith arrived.

Canterlot housing district.

House Sparkle/Armor/Aurora

Twilight rapped her hoof against the solid double doors that stood as entry to her old home. It was a lavish district, and so the houses were quite nice in design. Rarity was practically gushing with compliments about the home, and they hadn’t even made it off the porch.

“You never told me your parents had a house in this area of town, Twilight. I feel kind of left out really, I know your family was well known but you failed to mention how well off they were!”

Rarity said all of this while darting back and forth across the patio, admiring, complimenting, and gasping in surprise. Twilight rolled her eyes. It was a home, it housed their family sure, but that was it.

“So, why did you never show me this place dear? It's positively glowing with beauty and grace.” Twilight looked to see Rarity standing next to her with an inquisitive look.

“Because I don't care about this place. It's just a house, Rarity.” Twilight sat down and watched as her friend sputtered and then gaped at her. Quite a normal reaction to such a statement considering it was Rarity.

“J-Just a—This house is a three story pillared home of perfection Twilight! Why it's textures, The walkway, the outer design, Victorian inspiration at it's best!” Rarity sighed in her usual dreamy way, missing the exaggerated gagging that Twilight had given as a reply.

Their theatrics were brought to a halt by the door creaking open just a crack. Twilight watched as a pony servant peeked out at them before closing the door and unlocking more than one lock. That surprised Twilight. She remembered their house only had the standard lock system, or at least the last time she'd been by here it had.

When it opened partially, Twilight was surprised again to see that the mare was wearing leather armor instead of the work outfit she normally wore... Something was wrong. The servant eyed them both for a moment before bowing and sliding her hoof over her chest.

“Miss Sparkle, please enter.”

Twilight looked at Rarity, and the servant followed her gaze, before frowning.

“She must stay outside, Night Light's orders Miss.” Twilight raised a brow at that.

“Night Light's orders? My dad is not a guard, Frosty Leaves. Let us both in.”

The mare didn't move. In fact, she leveled a glare at Twilight. For as long as Twilight knew her, Frosty had never been firm with her. She had always been kind and gentle, soft words and gentle advice.

The mare standing before her was NOT the Frosty she'd known as a foal.

“Only you are permitted within the premises, Miss Sparkle.”

Twilight was about to retort when a hoof touched her shoulder, and she looked over to find Rarity shaking her head.

“If this is a personal situation, then I have no right stepping in on it, darling. It would be rude of me to transgress on family matters, I'll wait for you out here. I assume the porch isn't off limits to guests?” Rarity angled her question at Frosty, who merely nodded.

“The porch is acceptable for guests,yes. Miss Sparkle, please come inside.”

The door was opened fully, allowing her to enter. Twilight gave one last glance to Rarity, who merely smiled falsely and disappeared from view.

The moment the door closed, Twilight glared right back at Frosty. She was indeed wearing battle ready leather armor, and a short sword on her hip. On her hooves were a pair of iron shoes, each one equipped with a spike at the front. Altogether Frosty Leaves looked ready for war, instead of waiting for guests, and that was at the forefront of Twilight's mind at the moment.

“What is going on Frosty? Why are you being so cold? And Why in Celestia's name are you wearing that outfit?” Frosty neither answered the questions or acknowledged that she had been spoken to, instead, she walked past Twilight and up the stairs.

“Your father wishes to speak with you, Miss Sparkle. He is currently in his office chambers.” Twilight growled and stomped a hoof, making Frosty stop and look back down at her.

“That’s another thing, you've never called me 'Miss Sparkle' before, it was always by my first name or my nickname 'Twily'. What's gotten into you!?”

Frosty simply stared at her for a moment in silence before continuing up the stairs.

“I am ordered to title any remaining female house patrons of your home “Miss”. Considering you're the only one around it is my duty to do so.”

Twilight bristled.

“Okay sure, and what about the armor and sword? You're not a guard, you're a housemaid!”

Twilight had started following Frosty up the steps when the mare halted rather sharply. Twilight had to splay her front legs out to keep from smacking her snout into Frosty's posterior. Looking up Twilight found one of the most intimidating glares that she'd ever seen the mare show leveled at her.

“You know nothing of who I am.”

Twilight's heart dropped, this couldn't be the mare who had watched after her for her foal hood. Frosty's glare intensified as she slowly turned around and spoke firmly, her voice crisp and sharp.

“The only reason I am being minutely respectful to you, miss Twilight Sparkle, is because I was ordered to do so. Do not DARE assume you know me, or anything about me. You’ve NEVER known me, so I advise you remain silent and follow--”

“Frosty!”

Both Twilight and Frosty visibly flinched, as the voice carried out over the stair balcony. Twilight looked up and saw her father, Night Light, standing at the head of the stairs, glaring at...both of them? She honestly couldn't tell.

Frosty looked like she wanted to retort, but kept silent and continued up the steps until she was standing next to the stallion.

“My apologies, Sir...” Twilight stayed where she was, shocked too much to do anything.

First off, she was right, whoever was impersonating Frosty was very bad at it. Secondly, who ever had switched with the mare, was obviously a soldier. Thirdly, and by far the most importantly, was that her father, Night Light, looked nothing like he normally did.

Leather armor, a golden helm, a rapier at his side, and a royal pendant of the sun hung around his neck.

Yup Twilight had lost it.

Sitting down she simply closed her mouth and nodded.

“Well that's it then, its the cemetery all over again. I've lost my mind to Discord and he's playing tricks on me. That's the only logical explanation I can come up with.”

She pointed a hoof at Frosty.

“You're obviously a terrible impersonator of the Frosty I was raised by,” Twilight's hoof then swiveled to point at Night Light, ignoring the look of confusion on Frosty's face.

“And you must be her commander, I really don't know what spell you cast but you really do look like my dad...huh, I gotta hand it to that cheeky serpent, he's very good at dark humor.” Twilight stood and smiled, raising her voice to the ceiling above.

“Very funny Discord, let me out now, I don't find this funny!”

“Twilight.”

“You even got the house to correct proportions, nicely done, you've got an ounce of architecture in your body...somewhere, probably near your elbow...”

“Twilight!”

Said mare lowered her head to the Imposter dad, and sneered, walking forward her voice directed at the obliviously dumbfounded stallion.

“Oooh you even sound like him, nice try Discord, but my Dad was not, is not, and never will be, a guard.” She poked his chest plate, making Frosty lift her hoof slightly off the floor defensively. Night Light looked down at her hoof and then back to the younger mare. With a sigh, he rolled his eyes and walked back towards the study,

“Come on Frosty, she won't believe either one of us are real until she comes to that conclusion herself. Twilight,” He made eye contact with her and smiled. For the briefest moment Twilight felt that familiar feeling she got when she was home.

She felt safe.

She felt safe because of that smile he was giving her. Her father had always been a beacon of power, yet a web of warmth for her. She could run in fear to him and he'd be there to wash them away. She could come to him in determination, and he'd steer her on to the path of success.

In short, he was her armor...ironic how he was now actually wearing some and she didn't trust him.

“We'll be in my study if you feel like joining us, Twily.” With that, he vanished from view into his room. Twilight sat there for several seconds, merely lost as what to think...was he an imposter? Was Frosty really not who Twilight thought she was? Was rarity still on the porch? How many more secrets could she handle before her horn split from pure concentrated curiosity?

She took two deep breaths, lifted her hoof to her chest, and let it swing out before her, breathing out as she did so. Doing this three more times she found herself slowly reigning in all the crazy thoughts and and irritations from the day's events and then letting them go. As she lowered her hoof to the floor, she remembered a saying her teacher, Celestia, had used often when seeing her student would get too flustered over projects.

Answers are never easy to find, Twilight, they must be fought for. This is why knowledge is just as sharp as any sword or spear, it can penetrated what you believe in, and make it brittle and susceptible to doubt. Find the answers, and then find their facts...

Twilight stood without any trepidation.

“Find the answers, then their facts...Only then can the truth come forth and shield you. Thank you Celestia, I needed that.”

Walking up the remaining steps, she entered the study room and wasn't actually surprised to find Night Light sitting in his usual arm chair near the window that overlooked the mountain side and nearby hills that led off towards Ponyville. Standing just inside the doorway was Frosty, who momentarily frowned at her but then nodded and refocused her eyes on the doorway.

The room was largely comprised of overly stuffed book shelves, rustic carpets, large vases with rare potted plants, and two desks, one cluttered with paperwork and a couple oddities, and the other clean and orderly.

Twilight Velvet's desk.

Twilight walked over and ran her hoof over the smooth polished dark wood, her mood suddenly melancholy.

“I miss her, dad....” Night Light angled his head over, watching as Twilight's head drooped and she kissed the wood gently.

“As do I Twily, as do I.”

Twilight moved over to the seat across from her father and sat rather gruffly. Her posture was slouched and her head was drooped, her bangs covering her eyes.

Silence pervaded for the next few breaths, until Twilight spoke.

“What is going on, dad?” Night Light levitated his tea cup up to his lips and drank a good amount before setting it down and leaning forward in his chair, the buckles of his armor clinking lightly.

“Before I answer that particular question, I need to know something. Did Velvet get the book to you? Do you have it?”

Twilight looked up slowly, glaring at her father, her hooves digging into the cushion beneath her.

“You knew about that?”

Light nodded.

“We both planned it Twilight, it was the only way we could verify that you could know the truth.”

Twilight frowned.

“Know what truth?” Nightlight sighed and leaned back into his chair, silently looking out the window with a sorrowful look.

“So that's it then, you haven't read the book yet...Actually it makes sense considering you'd come to talk with me if you haven't.” Twilight leaned forward.

“What is so damn important about it that I have to read the whole thing? It's just a tome about our family history!”

With a zap of magic Twilight opened a small portal and the book floated out onto her lap. She'd thought of the dimensional item spell not two years ago, and it had served its purpose well enough. She could bring anything from scrolls and ink, to a set of medium sized books with her anywhere she went.

Flipping the book open she began to scan the pages for anything she could find that would be noteworthy. Night Light watched, sipping his tea quietly, while Frosty left the room, only to return a few short moments later with a new hot pot of the liquid. When she had poured him another cup she simply set the teapot on the desk, and sat next to Night Light, watching Twilight as well.

It was rather unnerving but Twilight did her best to ignore it.

As she read through each page, she came to know a little more about the houses and their history. While it was fascinating to know that three of her family lines were closely linked to that of other houses, and that that they even had two honorary griffons in the family, Twilight couldn't help but wonder why there was so much to do about their family line.

Twilight paused and sat up, looking at her father with her usual determined expression, he made contact, but the normal spark, the one she always saw when she was younger was not present. Twilight felt her worry grow.

“While I'm reading this, would you both tell me why there is so much cloak and dagger about this situation? So much in fact that Daring Do herself could write a novel off it?”

Night Light chuckled, and sipped his tea, letting Frosty answer for him.

“Miss Sparkle, one does not simply commit high treason in broad daylight.” Twilight quirked an eyebrow and looked up from the tome.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Frosty frowned and looked at Night Light, who merely waved a hoof, seemingly intent to drink the entire cup's contents agonizingly slowly. Frosty rolled her eyes and stood, walking to stand just before the window. Twilight watched as Frosty's posture went from rigid to relaxed. The mare seemed sad? Her ears were down, her shoulders rolled forward, tail and mane drooped somewhat, and although she could bore through solid rock with her eyes the way they were, they still held a soft feel to them.

“You stated earlier, that I was an imposter, that I couldn't possibly be the same Frosty you knew as a foal. Simply put that is true.”

Twilight went to stand, intent on clarifying why that was, but her father stayed her speech with a hoof, and a firm gaze.

“Let her finish Twilight, she has wanted to say this to you for a long time, do not ruin the moment with arguing.”

Reluctantly she remained seated. Frosty gave a small smile as thanks to Night Light and continued.

“It is true, but only partially. I was a different pony from the one you see now. Almost twenty years ago, I was a soldier in the royal regiment of Celestia's castle. I was to put it lightly, one of Celestia's personal guards at the time. My partner and I watched her door day in and day out, 24/7. If we got breaks at all, it was because Her Grace gave them to us with the intent of having a little alone time.”

Frosty took a moment to compose herself, but barely hid the shiver that ran down her body.

“In truth Miss Sparkle, I have never been a maid in your home. I have always been, and always will be a soldier of the guard. With circumstances as they are, I was finally able to drop the act and be as I normally am.”

She chuckled, and then her ears drooped and she looked to the floor as if in shame.

Twilight felt slightly lost by that, and remained silent. The sound of her father pouring more tea and sighing brought the two mares out of their stupor. Night Light brought the cup to his lips and then paused. His eyes said he was tired, old, and weary from the throes of life, but he soon blinked and the look was replaced with one of determination.

He pointed to the book.

“Read it Twilight, You must find out the truth for yourself.”

Twilight faltered, her gaze once more found its way to the tome at her feet. Why was some dusty book so important that her father had kept a soldier in their home to protect her? What was going on?

Her magic reached out and flipped open the book to her maker, a red feather given to her by Philomena.

With a heavy sigh, she continued reading.

As the pages wound further in, Twilight learned several interesting things. Firstly, House Sparkle was the master house of magic. However, her house had also fought for the esteemed title of Celestial Guide. It was a house dedicated to having each generation play advisor to Celestia and Luna. While this was a great title to uphold, it didn’t make sense. Her family were very knowledgeable yes, but they weren’t very well known for their connections to the crown. They weren’t even a main house!

Secondly, Twilight found that her family line had never made connections with the crystal empire and it’s previous national boundaries. When she looked for a reason, she found a startling discovery.

In the time of the two sisters, Celestia and Luna, A great terror arose known as King Elictus. This King was brutal in the ways he commanded his people. Any crime was punishable by death, or worse. As his infamy grew, Elictus set his eyes on a country just within his reach of conquest, The Crystal Empire. With no one to oppose him, he took over the Crystal Empire completely by numbers and sheer force. It was upon this day he named his house, House Umbra, the heir to the crystal throne. Many years passed and the two sisters fought him and his armies, but before he could defeat the alicorn sisters, he vanished under unknown circumstances and was never heard or seen again.

In the wake of his father’s disappearance, the young prince and eldest son of King Elictus rose up to claim the throne. He brought with him the ceasefire of the war, and under the watchful eye of the alicorn sisters, brought the kingdom to a new height and power, that of which it had never been seen before.

His Name was King Sombra, an extraordinary Mage,, and a close friend of Celestia and Luna. While records may dispute what Sombra truly intended with his peace treaty with Equestria, it is well known that he was a great ruler, and a master of crystal magic.

Sombra still remains in rule and has shown great promise, but rumors spread that he has grown a little too close to her royal highness, Princess Celestia. New records are required to continue…

Twilight leaned back and looked up at her father, who had just started his third cup of tea and had sent Frosty to retrieve more. He raised a brow when he saw her staring at him.

“Something catch your eye Twily?” He frowned slightly, and Twilight nodded.

“Sombra was one of Celestia’s students….wasn’t he?” Her voice came out hushed and mumbled. Night Light paused and levitated the book over. He read the script, blinked, and then shrugged.

“Who is to say? Perhaps they were lovers.” He chuckled when Twilight turned red and looked away.

“Oh come now, Twilight. That is a completely reasonable thing for me to assume. It says that they were close, doesn’t that sound rather like your situation with Celestia?”

Twilight coughed and spluttered. Her words came forth but refused to jump out and be heard. It took several moments for her to calm down and face her father without looking like a tomato.

“Celestia and I are student and teacher. Nothing more!”

Night Light kept his frown and levitated the book back.

“Hmmm, are you sure? You should really keep reading.” As the book landed back in her lap, she leveled a confused glare his way.

“…Y-yes, I am.”

Again delving into the confines of the book she ignored anything with Sombra, finding that she couldn’t fully be sure she wanted to know the truth of her teacher’s relationship with the dark unicorn. As she read on she noticed how names became sparse, and histories dwindled down, until she was left looking at the back index tree of her family line. It was here her father stopped her with a gentle tap of his tea cup, he used to always do that to get her to pay attention. It produced this ring that she always found irritating.

“Daaad, I hate it when you do that!” He chuckled.

“Well boo hoo for you because it works in prying you out.”

Night Light stood and moved over to the couch next to Twilight, laying down so close that his side was touching hers. It was comforting to have him so close, but the expression he gave her was not. Night Light had rarely ever gotten overly serious with her. She could scarcely remember a time when he’d scolded her over a bad grade in school, but it wasn’t to be mean, she’d known that.

Now she was an adult, and she knew he was serious. To emphasis it, he put his hoof around her neck and brought her into a hug. His voice held at a firm but loving tone.

“From here on, I want you to know two things, Twilight.” He withdrew and smiled genuinely at her, and for some reason Twilight felt she was about to lose something precious. Something she’d had all her life. She could see it in his eyes. He was scared for her, and she knew not why.

“No matter what you read next, Twilight Velvet, myself, and Shining Armor all love you so so much. We will always love you, and never think for a second that you can’t come to us for help okay? You can even go to Frosty, she’ll be moving back to the castle after this week is over, but she wants you to know she cares too.”

From beside her father’s hair, Twilight noted how even with her soldier like form and her armor, Frosty was frowning and her eyes were glossy. She nodded to Twilight and rubbed at one of her eyes, but said nothing.

Twilight was now worried, whatever this secret was, it was bigger than her. Bigger than all three of them. She wasn’t so sure she wanted to know now.

Ignorance is bliss, they say, but you’re not ignorant are you?

Twilight felt her determination rise just a smidgen.

No… No I’m not. I can weather this… I hope.

After her father dislodged himself, she continued reading.

The first parts of the family tree were quite weird, being written in ancient Equestrian and sometimes in other languages all together. But the closer she got to the end, the more she started taking note of names she recognized.

Fluer de Lise is related to House Armor, interesting…

Rarity has a slight connection to House Aurora, but it dates back hundreds of years so its hardly accurate…

One of my great uncles is a bat pony? How’d that happen?

The more she read names, the more she realized how small this world was. Even odder was that these last few pages were obviously new, and enchanted. At least within the last two hundred years or so. They showed her great Grandmother Sparkle, and her Uncle Shield. From there it gave way to several splits, one of which was her family.

There was Twilight Velvet’s mother, and her husband, and then beneath that was Night Light and her recently deceased mother, the book even said if they were dead or not!

And then there was Shining Armor and Cadance….

And…. And then….

…
…
…

The page had stopped.

Twilight blinked, Where was she? Where was her name? She read back up the line, re-reading the names until Cadance…
Something was wrong. Twilight looked up and found both Frosty and Night Light looking at her solemnly. Night Light urged her on with a gentle nudge of his nose on her shoulder.

“Go on, to the very end, Twily.”

Twilight swallowed and nervously turned the remaining two pages until she got to the end and a medium sized envelope came into view. It was yellowish with age and had been hastily stapled to the inner binding. In large, bold red letters stamped on the front it read:

Twilight slowly tore it open and pulled out three slips of paperwork. The first one was simply a military form registering the documents as legal originals, and recognizing all the known names present upon it’s creation. Among these names was her own, but that had to be wrong, she couldn’t have been there! She’d never seen this envelope or it’s contents before! Discarding it to the side she opened the second one and read its secrets. As she did, her lips slowly parted as her jaw began to drop in horror.

It was a Birth certificate…. Her birth certificate.

But it was all wrong!

It had her name as the foal born, that was correct, the date was correct too and where she’d been born. However, that was where the correct pieces ended, and then spiraled into the weird.

Where her Father’s name should have said Night Light, it was blotched out with black ink.

Where her mother’s name should have said Twilight Velvet….

Everything around Twilight slowed to a crawl. She could see Night Light next to her, speaking and shaking her gently, but no words met her ears. She saw him point at Frosty who then stepped out of the room quickly. None of that mattered now, it was pointless to her, everything meant nothing, and nothing meant nothing….

Without warning, Twilight scooped up the envelope, the three documents, and the book, and teleported out of the room.

She had a princess to talk to.

Answer I Am.

Canterlot, late evening.

Luna hummed as she lay across the stone floor of the throne room, surveying her territory. Tonight had so far been devoid of excitement. After waiting for the first hour of night court only to find no pony arrive, Luna had jumped off her throne and declared war on her surrounding guard. The three present of course could not simply decline such a declaration and were now battling to gain the high ground. The battlefield?

Monopoly.

Across from her sat her two personal guards, Luminary Star and Reverent Wake, while on Luna's right side sat DawnClaw. Luminary wasn't doing so good, having just lost a good portion of his property to Reverent Wake. DawnClaw had shown reasonable skills in keeping his money and property under control, but wasn't so good at advancing. Luna was faring well, she had a set of property and had been progressively adding houses.

Reverent Wake however was aggressively attacking each of them with deals and offers like her life depended on it. Luminary made it too easy for her, and Dawnclaw refused every offer outright, while Luna accepted a few, knowing they would be the batpony mare’s downfall in the late game.

Currently the trio were looking at Luna expectantly.

Oh, it's my turn.

Luna picked up the dice with her magic and rolled them across the board, frowning as they landed on an eight. She levitated her piece; a crown, over to the allotted square on the board. Reverent Wake immediately snickered and rubbed her hooves together.

“Pay up Princess, twenty-six bits!” She held out her hoof expectantly and raised her nose snootily. Luna gave her a pleasant smile and nudged Dawnclaw with a wing, making him snap out of his thoughts and alight his eyes on the board.

“Oh! My apologies. Uh, Reverent you don't own that property, I do.” Luna held back a giggle as Reverent scowled and folded her arms.

“Yeah, well it was worth a shot feather butt, pay more attention!” Dawnclaw frowned at her and looked to Luna.

“I'll try to. Your Highness, fourteen bits please.” Luna flicked an ear, smiled and handed him his money. She watched as he stuck his tongue out at Reverent, and then jovially counted his currency, only to frown as well. He looked at Luna.

“Um, this is only twelve bits, Princess.” She nodded sagely.

“Correct, we stated at the start of this game that any who dared call us 'princess', 'your highness' or 'your grace' would pay a royalty fee. Thou just titled us with two of these monikers and so you lose two bits. We wish to be called by our name and not titles while we “hang out”.” She playfully smiled and patted him on the head with a hoof before passing the dice to him.

Dawnclaw grumbled something under his breath but nodded and picked up the dice. As he took his turn Luna looked back over at Luminary Wake and Reverent, to find them scuffling lightly. Reverent was standing on her hind legs and trying to get at Luminary's helmet while the male batpony tried to swat her away with a wing.

“N-no! Get back Rev, for the last time I'm not giving you my helmet!” She whimpered in response, Lowering her fluffy ears and puffing up her lower lip. She put her front hooves together over top of his wing and sniffled.

“B-but I waaaant it Lumy! It's shinier than mine!” Luminary scowled and bopped her on the nose, ending the cuteness display.

“Then polish your’s more!” Reverent Wake growled and took another swipe at his helmet.

“No! I want yours! Gimme!”

Luna giggled as the two tussled together and eventually started rolling around in a mock cat fight. Luminary jumped to his feet and ran away from the mare only to be tackled from behind and nearly pinned. In retaliation Luminary used a wing to swat her aside and roll into a standing position.

“Our helmets are exactly the same Rev, deal with it—WAUGH!” Luna winced as Rev jumped on him again, bit his shoulder, and brought him to the floor in a cloud of dust. It was quite comical to watch.

“Um, prin—I mean, Luna, I landed on your spot. How much do I owe you?” Luna blinked and hummed, looking at Dawnclaw. He watched the pair of ponies tussling with the same frown on his face as before. Luna chuckled and draped a wing over his back, making him blush and warble nervously.

“Fear not Dawnclaw, this is a normal thing for batponies. It is a regular occurrence for Luminary Star and Reverent Wake to tussle. We quite enjoy their humorous bouts and duels. Now, thou stated they owed us bits?”

He nodded, pushing a small pile of coins over to her.

While Luna counted her bits, Dawnclaw quietly sighed and shifted his wings. Luna took notice and leaned closer.

“Something troubles thee. May we inquire?” Dawnclaw chuckled dryly and fiddled with his stack of bits like they were poker chips.

“It's just, when I signed up to be a guard I figured I'd be stationed at an outpost or going on patrols with a platoon. Our drill instructor said it would never be a walk in the park, but this?” He spread his talons out in front of him, just as Luminary Star and Reverent Wake rolled by.

“I didn't expect this.” Luna kept a calm demeanor when she spoke next.

“Did thou expect war and danger? We can assure you these things happen from time to time. They are a constant in life, but in Equestria they are rare. A guard of your status might not see the front lines as thou wishes too. Do you wish to be moved to a different station perhaps?”

Dawnclaw immediately shook his head, his talons waving back and forth defensively.

“No! Not at all! I like this for sure. It's just...I, Well I didn't really expect to be playing games and having casual conversations with the Princess of the Night herself... Sorry.”

Luna laughed and hugged Dawnclaw firmly with her wing, making his feathers fluff out again in embarrassment.

“Aaah Dawnclaw thou are already in our good favor. Please do not hesitate to speak your mind, you do it so well; many of our guard are taught this, yet they fear to do so. Remaining vigilant to the old order and its decrees has it's perks, but I must admit that I enjoy this casual interaction more than my old regimen. This is why I have Reverant Wake at my side, she is rather relaxed with the rules, and knows how to have fun with me.”

As she spoke, the batponies rolled by again and Reverent poked her head out of the kerfuffle, both her helmet and Luminary's atop her head. She grinned and pointed her hoof at the Alicorn.

“Luna your mane is poofy and looks like a rat's nest!” Luna lifted her hoof to her chest in mock surprise.

“Thou will reverse thy words! Our mane is beautiful and laden with silk from the heavens!”
Dawnclaw couldn't help but smirk as his Princess stood and jumped into the mock brawl, tussling alongside her guards like she herself was one of them.

“One of us...hmm.” He liked the sound of that. Alicorns could be terrifying in their own right, and yet... Yet they had soft sides just like every other creature.

As he watched the three play around he became aware of a sound. It was gentle and muffled, but certainly present. He looked around. It was coming from the other side of the throne room, the entrance in fact. He blinked, realizing what the sound was.

Somepony was knocking at the doors.

He blinked and checked the time on a nearby wall clock, it read eleven thirty. While he already knew that court had been declared over, it was easily still accessible at the current hour. Standing and stretching out his limbs, he walked over and opened the door, peering out into the hall.

Nothing.

“Hello? Is anypony there?” He was met with the faintest of sounds, it sounded a lot like sniffling. Curiosity taking over, he stepped out into the dimly lit hall and looked around. Sitting on a nearby bench was a young, lavender-colored unicorn mare. She was curled into a tight ball; next to her was an old book and a manilla envelope. She had her head buried in her hooves and was crying quietly.

Dawnclaw frowned and walked over, unsure of what to do. For a moment, he internally fought with himself over pony customs, and then he reached out a talon and gently patted the mare's shoulder.

“Um, miss? A-are you alright?” She jumped, lifting her head in surprise, and Dawnclaw took a step back.

“Easy there, I just heard you crying and wondered...um, what is wrong?” She sniffled and rubbed at her eyes with her foreleg, to her chagrin the tears refused to stop.

“N-nothing that concerns a guard, I-I just came to see if Luna w-was here...I really n-need to see her.” She tried to smile but it looked pitiful. He nodded and helped her off the chair. Gently draping a wing over her back he nodded, speaking gently.

“That's fine, Luna is in the throne room. My name is Dawnclaw Songfeather, what is your name?” The mare sniffled and haphazardly levitated her stuff onto her back.

“I-I'm n-not really sure anymore actually....” Dawnclaw almost stopped and questioned if she should go to the infirmary. With an answer like that one would think she had a concussion or amnesia. Instead he merely raised a brow at her.

“Ooo-kay, well we'll see if Luna can help with that. Come on.” With gentle nudges of his wing and a few words of encouragement he managed to get her moving forward. He reopened the doors and entered with her following right beside him.

Luna and her guards had split apart finally, with Luna wearing both helmets and her tiara; currently teetering atop the pile on her head. She was taking a victorious stance over top Reverent Wake and Luminary, both of whom looked tuckered out and soundly beaten.

Dawnclaw cleared his throat loud enough for the trio to look up.

“Your Highness, we have a visitor who needs to see you.” Lifting his wing up, Dawnclaw watched as Luna's eyes widened and she frowned. Dropping her playful act in less then a second, she dropped the helmets to their respectful owners and briskly trotted up; looking the mare over.

Twilight's mane and tail were singed and burnt, signs of magical overuse. Knowing Twilight, she probably had teleported halfway to the palace and then run out of steam. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying, and her forelegs were covered with dirt showing she'd walked for a bit before arriving at the castle. Reaching forward, Luna brought Twilight into a hug. The unicorn flinched at first, but then quickly huddled close to her.

“Twilight Sparkle...What ever is the matter? What happened?” Twilight sniffled and hiccupped, nuzzling into Luna's chest fur for comfort. It sent flickers of warmth through Luna to know Twilight felt safe enough in her embrace to do so. Twilight slumped her hindquarters to the floor in exhaustion, sending the book and envelope clattering to the floor. It was several seconds before she spoke, but when she did, Luna heard the fear in her voice.

“... I-is it true...?” Luna raised an eyebrow slowly, and looked past Twilight to the old book and envelope. The red words stamped across the front of the file said everything Luna needed to know. She looked down at Twilight and smiled sadly.

The secret was out of the bag.

“I do not believe I am the one who should answer that. However, I know what, or rather whom you seek. Would you like to go see her, Twilight?” Twilight looked up at Luna. She was scared, terrified even. Her eyes darted left and right as she searched for some inkling of humor in Luna's face. Something, anything to say this was all a big joke.

She found none, and so she nodded.

Luna nuzzled Twilight's neck reassuringly and helped her stand. Looking to her guards she gave them a curt nod.

“Stay here and wait for our return.” They merely nodded.

Levitating the book and the envelope over to her side, Luna tapped into her magic and they quietly melded into shadows.

The moment they disappeared Dawnclaw sighed and sat down, his wings going slack. Luminary walked over and started cleaning up the board game. Reverent picked up her helmet, donned it,and walked over to sit next to Dawnclaw.

“So... What the heck was that all about?” Dawnclaw shrugged, completely confused as to what had just happened.

“I don't know...but I don't think I want to find out anytime soon.”

The hallway was sparsely lit, and thus added to the gloomy mood that permeated the area. Luna had decided to appear a few hallways away from her sister's chambers, hoping she could calm Twilight down before the fateful encounter. As they melded out of the floor, Twilight lost her footing and fell to the floor, crumpling and immediately started sobbing. Luna mentally cursed herself for forgetting how disorienting her magic was to other participants.

Lowering herself to the floor, Luna draped a wing over the girl and cooed softly, nuzzling here and there on her nape in an attempt to comfort the mare. It somewhat worked; Twilight stopped flinching away and instead shuffled closer and buried her face into the lunar alicorn's side.

For a while they lay there unmoving save for Luna's gentle touches and Twilight's sobs. A set of batpony guards came around the corner, but quickly detoured after receiving a firm glare from their leader. Luna watched as the guards disappeared down the hall, and then went back to nuzzling Twilight. The mare had gone silent a couple seconds prior and was now sniffling into Luna's fur, her eyes downcast.

“S-she really—*cough*—i-is my mother isn't she?”

Twilight chuckled dryly as her hoof ran a small circle through Luna's belly fur.

“Heh heh....It's ironic really. I-I always had those fantasies where she w-was secretly my mother... Back when I was a foal. I a-always told myself to stop d-dreaming, that it was just my imagination... B-but to find out it's really n-not a dream?”

Her eyes had grown more dilated as she spoke, only to relax as the energy vanished. Her pupils moved to look up at Luna's.... So scared, trying to be strong and yet just barely holding on.

“... Y-you knew about this didn't you, Luna?” Luna blinked slowly, watching as Twilight sniffed and rubbed a fetlock across her cheek. Luna sighed, letting the breath carry out before replying.

“We... Did, but I am just as much in the dark as you Twilight. We learned of this not a few days prior. It came with no small amount of avarice towards our sister and her decision to keep it secret. A child should not be kept in the dark, let alone lied to about her heritage.”

Twilight neither nodded nor looked startled; blank faced if anything at the news that she'd been a secret family member of the royal line.

“S-so..you and Celestia...are...my...” Luna hugged Twilight closely. Wanting nothing more than to pull the dredges of her fear from her and replace them with warmth.

Alas, only my sister can do this...

“We are related, yes. It comes out rudely perhaps at this moment, but we are more than pleased to say it for the first time, Twilight, we are your aunt, and thou are our niece.” Luna felt her eyes water as she spoke the words aloud.

“Once more, we have family...”

Twilight blinked and slowly comprehended this.

“S-so you and Ce-Celestia...are my family then?” Luna nodded and leaned her head in close to touch foreheads with the smaller mare.

“Yes Twilight. We know that it hurts right now, and you are lost and attempting to grasp for footing, but it will become clear very soon. Come, I believe we should get to my sister's room. Celestia wants to talk with you. Besides, she should be consoling you, not me.”

After a few moments to calm herself, Twilight stood. Making sure she was ready, Luna escorted The mare to the stairwell that led to Celestia's bedroom. Together they walked up the spiral case, with Luna draping her wing over Twilight for extra comfort and encouragement.

The were halted by a large set of golden double doors and two Royal night guards. Luna stepped forward and took a moment to speak with them, while Twilight hung back.

She wasn't sure what she was feeling. Anger seemed the most logical at the moment, but fear and worry had burst to the front of her mind the moment she'd entered the castle. She feared she'd done the wrong thing, unlocked the wrong door and figured out the worst puzzle.

Celestia's words had struck her even harder then in that moment.

“Answers are never easy to find, Twilight, they must be fought for. This is why knowledge is just as sharp as any sword or spear, it can penetrate what you believe in, and make it brittle and susceptible to doubt. Find the answers, and then find their facts...”

The answer to her puzzle was herself. She was the hidden answer, the unbearable fact, the solid truth. Celestia being her mother was such a sharp truth too. It hadn't just made her doubt what she knew… She had lost all hope in what she now could or could not believe. Was Luna really once Nightmare Moon? Did Discord really do all the things he was blamed for? How many other secrets would she learn of?

She knew no answer to these questions, and each time she tried to calm down, more questions would pop up. Why keep her birth a secret? Why hide it from the country and from Twilight herself? What point was there to hiding it? She had remembered the Doctor's words as well.

“Pointlessly hidden secrets....” She wasn't sure how he knew of her birth without Celestia directly telling him, but he'd also mentioned that others knew of it, speculated it's truth. She was grasping at each point of thought like straws floating in a void of disbelief, unable to fully comprehend the situation and so she came revolving back to the one question that came back to her every time she tried to grasp onto hope.

“Why...why would you abandon me...?”

The doors opened, and Luna looked back to see Twilight sitting with her eyes glued to the floor as pinpricks.

“Why....”

Luna frowned and walked back to the mare, gently nudging her to stand, and then moving her forward into the dark room. As the doors closed behind them, Twilight felt her head start slowly lifting as if of it's own accord.

No...no...I don't want to...look....at

A bed. A golden blanketed bed lay before her. It's sheets and covers brought warm memories to the front of her mind, assuaging hr worry momentarily. That bed had been subjected to nights spent reading, casting spells, laughing over spilled tea, and tender moment of cuddling; rare and sparse, but it did occur.

Twilight's eyes fell on Celestia.

Her...

Twilight almost choked as tears ebbed past her attempt at a calm mask. She put a hoof up to her mouth in an attempt to soften the noise. It was quiet, but to her it sounded like a cannon had gone off in the room. Celestia was sleeping, so peacefully. He mane drifting lazily this way and that, as if on it's own agenda. In Celestia's front hooves rested a large body pillow, gripped tightly as the alicorn nuzzled into it; murmurs of sweet nothings reached Twilight's ears.

She took a step forward.

Then another, and another, Slowly edging across the room. Her breath and body seemed to freeze as Celestia's wing twitched and refolded over the comforter. As she got closer, emotions boiled to the surface like lava pouring out of a volcano. She sobbed, she coughed, she cried.

She reached the bed and didn't stop. Front and back hooves connected with the blankets as she felt her body move all its own. She was angry, she was scared, she was worried....

She was home.

A nuzzle, then a nudge, and then a firm nip to the wing joint lifted it quickly, revealing a still sleeping alicorn, albeit now murmuring uncomfortably in her sleep. Slipping under the wing, Twilight firmly ripped the pillow from it's position, waking the sleeping ascendant from her dream.

'Huzzah..Lulu..is that—!!” Celestia had half a moment to grasp her surroundings before something collided with her chest. She blinked and looked down, intent on reprimanding her body pillow for hitting her.

She found a purple unicorn instead.

In the span of half a second, Celestia's eyes widened to their largest points, her wings enclosed the mare, and her front hooves wrapped around Twilight, pulling her close. She had no idea what was going on, but Twilight, her Twilight was in her arms, and she was scared.

Mothers knew what to do in that moment.

“Shh, there there, I'm here Twilight, I'm here.” Celestia nuzzled and purred as she rubbed her chin atop Twilight's head.

“I..I-I'm so...*cough*... Mad at you...” Celestia blinked slowly, the words were muffled but she understood them. She frowned and looked to the edge of the bed, where Luna stood. She had a pensive look about her as she watched them. When the sisters eyes met, Celestia was told everything she need to know.

Twilight knew.

Celestia went to speak with Luna, but a sharp pain in her shoulder made her wince. She looked down and saw Twilight had poked her roughly with her horn.

“I...I thought it was some k-kind of joke! Some ploy to m-make fun of me! But no... Nope, it wasn't...” she sniffed and withdrew her horn before drawing blood.

“All those years I thought it'd b-be so cool...I thought to myself, 'who kn-knows,with the w-way she treats me, maybe I am her child... W-well guess what!? I figured out the puzzle, I aced the game, I passed the DAMN test! I'm your freaking daughter!” She screamed and slammed her hooves hooves into Celestia's chest in an attempt to cause harm.

They didn't. Twilight flailed and beat her hooves into Celestia's chest, crying and whimpering even as Luna climbed into the bed on the other side, she coughed and sobbed as Celestia held her in her arms and nuzzled her. She cried and cried, never once being able to stop the flow of tears or wanting to.

“...*Sniff*....I'm...I'm your daughter...and...and, and you abandoned me...” Twilight forced herself to look up, forced herself to see the tears streaming down Celestia's face. He voice was soft but sharp.

“...Why... Why did you abandon me?” Celestia looked up for a moment, trying to catch her breath, but to no avail. This was not what she'd wanted, and she'd known it since the day she'd signed the adoption paperwork. Twilight was her child, and now she had to lay everything bare. She wanted to, but it hurt so much to do so.

“Sister...now is the time...” Luna met her gaze. Luna's eyes were firm, passionate, but loving all the same. Yes. She had to do this, for herself, but for Twilight as well. They needed closure.

“I...Twilight...My Little Nova...” Twilight's eyes widened slightly at the nickname. Celestia put her head down and gently started nuzzling Twilight's neck.

“I...I am sorry Twilight, truly I am. I did the worst thing a mother could do, and I will tell you everything... I promise...Please though, it's hard. It's very hard to explain—“ She was cut off as Twilight beat her hoof into her chest again.

“How can it be harder than this!? I went twenty years without knowing this truth and you’re tell me it’s hard to explain it!? You decided to lead me on a god forsaken puzzle quest instead of pulling me aside and simply telling me the truth!” In her anger Twilight snapped forward and bit down on Celestia's shoulder as hard as she could.

Celestia visibly cringed and grit her teeth as the pain bloomed in her muscles. She did not however, move away from Twilight's assault. Instead, her grip only tightened. Twilight tightened her grip but eventually her jaw hurt and she released. She collapsed with her chin resting over Celestia's neck.

“You...*sniff* you told me to promise not to hate you the other day.... Now I know why...”

Celestia didn't nod, she didn't frown, if anything, she merely leaned her head into the mare's neck and cried alongside her daughter.

“...I messed up royally didn't I?” Celestia felt a bark of laughter go through her from Twilight and saw a small smirk from Luna.

“Y-you...you did...you really did....m-mother.”

Celestia smiled slowly, and cried harder. She squeezed her child firmly in her arms, hoping to send warmth and hope into Twilight. For several moments the trio of mares lay huddled together. No one spoke. The sound of gentle sobs and hushed coughs muffled by wings and blankets. After nearly an hour of emotions, Celestia felt the need to speak. Calming her tears and focusing on her words, Celestia nuzzled into Twilight's mane, speaking softly but with command.

“Twilight, hear me, please. I will do whatever it takes to fix this... Come rain or shine I will—“ She had expected it to be hard to say, hard to get out. But not this much.

She hadn't expected to have a hoof pushed into her mouth.

She glared up at Luna and pulled away from her limb, intending on reprimanding her. But Luna's suddenly smiled and pointed at Twilight. Looking down, Celestia found Twilight had fallen asleep. Exhaustion had taken it's toll and the unicorn was out cold, Her form huddled so close to Celestia's body, the alicorn could feel the heartbeats between them.

“We are quite certain she teleported halfway here, if not farther. Twas only a matter of time before she dozed off. We will take our leave sister so thou may—“

“Please stay, Luna.”

Luna arched a brow, lowering her hoof from it's escaping position.

“May we inquire as to why? This will be a very unpleasant morning thou will be waking up to and we know when one needs their rest.”

Celestia gently began nudging and nipping at Twilight's mane, her mothering instincts coming into play already as she preened her child haphazard hairstyle. She paused, and looked to Luna.

“All the more reason for you to stay, Lulu. When I wake tomorrow I need to alter my schedule rapidly. I have to cancel my meetings, cancel any trips, court will be closed and the council forewarned. Twilight needs something to awake to tomorrow. If not me, then you.”

Luna bared her teeth and Poked Celestia's bruised shoulder.

“It need not fall on us to be there for her, when you will be Tia. I will rework your schedule, and then meet you back here after all is done. Thou will not be leaving thine child's side but to relieve thyself. This I decree and demand it be followed, are we clear?”

“Lulu you cannot order me around just as I cannot—” Luna's glare stopped further verbal mutiny in it's tracks.

“Are. We. Clear?”

Sighing, Celestia nodded. She still found a smile gracing her lips as the thought of keeping Twilight near her came to mind.

“Fair enough Lulu, I accept your terms.... You’re right after all. I should be here to explain things to her, not you.” Luna hopped off the bed and smirked.

“Truer words were never spoken by thee Tia. But just so you know, Our punishment for thee is a lot greater than a few nips to thy shoulder. Thou will regret keeping us in the dark.” Celestia smirked as well.

“Oh, what could thou possibly do to harm me?” Luna chuckled darkly as she exited the room, the grin on her lips making Celestia seriously question why she'd asked.

“Many things Tia, soooo many things...For starters, you can say goodbye to that triple layered, hazelnut glazed, cream filled, strawberry topped, chocolate cake thy kitchen maids were bringing thee tomorrow.” She heard an audible gasp and whimper from within the doors right before they clicked.

“Aaaah we will enjoy our sweet victory...”

As the doors closed, Celestia let herself sigh heavily, before laying her head just over Twilight's and resting her cheek against the soft plush of the pillow. She took a moment to shift herself so the two bodies were as snugly fit together, and then she did something for Twilight that she hadn't done in a long time.

She sang a lullaby.

“In my arms I hold a child,

a heart untamed, a spirit wild.

Yet, whilst here, in my embrace,

I can gaze upon your face.

My little nova, my Twilight star.

I will love thee wherever you lay,

I'll cast my light over ‘n ‘neath your day.

Your flower has bloomed, and I watched it grow...”

Celestia gently placed a kiss upon Twilight's brow, just above her horn, and a single tear slid from her cheek to dampen her pillow.

“Now I know, now I know,

I will never, ever, let you go.”

Author's Notes:

and there you go.