Archmage Chapter 10 - “Relationships and Responsibilities”

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After that hug, Twilight had things to do. Luna wasn’t quite as grim-and-dour as she had been during the setting of her moon, and in fact she seemed to be humming a tune to herself as she left Twilight in the cool, dark hallway. Not that Twilight minded being left behind. She still needed some time to herself to think things through, to decide how she felt about the whole thing… She was confused, slightly angry, emotional, and worst of all, unsure of her own feelings.

The only thing that Twilight knew for sure was that she didn’t want to let Luna go.

That passionate night, every detail up to the cold cutoff, was so ideal, so brilliant and amazingly beautiful that she honestly couldn’t get it out of her head no matter how hard she tried. Despite the heartache and the pain, the confusion and anger, the thought of Luna and that amazing night together still permeated her mind… Twilight would be crazy to let that go. Anypony would.

Still… Twilight might just have to be crazy. For herself. For the Archmage’s position. And maybe even for Luna. She sighed heavily and shuffled off to the library… Before they set the sun and raised the moon that evening, Twilight had research to do…

Thankfully, the book she was looking for was in the royal library. While it was also in her personal collection, Twilight wanted to avoid isolation as much as possible. While social interaction wasn’t exactly what she had in mind, she most definitely didn’t want to be alone. Reading in public seemed like the perfect solution. She set the book down on a table in the middle of a fairly active portion of the library… Quiet enough that she wouldn’t be distracted, but with enough ponies that her thoughts would be discouraged from wandering too far.

Twilight studied the cover of the book before flipping it open. This was a book about the Archmage, and while many ponies disregarded it as a dry and dull text about long-lost ceremony, Twilight saw it for what it was… A book of her very own responsibilities. While it wasn’t so cut-and-dry, it did tell Twilight the duties of the Archmage in one way or another.

As it turned out, fifteen of the remaining eighteen positions that were being taken care of for her at that moment were advisory ones… The Archmage traditionally only had a few overt responsibilities that they had to perform on even a semi-regular basis. A large section of the book was devoted to recordings and tables of solar and lunar documentation, diagrams and formulas, and theories regarding the rising and setting of the sun and moon. Twilight had a separate book to study for that, and had already experienced one such transition… It was the rest of the book that had her intrigued. It detailed other duties that the Archmage performed. One, in particular, caught Twilight’s attention.

The Archmage was, traditionally, in charge of protecting the crystal caverns beneath Canterlot. Twilight was reluctantly familiar with those caverns. She had been imprisoned there for a short while during her brother’s wedding long, long ago… While there was plenty of documentation on the caverns, Twilight decided she needed a refresher.

In fact, there had been a new publication on the caverns since the incident… Twilight sought the volume to brush up on her recent history. The librarian helped her locate the short book quickly, and Twilight opened it next to the one she was already reading… In the investigations following the royal wedding incident, Celestia and Luna themselves had revealed a fair bit about the caverns that previously had been unknown, or at least unexplored.

The caverns were a mysterious labyrinth that had never been fully explored due to the dangerous incumbent energies stored there. Greedy ponies sought to harness the spells and energy stored in the crystals, and many had lost their lives in the attempt. Celestia and Luna had seen fit to seal away the caverns, to keep any more ponies from wasting their lives trying to harness something beyond a normal unicorn’s power. They had shielded against unicorns and pegasi… But they hadn’t thought of the changelings. Apparently, their shields were ineffective against the changeling’s magic. Hence the reason Chrysalis was able to trap Cadance in the caverns for so long…

After the fiasco of the wedding, Celestia and Luna had tasked Nocturnal Glow with retrofitting the shields to ensure that no more changeling break-ins would happen. The Archmage had done so brilliantly, and this book held a little bit of information about those shields… In addition, there was a quick footnote added… It was about the pony assigned to tend the shields during the time between Nocturnal Glow and his successor…

The pony currently handling that particular portion of her duties was named Bastion. She recognized the name as a high-ranking unicorn officer, whose specialty lay in shielding magic. While her brother and Cadance were, technically, the forerunners in shield magic, Bastion was the best behind them. In fact, it was rumored that Bastion was more powerful than her brother when it came to casting shields. It was just rumor, however... Not to mention it was difficult to imagine, given that her brother could shield all of Canterlot. But still, there were other skilled unicorns out there besides herself… And with Shining Armor and Cadance being gone in the Crystal Kingdom, it likely fell to Bastion to protect Canterlot from harm.

She had never met Bastion face-to-face, and Twilight hoped she could change that. Research completed for the day, Twilight trotted off to find the unicorn officer; a short search and a few questions directed her to the barracks. The portion of the palace where all of the on-station guards slept and lived. Hesitantly, she inquired about Bastion with one of the roving guards. Even when they weren’t on duty, these ponies were highly professional, and even regarded her by title rather than name.

Bastion was fetched, and when Twilight first saw him, several thoughts and emotions ran through her head…

The first being intimidation. Bastion was the largest unicorn that she had ever seen… He was incredibly bulky, short, and looked to have a bad temper. He couldn’t have been much taller than Twilight, yet he exuded this presence of command and power. His bulging muscles rippled as he walked towards Twilight, all the more offset by his surprisingly graceful and easy steps… Bastion looked less like a pony and more like a tank. A graceful and poised tank, but a tank nevertheless…

His coat was, at first glance, a bright white. But as he stepped through a shaft of sunlight lancing in through the window, she saw his coat actually appeared to be made of solid, frosted steel. It was surprisingly enchanting… Combined with his massive stature and reputation, Twilight could see why this pony was regarded as the best in his field… He looked like he could withstand a siege by himself. His mane was a dark brown, and reminded Twilight of leather straps… Like those on the back side of a large shield.

His cutie mark, even, was that of a shield… Not dissimilar to her brother’s... It was a dark grey, full-bodied crest shield, framed with two green olive branches. All-in-all, from his mark to his stature, Bastion was frightening, intimidating, and all around scary. Twilight had to remind herself that she was the Archmage on official business, and there was no reason to be scared of him, let alone nervous or unsettled.

“Bastion. I had hoped we would have met sooner.” She smiled at him warmly, but the expression was not returned. Her smile slowly wilted into a blank expression, while Bastion continued to scowl at her.

“What do you want, Archmage?” He grunted. His voice matched his body. Full-bodied, deep, and brimming with power. Twilight suppressed a shudder.

“I… Was hoping we could talk.”

“Oh? You want to chat about daffodils and flowers and daisies and skipping through the gardens? Feh.” Twilight blinked as Bastion snorted at her, like she was some schoolfilly. “I’ve been up all night calculating formulas on shields the likes of which you couldn’t even begin to fathom, Archmage.” He spat her title with so much disdain, Twilight almost expected to see him eject an acidic bit of phlegm onto the cobblestones beneath their hooves. Again, she blinked in disbelief. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get one last hour’s rest without some damned pony bothering me about things she isn’t remotely prepared for.” Bastion turned around to leave, flicking his short-cropped tail at her as he plodded away.

“Bastion!” She called, trotting after him. “Can we- are we going to talk? At all?”

“I’m done talkin’ to you.” He answered gruffly, not even bothering to look back at Twilight over his shoulder. “I need to get some sleep under my belt if I’m going to do my job and yours today.”

“Th-that’s what I wanted to talk about!” Twilight caught up with him, looking up at the massive pony beside her as Bastion continued to lead her deeper into the barracks. “I want to assume my duties as soon as possible!” With that, Bastion finally stopped, glaring down at her. Twilight skidded to a halt, her hooves scrambling over the floor before she spun to a stop, facing him.

“Bet you read that in a book, huhn?” He grunted.

“I… Yes, but I don’t see what that has to do with-“

“And I bet that book told you that, since the changeling invasion, the Archmage has been the one to take care of the shields beneath Canterlot.”

“I, yes, but-“

“And I’ll bet that out of some silly pre-conceived notion of duty and honor, you think it’s your job to just up and handle those shields, the same ones that you read about in some bloody book, just because you think it’s your duty, or your responsibility to do so?” He scoffed at her again, his quick, derisive laugh slowly developing into a rumbling, gut-rolling belly laugh. Bastion threw his head back, roaring with laughter at Twilight, who was steadily growing aware that the two of them were slowly gathering more and more attention. Bastion wiped his eyes free of tears, chuckling still as he looked back down at her.

“The princesses themselves cast those shields thousands upon thousands of years ago. After the invasion, Nocturnal Glow cast even more shields. Now what, pray tell, can a mare who has hardly lived a fraction of those ponies’ lives, know about those shields?” Suddenly, Bastion’s tone was dangerous. What he spoke was truth… Twilight knew next to nothing about the shields themselves… Only that they were there. She didn’t know if they were barriers or seals, glyphs or incantations, evocations or summonings… In fact, Twilight didn’t even know what school of magic they were from. Bastion took a step forward, looming over Twilight as he continued.

“I’ve spent the last four years of my life under Nocturnal Glow, learning about those shields… Not because I was going to be the next Archmage, no… We all know I’m not cut out for the rest of that mumbo-jumbo… No, I spent four years, every spare moment of my time, scrutinizing and inspecting, evaluating and testing… I know each and every shield down there more than anypony, save the princesses themselves.” He loomed over her, looking down his muzzle at the sheepish mare before him.

“And you, Twilight Sparkle, Archmage of Canterlot… Are not prepared to accept my responsibility.”

Sadness. Despair. Discouragement. Twilight felt all of these and more flow into her heart, flooding her emotions with these dark, dull feelings… What Bastion spoke was the truth. This was one portion of the Archmage’s constituency that Twilight knew nothing about… Only that it was there. What’s more, Bastion was proving it in front of nearly every guard pony that wasn’t on-duty at that moment. Silence reigned in the barracks… Not a cough, not a sniffle, not even a shuffling of a hoof here or there sounded. All was quiet. Slowly, Twilight raised her head. She met Bastion’s eyes with her own, her tone brimming with something she hadn’t felt in quite some time…

Anger.

“No, Bastion.” She growled. She took a step forward, her head lowered as she glared up at the imposing unicorn. “You will teach me. You will show me the shields. And most importantly,” She took another step towards the looming unicorn, the very tip of her horn pressing against the hollow of his throat, power brimming beneath the surface of her cool, collected expression.

“You will respect my authority.” The thrumming undertone of power in her voice carried her words to all present, asserting her dominance over what was possibly the most intimidating unicorn in the entire guard.

The pause between them could have lasted an eternity.

“Hah!” His lips cracked in a wide grin, and he threw his head back. Howling with laughter, Bastion threw a hoof over Twilight’s shoulders, drawing her into a crushing embrace. “You’re alright, kiddo!” He roared, ruffling her mane with his free hoof. Twilight gasped under the weight of his embrace, and felt pain lance through her head at the rough feeling of his hoof. Still, she felt something… Something warm and friendly. It was almost brotherly, the affection he showed to her in that moment. Rough and maybe a little callous, but caring and tender at the same time. The guard ponies all around smiled and went about their way as Bastion released Twilight.

“You got guts, Archmage… You’re gonna need them for what lay ahead.” He nudged her hip with his own, a gesture that threatened to send Twilight careening off into the wall. She caught herself, smiling sheepishly as she fell into step beside Bastion. “Oh, the things I need to teach you… It’s gonna take a little time, Twilight… I can call you Twilight, right?”

“Only if I can call you Bastion.” Twilight chuckled, her hoof raising to try to return her mane to some sort of semblance. Bastion chuckled and nudged her again, turning the corner to a warmly-lit hallway. Now that they were alone, Bastion turned upon Twilight with a smile.

“Forgive me, Twilight. But there is some ceremonial importance to be taken care of here.” He bowed his head low, stooping until his horn almost touched the ground at her hooves. “I, Bastion of the Royal Guard, herby pledge my alliegiance to Twilight Sparkle, the Archmage of Canterlot, and vow to teach her my knowledge of the shields beneath Canterlot.” When he lifted his head again, Twilight smiled at him.

“You didn’t have to do that.” She muttered. “Harbinger and Crest certainly didn’t do anything special...”

“Pardon me for observing ceremony. C’mon.” He rolled his eyes and nudged Twilight with his flank, urging her further down the hall. He led her to a door near the end, the inside of which appeared to be a fairly well-appointed room. In fact, it reminded Twilight much of her own home in Ponyville. Books lay open or stacked everywhere, all of the open surfaces occupied by scrolls or letters, parchment and ink and quills and even more books. It was a unicorn’s room. She felt at home almost immediately.

“Here. Read up on this,” He grasped a sheaf of parchment in his telekinetic hold, which Twilight noticed was a very natural, dark grey. “It’s my personal notes on the shields. Particularly, these sections here.” He opened the scroll and indicated a set of formulas with his hoof. He went on to talk about several very important things that Twilight noted with a soft nod. At his permission, she marked in spots, added a note to herself, or asked a question. Bastion would drop a hint of tiredness now and then, but each time Twilight asked if he’d like to sleep, he waved her off and continued talking…

Before she knew it, it was noon, and Bastion appeared to be winding down.

“So, as you can see, the occipital fracture in the bi-nomial interface is the most important, because…?”

“Because it roots the formula in the earth. I got it.” Twilight smiled and added one last note. “Is that everything?”

“For now. Return to me with your thoughts and impressions on my notes, as well as a full review of this book, here.” He levitated a book over to her. It was relatively new. “Those are Nocturnal Glow’s own equations and formulas on the supplementary shields… While Celestia’s and Luna’s focus on keeping ponies and most normal lifeforms out, his specifically targeted changelings, thanks to the invasion. What I want you to study here is how well he got them to meld with the shields already in place. I’ll give you a week to research all this, then. Return to me with your findings, and if I find your progress satisfactory, I’ll start taking you through the motions with upkeep and maintenance down in the caverns. Deal?”

“Deal.” Twilight smiled as she and Bastion shook hooves, sealing it between them.

“Oh, and about earlier-“

“Don’t worry about it.” Twilight smiled at him, tying the bundle of parchment and books together with a summoned bit of twine. “You’re stressed, tired, and probably not too happy about having to do my job while I’m off… I dunno, being silly or whatever…” Bastion blinked at her before slowly covering his face with a hoof.

“You’ve got it all wrong, Twilight.” He grumbled softly. “Listen… I know you’re busy and all, but one more minute of your time?” He asked, indicating two chairs nearby. Twilight furrowed her brow, but nodded and took the seat offered to her.

“What am I missing…?” She asked softly. Bastion sighed and rubbed his eyelids, as if debating how to approach the situation.

“One thing the book doesn’t tell you is this,” He said, cutting right to the point. Twilight leaned in intently. “The ponies filling your spot right now have the ultimate say on when they hand it over… It’s been a controversy in the past, and I can imagine it isn’t very well documented… But when the new Archmage is selected, they have a group of ponies that cover their jurisdiction in the meanwhile, right?”

“Right…”

“Well, those ponies get the final say-so on whether or not the Archmage is prepared to accept their duties… Well, not the final final say-so… Princess Celestia and Princess Luna can override the decision at any time. But since the Archmage is a position they made, they sort of have to follow the rules; just to be fair.”

“I follow.” Twilight felt worry build up in her chest. Those twenty ponies got to decide if she was ready to take their positions… No, her position. That just seemed wrong to her…

“Well, the reason I said those things I did is because I want you to be one hundred percent certain you’re prepared for what’s to come… Trust me, if you’re going to be working with some of the most powerful shields in all of existence, you’re going to have to be strong…” Bastion emphasized his point by staring straight into Twilight’s eyes.

“If I don’t think you’re ready to assume your own duties, Twilight, I will say so. Celestia and Luna already pulled enough strings to get Harbinger and Crest to step down. I won’t budge so easily.” Twilight swallowed at his words. It seemed she had gone from proving herself to one teacher, straight do doing the same with another. This time, her study was that of shields.

Good thing Twilight was great at studying.

“I understand.” She said softly, bowing her head. “I’ll work hard, and do my best to take over. But only if you think I’m ready.” When she lifted her head, Bastion was smiling at her.

“Atta girl.” He chuckled, punching her shoulder playfully. To Twilight, it felt like a full-blown kick from Applejack. She wheezed slightly, rubbing the spot with a wince. “Now get going. I still have three meetings to attend, then the south-western barrier needs to be refreshed. Long day ahead of me.” He nudged Twilight to the door, who only all too happily left the gruff unicorn’s chambers. They said their goodbyes at the door before Twilight retreated to her quarters…

She had another goal. Before, it was Luna and shadow magic. Now, it was shields…

While Twilight was an accomplished shield-caster, just one glance at the formulas in Bastion’s notes made her realize…

There was still a lot for her to learn.

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Twilight spent the rest of the day studying in her own quarters, this time rather focused on the subject material rather than her own thoughts… Though, as a gentle knock sounded from her door, Twilight realized the time. She was soon due to raise the moon and lower the sun.

“Coming!” She called to the door, scrambling about. She really only needed a few things, so when she opened the door, she was still packing her saddlebags with parchment, quills, ink, and a notebook. Twilight had taken it upon herself to begin documenting the rise and fall of the sun and moon… Adjustments made, time taken, and other things. When she opened it, a burly-looking pegasus guard stood at the ready, and he snapped a crisp salute when she smiled at him.

“My apologies, Archmage, but Princess Celestia asked me to remind you it’s time for the setting of the sun.”

“Yes, thank you. I appreciate it. I’ll head there immediately.”

“Very well. Would you like… Ahem… A lift?” The guard asked. Twilight blinked at him for a few moments before the switched all clicked, and she understood.

“Oh… Oh! No, thank you. I think I can teleport there from here.” In the interest of time, Twilight almost had to… She had gotten carried away with the new material that she hadn’t remembered to watch the time. Closing her eyes, Twilight focused her attention…

Time seemed to stop. In a pulsating wave outwards, not dissimilar to a bat’s echolocation, Twilight could feel each contour and curve of the castle… Each small nook and cranny, each rustle and bustle of life… For Twilight, this was an ability she had developed over time. It didn’t require spell-forms or formulas or anything of the sort… Instead, it hinged on the individual unicorn’s ability… How wide they could extend their ‘bubble’ of teleportation, or as Twilight liked to call it, how far they could ‘see.’

Indeed, she could see everything like this… Every detail of every fine hair in the guard pony’s coat, every slight crack in the stone of the castle… While time seemed to stand still in that moment, it was over awfully fast. Out of the nearby balcony window, across a wide, open space, and up into the northern tower about seven eighths of the way, Twilight could feel her destination. With a breath, she pulled herself across the distance, closing the gap…

With an audible crackle of magic, Twilight disappeared from her spot in front of her quarters in the Eastern wing, all the way to the fourth-highest balcony in the Northern tower. She had done it. She had teleported half the distance of the castle in the blink of an eye… A feat that many unicorns could never even dream of accomplishing. Humming to herself, Twilight ascended the last steps to the highest balcony, and greeted the two princesses with a sheepish smile.

“I’m sorry for my tardiness… Bastion gave me some material to brush up on, and I couldn’t help but get a little lost…”

“Bastion?” Celestia raised an eyebrow. “You’ve already spoken with him?”

“Eer, yes… Long story short, I want to at least start talking to the ponies whose responsibilities I’ll have to take over…” Twilight muttered. She realized then that she probably should have spoken with both the princesses… But Luna had told her that she was free to study other branches of magic, right? She had said that both she and Celestia were of like minds in that aspect…

Right?

“Well…” Luna sighed, smiling faintly. “I have to admire your initiative.” Relief washed over Twilight. She feared that the princesses would have disapproved of her moving onwards… Apparently, though, they trusted her to make her own decisions… A silly revelation, she realized, since this was commonplace throughout all of her studies thus so far. She began to prepare herself for the procedure, setting up paper, quills, and ink, mentally preparing herself for the shields.

“I’m prepared, Princesses… Whenever you’re ready.” She nodded, signaling that they could continue whenever they liked. With one last nod to one another, both of the princesses turned to their task…

Twilight was much more prepared for it this time. The initial shockwave of magic crashed against her shield, sizzling into the air as it burned and raged, but did not penetrate. Twilight scribbled some quick notes before adjusting half a minute, and then turned her attention to the moon… Simultaneously, she summoned a shield of light and of darkness, protecting herself from Luna’s shadow magic, and Celestia’s light at the same time.

Balance.

“Two minutes, twenty-four seconds.” She nodded, recording the time as she let the shields slowly fade away. When they were done, only a dark purple scar remained on the horizon, the only evidence of the passing day. On the opposite end of the sky, a full, brilliant moon hung low on the horizon, fresh and new to the night… It was going to be a beautiful one.

“Right then. Are you adjusted well, Twilight?” For it being only her second time, Twilight actually felt rather… Accustomed to it. Maybe not completely familiar just yet, but it was well within the range of her capabilities. To learn that there was actually a duty of the Archmage that she could do, and do well, was nothing short of exciting.

“I believe so, yes.” Twilight nodded, smiling up at the princesses. Celestia smiled back at her, and Luna offered a reassuring nod.

“Very well. I believe I shall turn in, then. Good night, Sister. Twilight.” Celestia smiled at each in turn as she left the balcony… Unless Twilight was mistaken, however, Celestia’s departure seemed almost… Rushed… Like she was eager to get away from Twilight and Luna. Not that Twilight was complaining. She had a lot that she wanted to talk to Luna about.

“Are you free?” Twilight asked quietly. Gone was her smile, replaced only by a somber, almost downtrodden expression.

“Alas, I am not…” Luna sighed. “I have much business to attend to this night, for once… You sound tired, Twilight…” Luna leaned in to nudge her softly, but Twilight curled away from the affectionate gesture. As much as her heart ached to feel the soft touch of her lover, Twilight still had some very urgent questions that needed to be answered. Two of them, above all else, were at the fore of her mind. Luna pulled away slowly, her own sweet smile gone. Twilight had made her point… If they were going to be affectionate, it would happen after the discussion. And even then, it was only a maybe. The look Luna gave Twilight was one of understanding and acceptance, but with a somber overtone. She understood that she wouldn’t be able to even really touch Twilight until after the talk.

“You look tired,” Luna said gently. “And I have much to take care of tonight… Perhaps we should say our farewells?”

“I think so.” Twilight nodded. She realized then that her day truly had been very long… Between raising and lower the sun and the moon twice, speaking with Bastion, and studying so hard, Twilight was ready for some sleep. She yawned widely before rising to all fours and offering a weak smile to Luna. It wasn’t much, but it made Luna smile as well. Twilight felt happy as she watched the princess spread her wings and leap off the balcony, off into the new night, to take care of whatever it was the princess took care of…

She took her time making it back to her quarters, walking slow and admiring several of the art pieces that lined the walls along the way. When she arrived, she was thoroughly tired, and all she could do was pad slowly across the floor to her bed, lift the covers, and crawl in… She was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

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Waiting for the weekend, it seemed, was more difficult than Twilight thought. She was thankful that she had Bastion and Nocturnal Glow’s notes to study, or she might have gone insane. Luna slept during the day, when Twilight was most active, and during the two times they met to raise and lower the sun and moon, she was either tired or had business to attend to. At long last, though, the two days finally slipped by, with most of the time spent poring over Bastion’s notes, practicing her magic, or doing more research into the Archmage’s position.

“Good evening, Luna.” Twilight smiled at the princess as she stepped out onto the balcony. It was evening on Saturday, and Celestia hadn’t yet arrived to lower the sun.

“You seem awfully cheerful this evening.” Luna said with a soft smile, turning her gaze away from the dying day down to Twilight.

“Well… It’s only been two days since we-“

“Yes, about that.” Luna cut her off, which seemed rather uncharacteristic. What’s more, her tone indicated that something about the plans had changed. “Where would you like to meet?” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief before thinking.

“Would my quarters suffice?” She asked. It seemed perhaps a little too… Intimate… But Twilight figured she would have better control over the conversation if she were in a comfortable, familiar place. Her home, really…

“I should think so. Should we meet immediately after this?”

“If that works for you.” Twilight’s day had been relatively easy. She had caught up with Bastion since she had a question about his notes, and hadn’t practiced her magic. She was rested enough to handle the conversation between her and Luna, which was bound to be stressful one way or another.

“Very well. Ah, good evening, Sister.” Celestia offered a surprisingly weak smile as she nudged open the balcony doors. Twilight’s heart fell slightly at the sight of her mentor and friend.

“Is everything okay, Celestia?”

“Hmm? Oh, I’m fine.” She yawned widely, her lips curling in a soft smile at the end. “Just… A touch sleepy is all. Long day.” Celestia certainly had seemed preoccupied that morning… She had probably been busy handling many different things that day. “Shall we get started?”

“Whenever you’re ready. Twilight?”

“I’m set. Shall we?” Twilight grinned as she summoned her magic forth. She was getting accustomed to this procedure. In fact, she nearly had it mastered by now. She maintained both shields without breaking a sweat, and managed to take some very detailed notes about one particular aspect or another of the arcane energy around them. “Two minutes, fifteen seconds. I believe that’s a personal best.” She smiled, tapping the parchment with her quill.

“It’s not a race, you know.” Celestia teased, though her mouth quickly stretched into a yawn. “I think it’s time… Aah… For me to turn in.”

“Good night, sister. I hope you sleep well.” Luna and Celestia shared a quick nuzzle before Celestia left them on the balcony. Like Luna three days ago, Celestia seemed rather… Wilted. Her mane didn’t drift as if in a wind anymore, and her head hung slightly. All-in-all, she just seemed to be rather off. Twilight guessed that even princesses grew tired sometimes…

“Shall we?” Luna said softly, distracting Twilight. The purple unicorn shook her head and smiled, nodding up at Luna.

“I’ll meet you there?”

“Naturally.” Luna spread her wings and dove over the edge of the balcony, just as Twilight turned to leave herself… As she made her way down out of the tower and into the Eastern wing, she couldn’t help but feel slightly envious of the flight-enabled princesses… Having wings would be awfully neat… In fact, Twilight wondered if she could try the wing spell she had cast on Rarity so long ago… It would certainly be easier, now that she was quite a bit more skilled…

Before she knew it, Twilight was at her own quarters once more, and she gently pushed her way inside. Luna was already seated at a nearby table, looking out of the wide bank of windows wistfully. Twilight swallowed as she approached the princess, preparing herself… Fanciful thoughts of flight left her as she slowly took her seat opposite Luna.

“I have many, many questions to ask… Some of them important, most of them rather silly…”

“Ask away, Twilight. I owe you an explanation.” Luna said, turning her serene gaze downwards. “At the very least, I should imagine…”

“Yeah…” Twilight inhaled through her nose, preparing herself. Time to get some answers.

“You said you fell in love before. Who were they? Why did it end so badly, so horrifically, that you’re afraid to ever fall in love again?” Luna blinked once before launching into her explanation. Twilight could clearly see, though, that revisiting this particular memory was not only painful, but difficult for her. Still, Luna readily offered the information about her previous lover…

“His name was Nightshade, a pegasus whose natural talent was botanicals. He specialized in plants that grew during the night, and worked as a greenskeeper for my own personal garden here in the castle. Typically, the greenskeepers would remain all but unseen, tending to all the needs of the plant life here without ever being spotted… But I did spot him one evening, outside of the castle walls, gathering nightshade under a tree. He fascinated me right from the start… I watched him for a short time, noting that he was careful, smooth, and precise with his movements. He was knowledgeable and methodical, but tender and caring at the same time. He would gather leaves without damaging the plants, to make sure that they would continue to grow.

“When he finished, he returned to the castle, and used those same plants for an arrangement in my garden. Needless to say, I had to at least talk to him. It wasn’t customary, especially way back then, but I had to know at least his name…” Luna sighed as she looked back out of the window, almost as if she were looking out for the same pegasus she told the story about.

“We seemed to just hit it off. He was respectful, of course, and back then calling a princess by name was almost unheard of. Even Celestia and I didn’t refer to eachother by name, at least not around our subjects… But helplessly, I fell for him… And he fell for me.” Twilight could sympathize… Luna was a princess, after all… Falling for her was almost impossible. Luna continued, her tone wistful. “We talked, we walked, we spent our nights together… There were nights I would work, and others that he would be busy, but for the most part, we made it a point to see one another… Eventually, it evolved into something… More…” Twilight swallowed. This was the part that appeared to be the hardest for Luna. Her voice didn’t shake or crack, but Twilight could see the tears well up in her eyes.

“We had to keep it secret, of course… A lowly groundskeeper making love to a princess? Unheard of. Never before. Even high-class political engagements were scandalous and only ever accomplished some diplomatic means… There was never romance involved. Well, Celestia was lucky one time, but that was long ago…” Luna sighed and wiped a hoof over her eyes. Twilight could see glistening fluid on the back of her hoof… Luna was struggling mightily with the telling of her story.

“We did fine, too… Being citizens of the night, we could meet in the shadow, in private, and emerge with nopony the wiser to our antics. He was such a passionate and wonderful lover, I-“ Luna’s lip trembled. Twilight reached a hoof out to lay across hers.

“You don’t have to share that much, if you don’t want to…” She said quietly. Luna nodded, giving a soft, shaky sigh.

“Needless to say, I was head-over-hooves for him… I never neglected my duty, but all of my spare time was spent with him… I began to grow more attached than I ought to. I spoke of marriage, of inducting him into the royal family… A princess, marrying for love? Why not? We have the right, don’t we?” Luna shuddered. “But then he started to grow distant… We met less and less, and whenever we did, he acted strangely. Affectionate, but never passionate…” She sighed. “We went a month without even touching one another before I asked… But he didn’t give me a straight answer. He didn’t even look at me… I asked him ‘Nightshade, why art thou acting so distantly? Am I becoming over-zealous in mine displays of affection?’ He smiled at me… Just a smile, but it spoke volumes. He said back to me, ‘Perhaps just a little… But I like it…’ And then he left.” Luna’s tone dropped low, her voice mirroring her expression. Dull. Flat. Lifeless. The expression of somepony who had been through something heartbreaking…

“I followed him when he left me that night… I had to know what it was he was up to when he wasn’t around me…” She trembled visibly. Twilight reached a hoof out to hers. That seemed to calm her enough to continue. “I had to… Break the law to follow him. You know that there are laws forbidding invasions of privacy… Those exist for a reason, Twilight.” Luna said softly. “I… I slipped through his door… And I found him…” The tears flowed fast and freely now, coursing down Luna’s face and falling to the table. “I found him… Fucking another mare.” She collapsed onto the table, her shoulders heaving with the heart-wrenching sobs.

So that had been it… Luna had fallen in love and had been cheated on. Twilight tried to imagine… Thousands of years old, having fallen in love for the first time, experiencing the joys of lovemaking and having somepony special to hold and to have for your own… Only to discover that they didn’t love you as much as you loved them… Twilight didn’t think she could ever relate to that gut-wrenching feeling that could drive a princess to tears. This was the mare who had seen entire kingdoms rise and fall in her lifetime… Had suffered the loss of countless loved ones, from old age or otherwise… In all her time being Luna’s friend, her student… Twilight had never seen Luna cry.

And this was beyond crying. As Luna broke down completely, Twilight realized that some emotions couldn’t be properly displayed through mere words… Sometimes, one just had to cry to express how profoundly they were impacted. Not just cry, but break down… To be reduced to sniffing, sobbing wreck of a pony that couldn’t even breathe properly. Even now, what Twilight guessed to be a thousand years later, Luna was still effected.

Twilight gently rubbed Luna’s back, trying to calm the princess. Her touch seemed to have a calming effect, and Luna slowly composed herself. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, though they were bloodshot and puffy. Twilight couldn’t blame her. She levitated a box of tissues forward, which Luna gratefully took a few before continuing.

“Naturally, I was furious… Depressed… Enraged. So many emotions, Twilight… I wanted to watch him burn, I wanted to see her hang… I had never considered killing any subjects of my own in my entire life, save for those two in that one moment…”

“You didn’t…”

“No.” Luna said quietly, her voice shaking. “No, but I very nearly did… He lost his wing, and she suffered a broken leg… Celestia arrived just in time to stop me, but the damage had been done… I had attacked them both out of anger… And that’s what started it.” Luna shook again. “I started blaming everypony and everything but myself… And I don’t even know if that’s where the blame lay… But I did. I even blamed my sister, and her accursed day… All the ponies that frolicked and played and laughed and loved under it’s light… Eventually, I stuck on that… And I attempted to harness the night…” Luna shook her head slowly.

“The rest is history…”

There was a long, long silence between them. Twilight understood now where Luna was coming from… It was all but impossible for anypony to forgive after that… And to fall in love again? To risk feeling that same heart-wrenching sensation of being ripped apart? Twilight would never even dream of cheating on Luna, or anypony that she might be in a relationship with… But she could understand if Luna didn’t want to risk it. In fact, Twilight was rather scared, being the object of Luna’s affections now…

Perhaps not scared, but certainly something… Twilight couldn’t put her hoof on it just yet.

“Did you have any other questions?” Luna said quietly. From the tone of her voice, it sounded as if Luna thought Twilight would hate her forever. While she was shocked that Luna would go so far as hurting her subjects, Twilight couldn’t hate Luna. She had acted brashly. But she had paid for her actions… For a thousand years, Luna had suffered for what she did. Twilight could understand if Luna didn’t want to love anypony again… In fact, it became clear why Luna hadn’t spoken with her after they made love the first time. She was simply afraid of growing attached again… Of being hurt again. Or hurting somepony like she had.

“I… Just one more, really.” Twilight said quietly. “You might not know the answer, or it might not be of much importance, but… I don’t know, maybe you had somepony at the hospital that you knew that might have told you, or maybe… I don’t know…”

“Speak your mind, Twilight.” Luna said. She had composed herself, her tone calm and even. Twilight took a deep breath before looking up at Luna.

“Did you know about my parents? Before they passed?”

The look on Luna’s face said it all. Twilight knew the answer before the princess spoke the words.

“Yes… We both did. Celestia and I.” Twilight felt herself choke. Shaking, she managed the next question, but only just barely. Tears filled her vision, and soon spilled over to run down her cheeks.

“Then why… Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because…” Luna’s tone was cold and even. Twilight could tell, just by the tone, that this hurt Luna to say probably more than anything else they had shared that night. “Because if we told you, it would have distracted you from your studies.”

Twilight felt her heart break.