10. The Last Lesson

"Stardust! Stardust!" Twilight called out as she wandered Canterlot Castle's halls. "Where are you, my little pony?"

Her foals had just recently passed one year old, and were at a very active stage. While Maria's magic hadn't shown much - she spent every waking moment she could clinging to her father - Stardust's magic proved much more potent, and he frequently teleported randomly throughout the castle. Twilight would then have to search the castle for him, as he seemed to like playing hide and seek.

As she wandered, she heard the running of small hooves approaching. Smiling, she stepped behind one of the nearby armored ponyquins, waiting as she heard the hooves approach. Just before they would pass, she leaped out. "Gotcha!"

"AHH!!" The unicorn colt that fell back wasn't Stardust. He looked to be about 6 years old, had a pure white body and bright yellow hair. In point of fact, he almost resembled a coltified Blueblood, save his face had an open, honest, and endearing quality about it that Blueblood most definately lacked. The colt's face, however, was currently frozen in shock.

"I'm sorry," Twilight said quickly. "I thought you were my son. I didn't mean to startle you."

The colt caught his breath. "It's okay," he said. "I'm not supposed to be running through the halls, anyway. Supposed to be with my parents."

"Oh?" Twilight smiled. "And where are your parents?"

He waved towards the front of the castle. "Back there somewhere."

Twilight chuckled. "I see. By the way, my name is Twilight Sparkle. What's yours?"

The colt glared up at her suspiciously. "You can't be Twi-lee! Twi-lee's a unicorn!"

Twilight blinked. "How do you know that nickname? Only my BBBFF Shining Armor calls me that!"

The colt stared up at her, actually looking at her now. "...Aunt Twi-lee?" he asked in shock.

Twilight stared at him. "...aunt?"

As they stood there staring at each other, Twilight heard the sound of Stardust squealing in delight, followed by a girlish shriek. She immediately raced towards the sound, the unicorn colt close behind her.

"Getitoffgetitoffgetitoff! It's eating my horn!" Upon arriving at the spot, Twilight saw her BBBFF, running around like a headless chicken with Stardust latched onto his face, mouthing his horn with a cute 'Nom nom' sound, with Princess Cadance leaning against a wall, struggling very hard not to fall to the floor with laughter.

The little colt ran forward. "Mama! Papa! You said Aunt Twi-lee was a unicorn! Why isn't she a unicorn?"

At the same time, Twilight levitated Stardust off Shining's face. "Now now, Stardust," she cooed to him as she settled him in one of her wings. "Don't eat your Uncle's horn, he doesn't like it..."

Shining, his horn no longer being molested, stared at Twilight. "Twi-lee? You're a...you're a..." His head tilted. "Huh?"

Cadance, however, rested a wing on the colt's shoulders. "Dear, some unicorns can become alicorns, although the transition isn't always easy." She looked up to Twilight. "I see a lot has changed with all of us. ...Celestia's instructions begin to make a bit more sense."

Twilight looked at the three of them quite confused. "Umm...maybe we should discuss this somewhere other than the castle's main hall."Her horn flashed, and they were all in the room she shared with Shadow.

Shadow looked up from bouncing Maria on his back. "Friends visiting, Twilight?" he asked, as Shining stared around in confusion.

Twilight sighed. "I think some introductions are in order," she said, deciding to take an analytical approach. "First, let me reintrouce myself. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, ELement of Magic and Equestria's latest alicorn Princess." She then gestured to Shining Armor. "Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard, Chief Defender of the Crystal Kingdom, and my Big Brother Best Friend Forever." She then gestured to Cadance. "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, also called Cadance, alicorn Princess of Love, Supreme Ruler of the Crystal Kingdom, Shining Armor's wife, and my old foal sitter." Turning to her brother and sister-in-law, she then gestured to Shadow. "And this is Shadow, born of Mobius, immortal unicorn wielder of Chaos, my beloved and father of my foals." Despite Shadow's wince at her phrasing and the hard look Shining directed towards Shadow, Twilight decided to be blunt and direct. She then levitated Stardust and Maria in front of her, who looked quite confused. "My twin foals, Stardust Mail and Maria." She then glanced down. "I assume I'll now be introduced to my nephew?"

As Shining stared, overwhelmed by all the information, his mouth working like a landed fish, Cadance gently nudged the colt forward. "Our son, Heart Throb."

Shadow spoke up before Twilight could. "Well, now that we are no longer strangers..." He Chaos Controlled a tray of refreshments up from the kitchen, "...who wants cookies?" He was desperate to ease the tension before something - or somepony - exploded.

"COOKIES!" Heart Throb shouted, pouncing on the plate.

This startled a laugh from everypony, especially when Stardust float-tackled Heart Throb to get some of the cookies. As everyone settled down, Cadance was the first to speak. "I see now what Celestia meant when she said you were going through emtional turmoil. So...shears or saw?" she asked Twilight bluntly.

As Shining looked on in confusion, Twilight hung her head. "Shears," she admitted. "Celestia managed to stop me, and with Luna's help calmed me down to the point Luna could explain the futility of it."

Cadance nodded. "I imagine Celestia was too overrought? She does see you as a daughter after all."

Twilight nodded. "How come neither of you ever wrote me about Heart Throb? I'd have flown all the way to the Crystal Kingdom to be there."

"Celestia told us not to. Although her instructions were cryptic...I believe she feared that if you elarned Shining and I had had a unicorn, you might deny yourself the chance of motherhood out of fear of..." Cadance fell silent. "This is why immortality is...problematic," she concluded sadly.

Twilight suddenly hugged Stardust and Maria closely. "...I know what you mean."

Shining finally got his mouth to work. "So how did Mom and Dad take all of this? I'm surprised they aren't here?"

Twilight turned away. "They were wholehearted in their approval...in their eagerness to please the newest Princess..."

Shining stared at her. "Twilight?"

Twilight was suddenly next to her big brother, clinging to him. "Oh, Shining, they didn't even know me anymore when I went to see them! They didn't see their little filly, just a Princess. Why did this have to happen? Why couldn't I have just stayed Twilight Sparkle? WHy did I have to become Princess Twilight?" She was crying, clinging to her brother like a lifeline.

Shining hugged her back. "Easy, Twi-lee, easy. If it helps at all, from everything I see, you're still the same old Twi-lee to me...just with wings."

"Shining..." She clung to him, shaking a little.

Glancing over at Cadance, Shining mouthed, "3...2...1..."

Twilight suddenly pulled back. "Oh wait, I've been remisce. I haven't hugged my nephew yet, and you need to hug your neice and nephew, Shining-"

"Yep!" Shining said happily. "Same old Twi-lee!"

Twilight glowered playfully at her brother. "That's Princess Twi-lee, and don't you forget it!"

Cadance laughed. "Oh, you two!"

The group continued to laugh and chat on more harmless subjects through the rest of the night. ...right up until Shining asked an unintentionally loaded question, which Twilight ansered rather foolishly.

"So Twilight, how'd you become an alicorn?"

"I lost my virginity."

"...what?"

---------------

Celestia stood on her balcony, preparing to raise the sun. She had just finished clearing her mind, and took a deep breath to prepare for the mental effort.

"Celestia? Do you have a minute?"

Celestia turned. Twilight stood there, looking up at her with the same curious student expression that had often crossed her face as a unicorn. "Of course, Twilight. What do you need?"

"I was wondering why you told Shining and Cadance not to tell me about Heart Throb?"

Celestia blinked. "Heart Throb?"

"Their son."

Celestia winced, and sighed. "Twilight...when my time of fertility passed, I realized that it meant I could never be a mother, no matter how much I wanted it. That left a hole in my heart that nothing could ever fill, as I yearned endlessly to hear the sound of little hooves clattering across the tile floors. ...I knew, given that you were born a unicorn, that you would probably give birth to unicorns, and that you would come to a similar conclusion if you thought about it. Given the trouble you were having coming to terms with the...mortality of your friends and family, I feared you might decide never to have foals for fear of having to watch them grow old and die." She looked Twilight straight in the face. "I couldn't let you do that to yourself, not when I know how wonderful a mother you will be, and how lonely it is to have your nest forever empty." She hung her head. "I cannot ask for your forgiveness, for I feel I made the best decision for the situation, no matter how ill advised it may have been. I can only ask for your understanding."

Twilight listened carefully, weighing her teacher's words. "I assume you gave similar instructions to my friends?"

Celestia sighed. "I know of only three of your friends who have had foals by this time. Applejack and Rarity I instructed not to tell you of it, and Fluttershy is no longer required to obey my instructions."

Twilight nodded. "How did they take it?"

"Applejack presumed I knew what I was doing, although she didn't like it. While Rarity was willing to accept my direction, Spike wrote back a rather...spirited letter expressing his problems with it."

Twilight chuckled. "I can imagine." Twilight stared at the sky for a time. "Celestia...I can understand why you would act as you did. I...realize sometimes, when you see more of the big picture than anypony else, you have to take actions you find...distasteful, even use those you care about, to work towards a greater goal. It's the same reason you left me in the dark back at the Summer Sun Celebration when you sent me to Ponyville. This...doesn't seem all that different, in perspective."

"Just more important," Celestia said quietly.

Twilight actually managed to smile. "The long view...I'm going to have to get used to it, aren't I?"

Celestia nodded. "Yes...you will."

Twilight looked up at her old teacher. "You'll be there to help?"

Celestia smiled. "Every step of the way."

Twilight teared up a little. "Then...can you do something for me?"

"Name it, Twilight."

"Can...can I call you Mom?"

Celestia could no longer hold back her tears as she enveloped her student, the child of her heart, in her loving embrace.

---------------

Up on the rooftop, Luna held a certain mischevious spirit in hr magic. "THou shalt not interrupt their moment, Discord, lest I send thee to the Moon!"

"Oh pish posh, Luna. I just want to ask Twilight if that means she'll call me Daddy."

"Don't you DARE!"

Discord smirked. "You know you can't stop me."

"Maybe she can't, but I can."

Discord turned, and saw Shadow also used his Chaos magic to hold him, which DID work. "Aw, you're no fun anymore!" Discord said, waving his hand at Shadow.

Shadow glanced towards Luna. "Are there any camels in Equestria?"