The Celestia Debate

A crisp wind chilled Twilight Sparkle, her wings rustling at her side. Truthfully, she would have liked this meeting to happen inside the castle, where she would be warm, but Cadance had insisted on holding it outside for fresh air.

So, there they all were instead—they being herself, Rarity, Princess Luna, Cadance, as well as Spike and Rainbow—all gathered in a courtyard outside the castle. 

“So, let me get this straight…”

Spike lay slumped in the castle gardens, an enormous claw rubbing his weary head after three princesses and a unicorn filled him in on recent events. He’d only been in Canterlot two hours and already had a migraine. 

“Discord showed up and said that Princess Celestia is somewhere in Emberwood Heights.” They nodded. “And he also apparently says he’s responsible for Twilight and Luna being freed, and he made Rarity meet Twilight on purpose. That right?” When they nodded again, he let out a weary sigh. “Ohhhh, boy.”

“Sounds about right,” Rainbow snorted, lounging on his back. 

There was a table in front of her and the others, bearing some hasty plunder from the castle library. Maps, books, notebooks, and any papers that could be relevant in trying to figure out what came next. She hadn’t had time to review them thoroughly yet, mostly because her priority since the incident had been trying to figure out how to help Rarity move past the… circumstances of their first meeting. 

She had vague notions of a plan, with the help of Princess Luna and Pinkie, and the outcome of their current meeting could perhaps move things towards said plan. 

“What do you think, Spike?” Cadance asked almost immediately. She’d been quiet for most of the recap, but her wings had been fidgeting anxiously at her side the entire time. 

“About what part?” he asked. “The Princess Celestia part?”

“About Emberwood Heights, yes.”

“Oh. I mean, he’s lying,” he said plainly. “Straight up. If she was there, we would have found her already.” 

“Exactly,” Cadance replied with a nod. 

Rarity hummed, skeptical. “Did you search a thousand years ago? Because if so, then I hope you all remember Cadance’s curse?” 

“I remember,” Spike said, “and that’s not why I’m so sure. It’s been searched in the centuries since then by folk who aren’t cursed by Cadance.”

Princess Luna peered at a map where Emberwood Heights had been circled in red. “What is it exactly?”

“It’s a forest mountain near Rambling Rock Ridge,” Rainbow said. “Halfway between here and Ponyville. Used to fly by it all the time during Wonderbolt trips.”

“It’s protected territory,” Cadance added. 

Rarity frowned. “Rambling Rock Ridge? But, hold on—” She leaned over the table and scanned the map, gasping afterward. “But that’s right by Granite’s Rest, where that painting of Princess Celestia is.”

“Are you sure you searched that forest well?” Twilight asked.

“She’s not there, Twi,” Spike interrupted. “Emberwood Heights isn’t just any protected territory. After Princess Celestia disappeared, the kirin made it their home. They’ve been living there ever since. The entire place is theirs.” He turned to Cadance. “Didn’t they even take a vow of silence or something until she was found?”

She nodded. “Only one kirin per generation can speak, and that’s just to keep ponies out.”

“Yeah.” Spike turned back to the others. “Anyway, see? She’s not there.” 

Twilight hummed, poring over more of the maps. “Right. I thought they might have left, actually. None of the modern maps Rarity ever brought to the library talked about them. Anyway, he’s definitely lying, but why lie about that?”

“What about my bat ponies?” Luna asked, drawing the conversation towards her. “I was hoping—”

“Twilight,” Rarity whispered as the conversation went on, “what in Equestria is a kirin?”

“Oh! Have I never told you about them?” she asked, delighted to be able to provide a learning moment to her marefriend. “They’re a sister species to ponies. A little like deer, but with more of an affinity towards magic. Fire magic, specifically. If under sufficient stress, they can transform into fire creatures. It’s really fascinating to watch.”

“I see!” Rarity said. “And this explains something about Celestia how exactly?”

“They were her guards,” Twilight explained. “Her personal guards. Actually, a bit like how the changelings are with Cadance now. The entire race thought of the Princess as practically, well… something even more than just their princess.”

Rarity leaned back a little. “…Their lover?”

“What, no!” Twilight gasped with a laugh. “Oh my gosh. Their lover? Why did you even jump to that? How would that even work? No.”

“Who has a lover?” Princess Luna asked. 

“No one has a lover,” Twilight said. “Except for me. And Rarity.” She realized the two other princesses and Spike were now watching her. “Sorry, I was just—Rarity’s never heard of the kirin before. I was explaining what they are towards Princess Celestia.”

“Ah.” Princess Luna turned to Rarity. “As the wielder of the sun, she was their deity. Very loyal creatures, unlike my batponies, who I’ve just been told deserted me after my incarceration.”

“They went to try and find you in the Undiscovered West!” Spike exclaimed. 

“Why would I be in the Undiscovered West? It’s undiscovered.”

“But how can it be that I’ve never heard of them?” Rarity asked. “I understand never having heard of the changelings, but I’m shocked I haven’t heard anything of these kirin creatures.”

“You would have to really be looking for them to know about them,” Cadance said. “They took the vanishing of Auntie Celestia very hard, on top of the fact that their generation at the time wasn’t able to find her. I mentioned they took a vow of silence until she was found, and centuries later, they’ve kept it.”

“…Have you, uh, communicated with them recently?” Twilight asked. “You said one of them still speaks?”

Cadance smiled brightly. “Yes. This generation’s one is this nice mare called Memory Lane. She sends me reports every few months or so. Nothing too interesting.” She hummed, thoughtful. “They hold a little food market every two weeks. Oh, and there was an incident with a bear a few months ago, but they got it under control, if I remember correctly.” 

Twilight licked her lips. “Right. And do the kirin know about… well, you?”

“Only Memory Lane does.” Cadance’s expression softened with guilt. “Kirin are very honest creatures. It’s hard for her to have to keep my secret, but she understands it’s for the best.”

“This is all well and all, and a fascinating history lesson for Rarity, surely,” said Princess Luna, “but this doesn’t explain why Discord would try to send us to their domain, or say my sister is there.”

“What do you mean? It’s obviously a trap,” Rarity replied. “The princess isn’t there, so he must want us there for… well, I don’t know what for precisely, but not for something nice.”

“Maybe we could ask Auntie?” Cadance suggested. 

“Ask Celestia?” Princess Luna blinked. 

Cadance nodded. “Yes. As in, send her a letter through Spike.”

“Dunno about that,” Spike said, lazily scratching the side of his belly. “I’ve been sending her letters with updates almost every other week, and she hasn’t replied to any of those. I sent her about fifteen the days after Princess Luna was freed, and she only replied to the first one.”

Rainbow snorted, lying on Spike’s back. “If someone sent me so many letters in a week, I wouldn’t reply either.” At Twilight’s pointed look, she attempted to be useful. “Isn’t there any way of knowing she’s read the rest?”

Spike blinked. “No?” 

“‘Kay, cool. Just askin’.”

“What did she say in the one about Auntie Luna?” Cadance asked. 

“Not much. Basically, ‘Ok, great, thanks’.”

Twilight repressed a sigh. That had been the case with Princess Celestia every single time, hadn’t it? The few times she’d replied had been short and concise, nothing like the literal essays she used to send Twilight back when she was still a unicorn student. 

It was relieving that she replied at all, but… was she safe? Or all right? Clearly not entirely if she couldn’t bring herself to answer more than a few words.

Ugh. 

“We do not know her situation,” Princess Luna said, her tone slightly defensive. “You all recall the painting that exists of her, don’t you? We do not know what Discord did to her, and it is likely she needs to store her energy. Besides, most of the news we’ve given her has been good, so she may not see the need to expend energy replying.”

Twilight frowned. “That may be so, Princess, but that’s not really helpful for us.”

“Maybe not, but we should be grateful she can reply at all, even occasionally.” 

Twilight wasn’t quite happy with that answer, but there wasn’t really a point in getting into a discussion about it. 

Rainbow rolled over on Spike’s back. “Okay, so, if she’s not with the kirin, where is she supposed to be again?” Rainbow asked. “In a fountain  or something?”

Twilight grabbed a notebook lying next to her, re-reading her notes. “According to what Discord told Cadance centuries ago, she’s supposed to be behind a waterfall, not a fountain.”

“Yeah, same thing.”

“How in Equestria is that the same thing?” Rarity asked. 

“Anyway,” Twilight interrupted. She grabbed a map lying next to her, spread it out before everypony, and gestured to some spots she’d circled. “This is the most updated map of Equestria I could find. According to my research, if Discord trapped her behind a prominent waterfall—at least, one notable enough to show on a map—she could be either in Neighara Falls, Rainbow Falls, or Canterlot Falls.”

Rainbow flew down to look at the map and then whistled. “Man, wouldn’t it be messed up if it turned out she was under Canterlot this entire time?”

“She isn’t,” Cadance replied, a hint of aggravation in her voice. “That was one of the first places I had searched after Discord’s visit. In fact, I’ve had all those three places searched for centuries, and we’ve found nothing.”

Twilight deflated. “Ok. Well. Great. Now what?”

Rarity spoke. 

“Maybe we should try contacting the Princess again. We do have new information, and she might be able to illuminate us on why Discord is insisting she’s there. Let’s tell her we need information, so to please tell us something. It doesn’t have to be long, just something we can go on from.”

Twilight mulled it over, grabbing a parchment and pen. What’s the worst that could happen, she thought to herself as she wrote yet another letter. That the Princess didn’t reply? 

“Here, Spike,” she said a few minutes later, levitating the parchment towards the dragon. She’d detailed as much as she could about what Discord had said, and included information on the kirin and their status. “Can you send this, please?”

He did as instructed, and the entire group fell into a momentary awkward silence, which was eventually broken by Princess Luna clearing her throat. 

“I still am unsure why my batponies would go to the Undiscovered West of all—”

A loud gag interrupted her, and Twilight turned to Spike just in time to see him burp out a parchment. 

Again, a silence fell over the group, though now it was more stunned than awkward in any way. 

“Holy crap,” Rainbow said. “That was fast.”

Twilight quickly took the letter in her magic and opened it up. Just as with every other reply, the Princess’s answer had been magically burned onto a previous letter, and just as with most of her other replies, Twilight felt her meagre hope vanish after reading. 

“What?” Rarity asked, noticing her expression. “What did she say?”

Twilight cleared her throat and read aloud: “Do not trust Discord. The kirin are more loyal to me than even the sun. I am not your priority. Cadance is.”

“What?” Cadance asked immediately, alarm lacing her voice. “No, no, she’s the—Twilight, write her back and tell her we need information on her. I don’t want to be freed before her. I’m fine. Do it, Twilight,” she insisted when the alicorn hesitated. 

“I—Okay.” 

Cadance relaxed just a little. “Thank you.” 

Twilight did as instructed, writing out yet another letter for Spike to send. He did as told, and not even five minutes later, he burped out a parchment with a reply. 

“Geez,” said Rainbow, “wish she’d been this eager to reply the dozen other times we’ve messaged her.”

Cadance took the parchment in her magic and opened it up to read. Twilight watched and took a steadying breath at Cadance’s suddenly exasperated expression. 

“‘As I am her priority, so is Cadance mine. To rid us of this curse, you must free her first. Do not trust Discord. I can reply no further.’” She paused after reading and then—“But I’m fine!” she exclaimed. “I don’t have to be rescued first! Twilight, write her—”

“We cannot keep taxing her,” Luna protested, her wings rustling at her side. “And you cannot keep fighting over who to rescue. You are both equally important, and you are here now.”

“I know that, Auntie, but—! I don’t even know how to free me,” Cadance insisted. “Discord never said—if we can even trust him—and I’ve only ever looked into how to rescue all of you. We have a lead on finding Auntie Celestia. With me, we don’t. It’s smarter to rescue Auntie first.”

“But Princess Luna’s right. You’re here,” Twilight replied. “We could probably find a way to free you much faster and easier with you here. And if Princess Celestia is saying something like this, she probably has a reason. We should trust her.”

“Trust her?” Rainbow asked. “Isn’t trusting her what landed everypony in this mess a zillion years ago?”

“Rainbow,” Spike hissed. 

“What? It is!”

That certainly shut Twilight up. 

“Rainbow Dash is right,” Princess Luna said, driving the point further. She sounded remorseful. “There is no other way around it. We are all in this predicament right now because my sister and I gave Twilight well-meaning but ill-planned advice. If anyone’s decisions should be scrutinized, it should be my sister and I’s.”

“Furthermore,” she continued, Twilight sitting down on the ground, terribly upset, “if my sister is indeed in a situation as taxing as the ones we were in, we cannot count on her being in control of all her faculties. She cannot be trusted to make decisions, only to survive in the best way she can.”

“So, we should find her first!” Cadance exclaimed. “I’m fine! I’m perfectly okay staying like this longer! Meanwhile she might be in pain or—! I don’t know, something.”

“Cadance,” Princess Luna said, sounding exhausted suddenly. 

“If I may,” Rarity interrupted before Princess Luna could continue, “I know this is all upsetting, but I agree with Cadance, actually. I think finding Princess Celestia first is the smarter choice, regardless of whether she’s to be trusted or not, and regardless of her condition being manageable or not.”

“Explain,” Twilight asked her. 

If Rarity thought so too, then… 

“Well! It’s easy. Look at you two—” She gestured to Twilight and then Princess Luna. “Discord preyed on your insecurities. For you, darling, it was your guilt over your role in this entire mess with him. For Princess Luna, it was her insecurities and helplessness compared to Princess Celestia.” 

“But I don’t have insecurities,” Princess Cadance replied, throwing Rainbow a frowned glance when she snorted loudly. 

“I agree!” Rarity replied, smiling. “At the very least, you didn’t have one when he cursed you. But he created one. Look at what you’ve said several times already! ‘You’re fine’. Out of all four princesses, you got the best deal. Your problem is survivor’s guilt.”

There was a long silence. 

“Interesting,” Princess Luna said. 

“Rarity, that’s ridiculous,” Twilight said next. “Cadance doesn’t have survivor’s guilt. That would be silly.” It would be too easy. It would be ridiculous. She turned to Cadance. “Right?”

“…I don’t think so,” Cadance said, slowly. “Of course I feel awful for everypony else, but I know I didn’t exactly ask for this.”

“…Perhaps it’s a more literal matter,” Princess Luna offered. “If he didn’t offer a clue to your incarceration, it might be that it really, truly is just having the rest of us freed.”

“What? But. It can’t be that simple,” Twilight blurted out. Or could it? “I just… I don’t know, I—” 

 “I don’t know if that’s really what’s going on or not,” Cadance said. She sounded very grave, all of a sudden. “I don’t know if that’ll free me or not, but… my husband tried to free me first. He spent all of his life trying until he died, and he never found a way. I understand I’m here. I know it feels easier. But feeling easier doesn’t mean it is, and I’m sorry, but I don’t want to live through seeing any of you die trying to rescue me first, too.” 

Twilight swallowed a lump in her throat. “Cadance…” 

“Especially not now, Twilight,” she continued. “Not now that you’re finally free. And that you can actually die.”

“No, she can’t,” Rarity said quickly, putting her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “She has to wait until I die of old age first, and only then can she die. I am not being put through having to bury her. I did it once already in a sense, and by the stars, I will not go through that again.” 

Twilight snorted. “Wait, so I have to go through burying you?”

“Yes, because I’ve suffered enough.” Rarity fluttered her eyelashes. “When you’ve gone through my level of suffering, then we can negotiate who dies first.”

“Oh, I seeeee. Your level of suffering. Compared to my lesser suffering.”

“Mhm!”

“Moving on from deranged hypotheticals,” Princess Luna interrupted. Loudly. “If we ascribe to Rarity’s theory, then our next course of action should be to find more information on my sister.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow said, nodding. “Starting by checking all those places Princess Cadance checked centuries ago.”

Cadance frowned. “…Why? They were already checked.” 

Rainbow returned the frown. “Uhhh, and? We have to look again. No offense, but your searches were useless. Your guards were useless.”

Cadance spoke before Twilight could politely ask Rainbow Dash to maybe stop commenting for a minute. “Rainbow Dash,” she said, aggravated, “I understand you have never liked my guards, but I don’t appreciate your snide comments.”

Rainbow’s frown deepened. “What? This has nothing to do with that. Hello? We literally just talked about this?” She looked at everypony, tapping her hoof against her forehead. “Have you all forgotten about the literal curse every single guard in Equestria has that makes it so they can’t find them? Of course they haven’t found squat in centuries! They can’t. We have to go and look again since we’re not cursed. Or, well, not cursed anymore.”

Twilight blinked once, twice, thrice, and then turned to her sister-in-law, brow furrowed. 

“Wait… Cadance, you have searched again since, right?”

“Twilight…” Her voice was patient, that of an adult educating a child. “If I send someone to search, I’ll curse them. You have to remember I didn’t know the curse could be broken until Rarity broke it. Which, speaking of!” She gestured to Rarity. “The only reason Rarity found you is because she’s unrelated to me. Same with Pinkie and Auntie Luna. I’ve tried to direct ponies there.” She arched an eyebrow. “What do you think Seeking Night is? Just a day I started for fun?”

“Right,” Twilight said, sheepishly.

“Then that sounds like our next plan of action,” Princess Luna said. “We can’t send Cadance’s guards, but Pinkie and I can travel to some of the locales, and—” She looked at Spike and Rainbow Dash. “I assume you two can search other areas as well?”

“Of course,” Spike said, just as Rainbow waved a hoof and yawned, “yeah, sure, no biggie.”

“What about the kirin?” Rarity asked. “Or what Discord said? Should it be looked into, just in case?”

Twilight thought it over, glancing at the maps. Emberwood Heights was close to Ponyville.

“I think it should,” she said, finally. “You and I will go.”

“Very we—Excuse me?” Rarity practically choked, her hoof once again landing on Twilight. “I must have heard wrong. You and I? Saunter straight into Discord’s trap? You must be out of your mind.”

“Emberwood Heights is perfectly safe, Rarity,” Cadance said. “The kirin are one of Equestria’s oldest allies. If something was wrong, we really would already know.”

“Yeah, like, the place is a total snoozefest,” Rainbow added. “You’re going to be fine. Discord’s probably trying to send you there so you’ll get bored to death.”

“And even if it is one of his traps, I just want to at least check it out so we can be sure it’s nothing. I’d rather confirm that than risk regretting not checking,” Twilight said. She brushed her tail against Rarity’s back, a small gesture of comfort. “I know you’re worried, but we’ve dealt with him more than anypony else. We’re not defenseless.”

Rarity whined softly. “Oh… But… Fine. As long as it’s quick. And since this is apparently ‘nothing’, I’d like to go to Ponyville first like we’d agreed to.”

The agreement in question having been a small staycation in Ponyville. A break from, well, the endless adventuring and fixing of issues and rescuing of princesses.  

“Of course.” Twilight turned to everypony else. “It’s settled, then. Princess Luna, Pinkie, Spike, and Rainbow will investigate locations Cadance investigated when we all got trapped, while Rarity and I visit Emberwood Heights.”

“I assume we are also going to Ponyville first, aren’t we?” Princess Luna asked. 

“We are still set for that to happen over the weekend, right?” Cadance added. “I already started the logistics of it.”

“Er, yes,” Twilight said, a little flustered. 

“Hold on,” Rarity asked, surprised, “you two are coming with us to Ponyville?”

Princess Luna nodded. “Twilight asked for our help with some matters to attend to there. Things we need to look over. Pinkie will be coming as well.”

“Oh! I see.” Rarity sounded strained. “Well, the more the merrier!”

It was a little later, as everypony was heading back into the castle, that Rarity pulled Twilight to the side. She looked slightly distressed. 

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked. “Are you still worried about going to Emberwood?”

“No,” Rarity said. Then quickly added, “Well, yes, but that’s not my current issue. It’s… It’s Ponyville.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Ponyville? What about it?”

Rarity hemmed and hawed, struggling to say what was wrong. Eventually, though, she managed, her ears plastered against her head as she spoke. 

“Darling, it’s just… I was hoping it would be just us. I didn’t know you’d be asking everypony to come along when I asked if we could visit home.”

Twilight tilted her head to the side, apologetic. 

“Oh. I’m sorry, Rarity. I know you wanted it to be just us, and I want that too,” Twilight said, sincerely. “But there’s something I have to do, and I need help.”

“You could have asked me for help,” Rarity pointed out, the slightest bit hurt. “And you could have also at least told me you were planning on doing this.” She pressed her hoof over her glowing necklace. “I thought we’re supposed to be a team, Twilight.”

“Rarity…” Twilight placed her hoof over her own necklace. “We are a team. But this is really important for me to do, and as much as I wish you could, you can’t help me with this particular situation.” 

Rarity’s nose scrunched up with indignation. “Why not?” 

“Because,” Twilight said, leaning in so close their noses were almost touching, and her lips curved into a sly smile could almost touch Rarity’s, “it’s a surprise meant just for you.”