//------------------------------// // Loop 10 Part 2 // Story: The Time Thief // by Reading4HalfMyLife //------------------------------// To say that Astral was surprised when her mom slammed open the door and dived for her was an understatement. She let out a squeak and fell out of her chair, but Twilight was already scooping her up and planting her back on her hooves. "The queens want to see you!" She said as she dragged her daughter down the halls. Starlight walked behind them, expression caught between pity for her daughter and amusement for her wife. "Wait, why do they want to see me?" She knew the princesses, or queens, that term was gaining currency now, well enough, but the tall regal figures had always intimidated her. Twilight spun around so they were muzzle to muzzle, before Astral gently pushed her away, and the alicorn handed her a letter. Dear Twilight, If what you tell us is true, Astral must come to Canterlot immediately. We have already sent for a chariot, which should be arriving just outside your door at two o' clock. We need to speak to Astral. Sincerely, Queen Luna & Celestia "Immediately?" Astral repeated, starting to trot back to her room. Quickly pulling on her scarf and saddlebags, she spent some time brushing back her mane in an attempt to make herself look presentable. Giving herself a quick once over, she walked out to see both her moms wearing the royal regula that came with being princesses. "Ready sweetie?" Starlight asked, and Astral checked her saddlebags to make sure any and all notes were still inside. "Yeah, I'm good. Let's go!" The two shorter ponies had to trot to keep up with a giddy Twilight. The carriage was as comfortable as always, and ponies stopped to stare as they took to the sky. Glancing around, Astral nearly had a heart attack when she saw Jam and Butterscotch waving cheerfully from below. Hesitantly, she waved back, before turning around to look at the ever growing castle. "Hello again Princess Astral Plane" Queen Celestia said, bowing to the young filly as she entered the room. Behind her, Queen Luna gave a warm smile. Astral bowed as low as she could, before saying. "Hello your highness's. You called for me?" She asked, and saw Twilight give her an approving look. Those etiquette classes really payed off. "Yes, we have heard about your predicament, and of the little prank you pulled yesterday. I assume you have pictures?" Celestia waited as the filly pulled out the pictures the guards had taken from yesterday, and handed them up. Luna stifled a giggle at the classes shocked look, and Celestia's smile grew wider as well. "Would we be able to keep one of these? For- uh- sentimental value?" Luna asked, and Astral giggled and nodded. Quickly stuffing the picture under the cushion, Luna nodded to the guards, and they shut the door behind Astral. It shut with a loud thud, and it suddenly seemed as if the temperature of the room dropped several degrees. The little filly gulped. "Astral Plane, this is very important, if anypony were to find out about this," Celestia shook her head slowly, and out of the corner of her eye Astral could see Twilight and Starlight straighten up in concern. "If you would please follow us. Twilight, Starlight, if you two could be so kind as to wait here." Both she and Luna led Astral down several long, winding corridors, each one getting darker and colder with each turn. They finally came to a stop in front of what looked like a shrine. Made from shining marble with flowers and candles lining both sides, it was easily the most beautiful thing in this section of the castle. Carved into the stone were six symbols; an infinity symbol, an explosion that looked scarily similar to Misty Rose's cutie mark, an upside down moon with a sun like object above it, a circle with arrows pointing to every direction, a spiky star with a hole in the middle and a strange upside down triangle thing. The last one was especially strange, as it appeared to be completely scratched out. "Before there was anything else, there were six very powerful beings," Celestia said, bowing to the shrine. "Kronos, Aethar, Ebony, Ray, Loki and" she visibly hesitated before saying "Harmonia." "When Ebony turned against the other Gods, she first tried to absorb their magic. She didn't get all of it, obviously, but she did take enough that it took all five of them to finally take her down. The fight alone lasted six centuries, and thousands of species were killed off in the resulting battle. But, finally, the five managed to seal Ebony away. However, the repercussions for doing this were devastating. Ray, lost his opposite, and as such, went insane. Creatures were going blind and plants were dying off from the excess heat and light. Thankfully, Harmonia, the God of Balance and Harmonia, realized they needed something to level out light and darkness. So, she created the day and night, and later, after Equestria was founded, she created two ponies to look after each one." "Wait,wait,wait" Astral said, waving her hooves to garner more attention as her brain caught up to what they were implying. "Are you saying you two are-" "Harmonia's daughters? Indeed," Luna confirmed. "We're not God's, of course, we're not nearly that powerful. The term Demigod is a more appropriate one for us." "Anyways," Celestia ignored the gaping filly, instead choosing to focus on the story. "In creating us, the day and the night, Harmonia used up the last of her magic reserves, and was starting to fade away. And, since she had nopony to give her powers to, if she died, then all of Harmony and Friendship would vanish, leaving only chaos in it's wake. So, she used the very last of her powers to turn herself into a tree. The tree of Harmony, to be more precise. She waited for us to find her elements, and, when Twilight and her friends were born, chose them to be her successors. But, with Harmonia out of the picture, Harmonia's opposite, Loki was driven insane, like Ray. However, unlike Ray, who just vanished off the face of the earth, Loki spun out of control. Nonetheless, this is more of a detailed summary than anything. You don't need Loki or Harmonia to get out of the loop, you need Kronos," Celestia pointed to the infinity symbol in the marble. "God of Time. She'd know what to do, or, failing that, have some ideas." "Great!" Astral jumped into the air, gleeful. "When am I meeting her?" The two diarchs visibly hesitated, before they both lowered their heads. "Astral, we do not know where Kronos is. She and her opposite, Aethar, the God of Space, vanished after the war, and have not been seen or heard of since." Astral's ears dropped, and tears stung her eyes. What was the point of telling me this if it wouldn't do anything? "However," Celestia said, making Astral look up sharply,"we do have some notes telling of the Gods time during the war. Maybe there is something in there that can help you." She carefully levitated out a box full of paper, and handed it over to Astral's eager magic grip. "Thank you!" Astral said, clutching the box close to her chest. This could hold the key to her escape! Oh, she couldn't wait to get her moms all over this. Turning around, she started walking back the way she came.