//------------------------------// // Chapter Eight - The Amulet // Story: A Dance Between the Sun and the Voice in Her Head // by MistOverMoon //------------------------------// There had to be order in her mind. Her thoughts had to be structured and precise. She had to be kind and insightful, brilliant yet humble, she had to be everything she was and more. She had to root out the corruption until it withered, and feed harmony until it flourished. She was Princess Celestia, one of the rulers of Equestria. Not a single move could be out of place. It was undetermined when the amulet would arrive, but Celestia couldn't wait. The thought of that thing befriending Luna was enough to make her want to bash her head against a wall. Void was clever, his minion wouldn't slip. She would have to make it slip. That started with the amulet. There was a knock at the door. Celestia straightened herself. She had just finished sending Twilight and Spike tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala. Hopefully they would enjoy it, she sure wouldn't. The nobles at the gala often watched her every move, waiting for a weakness to exploit, waiting for the slightest lapse in her concentration. She would never let them see it. "You may enter." Celestia said. Slowly the door opened revealing a pleasant surprise. Luna stood in the doorway. "We would like to ask you something sister." Luna looked healthier than she was before. Her starry mane shone with the brilliance of the night. "You can ask me anything." Celestia smiled. Seeing Luna never failed to brighten her day. "We... we would ask thee to join us this night. We plan to have a comet grace the night sky to inspire the hearts of our subjects." Luna said. "Would you join us?" Celestia almost immediately said yes before she remembered something. There was a meeting tonight between the representatives of the different cities. She would have to be there. It was something impossible to cancel. "Luna. I'm sorry but I can't go, there is a meeting tonight I have to attend." Celestia's heart nearly cracked at the disappointed look on Luna's face. "We understand sister." Luna slowly turned away. "We will be in our room. Mayhap Nightmare Moon will see the stars with us tonight." "Wait." Celestia said. "How has night court been going? I know it has only been two days since you returned but..." "There have been none out of our subjects that attend night court. We find that our time is often wasted." Luna said. "Do you want to attend the meeting tonight? Maybe it would help you understand some of the issues Equestria is facing." Celestia said. "We would join but we wish to create a comet tonight. Besides, our presence would hold thee back." Luna said. "It wouldn't! Luna, I would never think that you were holding me back." Celestia said. "We ruled together for centuries, I know you have what it takes to overcome any task that comes your way." "We need time sister. Our knowledge on the current time is undeveloped. We do not know how to act or proceed." Luna sighed. "We wish to rule with thee, but now is not the time. We will stick to what we know best for now, creating beautiful nights for our subjects. Once we learn about our subjects, then we can learn about the intricacies." "That sounds wonderful Luna. I'm sorry that I couldn't join you tonight." Celestia said. "There is no need for apologies. We will still have Nightmare Moon to enjoy the night with us." Luna turned away. "Good day to thee Tia, we shall see thee tomorrow." "Have a good rest, Luna." Celestia watched as her sister gently closed the door. It was midday so Luna was probably going to bed. Their conflicting sleep schedules often made it hard for them to see each other. That wasn't the case for Nightmare Moon though. The creature could spend all the time it wanted with Luna while she was stuck in a meeting. It was infantile, the jealousy that was burning in her chest. It was not a feeling fit for foals, not the princess of Equestria. What she should be focusing on was getting Luna out of the claws of Nightmare Moon. That amulet couldn't arrive soon enough. The sun was high overhead. She just had a few more documents to finish signing and some proposals to look at and then she was done for the day. Well, at least until the night. With renewed fervor she turned back to newly constructed desk and began writing. Repair spells did wonders for the thing. When Celestia finally finished looking over the papers the sun was starting its arc to set. She had a little bit of time until the meeting. Luna would most likely be asleep so spending time with her was out. What could she possibly do with her free time? Nothing really came to mind. Then she remembered the stained-glass window. Void said that it came from the old castle. If there were any clues, then they had to be there. Unfortunately, there was not a working teleportation circle there. Whenever she tried to link to it the spell fizzled out. If she wanted to go, she would have to fly. The old castle was a stain on her mind anyways. She didn't want to go there and be reminded of all her failures. The place was lost, grown over by the Everfree. If something had been there it was most likely gone. There had to be something else she could do that didn't involve old haunts. Celestia left her study and began walking to the library. There might be some information about the amulet. If nothing else she could look over texts on dark magic. A brush up on the subject would help for the task ahead. The halls of the palace were lined with stagnant, identical looking guards. Their armor was enchanted to made them all look the same. It was a matter of safety for the guards. Nopony would be able to recognize them and follow them home after detaining criminals or enforcing the law. Of course it was also for uniformity in the guard. One armor wearing figure in the hallway was different though. To Celestia's surprise she saw Nightmare Moon walking down the hallway. Each step of her plate boots echoed on the stone floor. "Nightmare Moon. What are you doing here?" Celestia asked. "I am just enjoying a walk around the castle your majesty." Nightmare Moon bowed as she approached. "If I have erred, please let me know." "Rise. You can walk around the castle if you wish." Celestia watched her every movement. All she needed was the slightest lapse to find a chip in Nightmare Moon's armor. "I was just surprised to see you up during the day. Luna usually sleeps at this time." "I have no need of sleep." Nightmare Moon said. "Then perhaps you would like to join me. I need to study dark magic for a problem that needs fixing. You seem well versed in it; I could use your expertise." Celestia said. "Dark magic? I will admit princess, I have a mastery over the subject. However, why would you need my help?" Nightmare Moon asked. "Your manipulation of the art far triumphs mine your majesty." "What do you mean? The knowledge I have on dark magic is superficial." Celestia narrowed her eyes. "My apologies Princess Celestia. It is just..." Nightmare Moon trailed off and closed her eyes. A shaky breath went through her body. "Do I have permission to speak clearly your majesty?" "You may speak." Celestia said. "You are steeped in dark magic. It radiates from you, simply being near you in enough to invigorate every pore in my body." Nightmare Moon shivered and her eyes sharpened. "Your mastery over dark magic is far greater than mine. I would be of no use to you." The words made little sense. Celestia knew a few dark magic spells but nothing that could create nightmares or do anything of severe consequence. She had always preferred regular unicorn magic. It was more reliable, and it also didn't carry the taint of corruption. "Did he tell you to say that?" Celestia said. "He? The only pony I have been in contact with is Luna." Nightmare Moon said. Celestia saw no signs of a lie. Nightmare Moon truly was a good liar. How else could she possibly not know about Void? It seemed that rooting her out was going to be harder than she thought. "You must be mistaken. I have not used dark magic in years." Celestia said. "I am born of dark magic, your majesty. With all due respect, I know the scent of dark magic, and you are," Nightmare Moon closed her eyes and inhaled. "...fragrant." "That is enough." More than a little creeped out, Celestia took a few steps back. "Thank you for your insight but you are mistaken." Nightmare Moon followed her movements with glowing yellow eyes. "Of course, your majesty, you know yourself best." "Indeed, I do." Celestia said. "Now, I must be going. Enjoy your walk Nightmare Moon." "I will your majesty. If you want to talk again, I would be more than happy to help." Nightmare Moon bowed lightly. Celestia walked past Nightmare Moon. She watched the pony. At her passing the creature shivered and stopped before mechanically resuming its walk. This was strange. Nightmare Moon had to be acting. Unless the dark magic she sensed was Void in her head. It would make sense for a dark presence like that to appeal to the nightmare. She expected Void to enter her mind a send a barb her way but there was nothing. It seemed that after their talk in the study he had been doing something else. Maybe he was laughing at her for actually thinking about what he had to say. If Celestia was him, she would be laughing too. Celestia continued on to the royal archives. It was a sect of the castle hidden away to most ponies. While it contained a wealth of information access to it was restricted for most. The knowledge within could be dangerous if used with ill intent. The two guards gave her a slight nod as she entered. As she entered the archives the scent of dust and old books hit her like a wave. The librarian was on vacation if she remembered correctly. The empty front desk contributed to that line of thought. She didn't hear anyone else in the archives either. Her hooves echoed through the empty archives. It was darker in here than the rest of the Canterlot castle. The few windows that were here were barred as to prevent Pegasi from flying in. Lanterns hung from the ceiling. Their flickering light cast long shadows to the darkened edges of the room. Celestia decided to start scouring the shelves for books on dark magic. She was not expecting much here, more forbidden texts were kept in the vault, but she was sure that there would be something here. Opening up those darker texts wasn't necessary for something like this. The texts here were sorted alphabetically as well as by subject. She started in the magic section. Most were books with information she had taught Twilight. Basic spells like levitation and power beams. Others were of a more advanced nature like magical theory. There was nothing on dark magic itself. She did find a book that sounded like it may be of some use though. It was titled, "Magical Artifacts of the Celestial Era". Celestia levitated the book from its shelf and opened it. After skimming the book front to back she found no sign of the amulet. At least she learned that there was an artifact that gave the pony wearing it a flowing mane like hers. The thought of somepony creating a powerful magical artifact just to have a similar mane to her was flattering as much as it was slightly disturbing. With that book being a bust, Celestia turned to the next of its kin. This book was titled, "Sir Lancelot's Powerful Artifact Compendium of the Discordian Age". She read through that one as well, then continued reading through the long line of magical artifact books. By the time she set down another book there was only one left. It was a tome with no title. Its cover was old and made of leather- a long forgotten material used in times of ancient war and trial. The only reason that this ancient book had not fallen apart was from the strong magic binding it together. Reluctantly, Celestia pulled the book off the shelf. She was not going to touch the leather, that was for sure. Who knew where it came from. With a gentle tug of her magic as to not shatter the ancient enchantments, Celestia opened the book. It was another artifact compendium only this one held exactly what she was looking for. Cursed artifacts. The way the author wrote the book was more of a diary than an actual compendium. Times had certainly changed. Carefully she flipped through it looking at artifacts of a time long gone. Most of these had been destroyed if she remembered correctly. The fog of lifetimes lived usually swept the distant past to the edges of her mind. She began to read. The Chakram of Velin, cursed to the touch. The Guide to Alicorn Immortality, stained with blood of unicorns and Pegasi. The Five-Fold Hoof of Grabbing, an attempt at improved dexterity with hooves to say the least. As she turned another page a small rectangular piece of paper fell out. It drifted to her hooves. Gently she picked it up with her magic and turned it over. On the back there was small black text written. It looked much more recent than the faded in the rest of the book. "Spare yourself the pain." Celestia read aloud. It must have been a warning written by the librarian to any thieves. She always did have such beautiful flowing writing. Celestia had considered hiring her to help her sign documents, it flowed much like hers that she was sure nopony would notice if she signed a few. Her gaze dropped back to the book. On its wrinkled pages was a familiar sight. The dual sided alicorn amulet. She smiled at the sight and brought the lantern she had been using for light closer. Then, she began to read. "I was travelling the distant darkening reaches of the ancient frozen north in mere dalliance when my beloved mare told me of something of utmost inspiration. A cursed amulet located amongst the ponies of a cultish temple called the Alicorn Amulet. Of course, before I could go explore such a mystifying prospect of an accursed amulet I had to of course, accurse her if thou knowest-" Celestia skipped ahead in the text. Sometimes the diary like text of ancient times had a few details nopony really wanted to read. "-after saving the day yet again, I decided to bestow upon the captives of the temple a gift of knowledge. I was in fact, the strongest unicorn of-" "Once I put on thy dastardly amulet it accosted me in a most foul manner. I found myself sworn to it will like a cat to its nip. My actions to the prisoners I saved turned to menace and malintent. I do not remember much of the possession, only that the power it gave me was enough to make one of the sisters of sun and moon struggle against it. Attempts to remove it all failed." "It was only through the intervention of my most beloved, Knightess Night Sky, that I was able to be convinced to remove it from my foolish self. I made sure to give my mare friend a most wonderful reward-" Celestia scanned the rest of the book for anything important before shutting it. That was not something she wanted to read right now. This trip had not been what she was expecting but it was insightful. The amulet could not be put on as it possessed some sort of possession magic. It also granted great power but corrupted the pony wearing it. This was all useful information. Her gaze went to one of the few windows in the archives. The sun would be setting soon, and she needed to get to the meeting. She only hoped that Luna would be okay with Nightmare Moon. The meeting would be of no issue, she was used to such things, she just hoped that Luna wouldn't hate her too much for missing the comet. "I will solve this, Luna. I won't let Void get to you."