The throne room flashed into focus as Celestia’s eyes shot open. Her muscles remained tensed against the attack from her memories. Celestia shook her head sharply as she tried to remember if she’d been dreaming or just lost in thought. She glanced around, and saw that none of her staff seemed to have noticed. She raised her head slowly to avoid alerting any of them.
The room was much emptier, now. She had already addressed all the petitioners who had arrived for the beginning of night court. The lull gave her time to reflect on everything she’d heard that night. There were the typical progress reports from committee members and adjudication pleas. There were the night owl nobleponies seeking her attention for the sake of showing off or stroking their own egos. There were also a few well-wishers from the lower classes, who managed to lighten Celestia’s grim mood, however briefly. There was Sky Rise’s report, and his difficult proposition. And, there was Watch Tower.
'They’re afraid of the night.'
“Good evening, Princess.” A light, strained voice called her attention. She glanced over at the old stallion who emerged from behind her throne. He was dressed in ornate indigo robes and a matching pointed hat. He yawned heartily into his hoof, then faced Celestia and bowed.
“Hello, Ether Shine,” she smiled at her court wizard. “I trust your nap was refreshing?”
“Ha, I suppose. Sleep begins to lose its appeal when you do it as much as I do. Really, Princess, I would just as soon somepony wake me up for court.” He turned to the side with a mischievous grin. “Perhaps Miss Platter would be so kind? It’s been a long time since I’ve been woken up by a beautiful mare.”
“I doubt your lecherous mind would enjoy my methods, Ether,” Silver responded coolly. “They involve cold water and cymbals.”
“Oh, I’m always willing to experiment with new things.” Ether Shine winked, making Silver roll her eyes. Celestia stifled a chuckle.
“I assure you,” she said, “if your services are even the slightest bit needed, I’ll send for you immediately. Tonight simply hasn’t been very eventful.”
“Hm,” Ether gazed thoughtfully at the princess. “Perhaps not eventful. But ‘eventful’ and ‘tiresome’ are hardly the same. Are you up to continuing, Your Highness? You look like you could use some rest yourself.”
“That isn’t necessary, Ether Shine. Alicorns don’t...”
“Sleep, yes, I know. But I said ‘rest’. All girls need their rest. Keeps them pretty. Why, look what it’s done for me!” The wizard waved enthusiastically to his own wizened form.
“I’ll never sleep again,” Silver muttered to herself.
“Come now, Princess. I think this night has taken enough of your mental energy, don’t you?”
“I’m fine,” Celestia assured him. “Tonight hasn’t been so bad. Mostly it’s just the usual reports and greetings. Nothing worth note...” she trailed off. Ether saw her gaze falter and her brow furrow.
“Something is on your mind, though,” he prodded. “What is it, Your Highness?” Silence filled the room for a long moment before Celestia spoke.
“Sky Rise came to see me tonight. The lead manager of the Royal City Relocation Project, you know him. He said work is continuing steadily, but it’s slow going. And... he suggested that their pace could be improved if they had more hours of sunlight to work by.”
“I see. No wonder you seem distraught.” Ether closed his eyes, thinking deeply. “I admire that boy’s work ethic,” he said at last, “but that’s much too short sighted. The harmony between the day and the night is very delicate, and crucial to our world. It must be carefully maintained. Trying to disrupt that balance can only...” he cut off suddenly, looking guiltily at Celestia. Self consciously, he began again. “I just don’t think you can reconcile that kind of meddling just because some ponies want a city built in a day.”
“I know,” Celestia said in what she hoped was a reassuring tone. “I told him I would consider it, but I don’t think I can do it. Not without a more urgent need. It’s just too great a risk. Besides, I don’t... it wouldn’t feel right. Not now,” she finished softly, looking away in thought. A somber mood washed over the other ponies.
“Well, I for one would be sad to see the night be shorter,” Ether broke the silence. “It’s the only time I have anything to do.”
“You’ll sleep through it either way,” Silver said.
“That’s my choice to make and I won’t have you taking it away from me,” he answered before turning back to Celestia with a wry grin. “Besides, I don’t see why you should hurry to finish a city that you haven’t even decided on a name for.”
“I’m sure I’ll think of something clever and inspiring by the time it’s done.” Celestia smiled at the old wizard. “Thank you, Ether.”
“That’s my job, Your Highness. If I actually manage to do it once in a while, all the better for me.”
Celestia glanced at Silver, still smiling. Silver didn’t meet her gaze, but relief and satisfaction were visible even through her well-trained mask of professionalism.
The clacking of hoofsteps drew Celestia’s attention to a messenger trotting quickly up to the throne.
“Your Highness,” he reported with a bow, “Faerie Whisper has arrived. She says you wanted to see her?”
“Yes. Send her in at once, please.”
“Yes your highness.” The messenger trotted out of the room. A few minutes later, the doors opened again, a pegasus mare stepped through. Her coat was a soft greenish yellow, contrasting with her vibrant sky blue main. She walked with a quiet elegance down the length of the room, her gentle seafoam eyes not making contact with anypony. She stopped a respectful distance from the throne, and turned politely to Decree. The herald straightened his posture.
“Presenting Ms. Faerie Whisper, overseer of the Capital Province Wildlife Committee.” Faerie Whisper gave Decree a small nod of thanks and stepped forward. She bowed.
“Faerie Whisper, at your service, Princess,” she said. Her voice was gentle and reserved, but steady.
“Hello, Faerie Whisper. It’s good to see you. Has your research made any progress?”
“Yes, Your Highness. That’s why I wanted to see you as soon as possible. My team and I have been observing the environment surrounding the capital for the last month.”
“Ever since the reports from the Weather Control sector, yes I know.”
“I’m afraid the true problem is much more just moving clouds around. We’ve spent the last week verifying our findings again and again, and I’ve spoken with hundreds of the local wildlife. We wanted to avoid jumping to conclusions, but I’m afraid there’s no denying the evidence now. Your Highness, the region is destabilizing.”
“I don’t understand. What do you mean, ‘destabilizing?’”
“Nature isn’t obeying any of the laws we’re used to. The weather was the first sign, but it isn’t just clouds resistant to being moved. Whole weather patterns are forming and dissipating all on their own. And that was only the beginning. Trees that have been static for centuries have started growing at astonishing rates. And the animals are nervous. Some say they’ve seen dark and dangerous creatures sneaking around the shadows of the growing wild. They say the food chain is reasserting itself, and predators are at its top.”
“That’s not possible,” Ether Shine spoke up. “The laws of nature don’t just do as they please and work unsupervised. We ponies have a relationship with every living thing around us. To lose that is unheard of.”
“Has your research determined the cause of this?” Celestia asked, still struggling to digest this information.
“Not exactly, Your Highness. I’ve never seen anything like this before, and we haven’t found anything that could cause a disturbance such as this. But we know it’s the same for miles in every direction from the capital, with the city at the center of it all. It’s as if this land simply no longer cares for the will of pony kind. As if...”
“As if the harmony between ponies and nature is fading away,” Celestia finished for her quietly as the true implications of Faerie Whisper’s report became clear to her. All the evidence pointed to one thing. Finally, she spoke.
“Is this phenomenon occurring everywhere?”
“No, Your Highness. We’ve mapped out borders, beyond which balance seems intact. However, the affected area is expansive. It consumes the entire Capital province and then some.”
“And what do you predict will happen if we remain here and this pattern continues?” Faerie Whisper lowered her head, allowing her main to drape in front of her face. When she finally looked up at Celestia, her eyes were filled with sadness.
“Nature will try to reclaim this land, and consume us. We’ll see the little things first. Flash storms and predators will claim a few lives. The animals will get bolder, and some will start hunting in packs. The vegetation will start trying to overtake our houses and buildings. In the end, every day will be a battle for survival, rife with uncertainty and danger. It will be chaos, Your Highness.”
“Chaos...” Celestia muttered the word, turning over the idea. Finally, she asked, “How long do we have before this becomes life threatening?”
“I can’t say for certain, Your Highness. It doesn’t seem to be happening at a constant rate. Even if it did, I wouldn’t be able to guarantee it would stay that way. All I can say with certainty is that we shouldn’t stay in the province longer than we have to. I’m afraid the sooner we can leave the city behind, the better.”
An audible silence followed her words. The court guards, usually so disciplined and vigilant, watched the conversation with growing dismay. The servants behind the throne held each other for support. Celestia remained still, her eyes closed as she struggled to believe what Fairer Whisper was saying. Finally, Ether Shine stepped forward and cleared his throat.
“Now now, dear,” he gently addressed Faerie Whisper, “that’s all a bit dramatic, don’t you think? It’s not like nature is going to just gobble us up. We already have ponies hard at work building a new royal city. That’ll be done when it’s done. You can’t rush ambition, you know. And, in the meantime, we’ll stay right here. Ponies lived without control over nature for thousands of years, you know, and they got on just fine. We’ll be fine as long as we watch out for each other, wouldn’t you say?”
“Well, um, that is... I suppose my report might have exaggerated the danger. All of our findings indicated that the return of natural forces will soon make life as we know it impossible. But perhaps our observations were inaccurate. I’m sorry, Your Highness, I’ll reconduct them at once.”
“No, that won’t be necessary,” Celestia interrupted her and any further remarks from Ether Shine. Faerie Whisper hadn’t made a mistake. The pegasus didn’t like confrontation, and was trying to avoid a dispute with the magician. Celestia knew that, if she had seen fit to bring this matter to court herself, the danger was very real, and likely imminent. Ether Shine knew it too. The nervous glances he kept casting towards Celestia gave him away. He was only trying to keep her from arriving at a course of action that was seeming more and more inevitable.
“Please continue to monitor the situation, Faerie Whisper, and keep me informed. Ether, I want you and your magicians to work with her and the earth pony representatives to try and slow the spread of disharmony. Buy us as much time as you can. I’ll make arrangements for the new royal city to be completed as soon as possible. Once it’s finished, we shall relocate the city’s population, and any of the local wildlife that will still follow us, to the new castle.”
“Princess, I...” Ether tried to protest.
“This is an order, Ether. Time is against us, and we must act if we are to ensure the survival of the city’s ponies. ...Even if it means forcing ourselves ahead of schedule.”
Ether was silent for a moment, searching Celestia’s face. Finally he bowed.
“I’ll put my best unicorns on the task, Your Highness,” he said solemnly, before stepping to the side. As he did, the doors to the throne room opened, and a dark grey pony walked through. He trotted briskly up to the throne and bowed before Celestia.
“The honourable Sir Noctus Crest has arrived at the palace, and wishes an audience with Her Highness.”
“The princess is preoccupied right now,” Silver snapped. “Sir Crest may wait until she is ready to see him. If he doesn’t like that, he may go home.”
“Silver,” Celestia chided her attendant gently, before turning back to the messenger. “Thank you, I’ll see him now. Send him in, please.” The pony bowed again, and swiftly left the room. Celestia turned back to the pegasus in front of her.
“Thank you, Faerie Whisper. You’re excused.”
“Thank you, Your Highness,” the mare said with a gentle bow. “Good night.” She turned and strode gracefully out of the room.
“Well,” Ether muttered with a sigh, “if it’s the Crest boy, I think I’ll call it a night. I don’t have that many years left, and if I wanted to waste them on a rant I’d give one of my own.” He began walking towards the wall behind the throne, then stopped pensively. He turned to Celestia. “Princess, please be careful about what you choose to do. You can’t make this decision recklessly.”
“I’m not, but the situation has become far more urgent. I know the balance between day and night is delicate...”
“To Hell with the balance! I’m not worried about the machinations of the universe, I’m worried about you. You can’t pretend to be alright with this idea, I know you’re not. Princess, it’s only been three months...”
“This is in front of us now, and I must do something if I’m to protect everyone. I can’t afford to dwell on the past.”
“You can’t afford not to face it. What happened with Princess Luna...”
“Luna is gone, Ether! My subjects are here now. I have to take care of the ponies who need me. If I’d worried about that from the beginning, I would never...” her voice began to break, and she paused to steady herself. “This is all I can do now. It’s my duty. It’s all I have a right to.”
Ether Shine looked at her at a loss. Finally, he turned away.
“Good night, Princess,” he said as he started walking again. With a flash, he was consumed by a sphere of magic and winked away. A nervous silence pervaded the room in his absence. Finally, Silver broke it.
“Faerie Whisper wouldn’t have brought this to our attention if she didn’t believe it was important.” Her voice was quiet, as if she were speaking to herself as much as to Celestia. When Celestia said nothing, she turned and spoke firmly. “I think you’re right, Princess. We need to take action. We can’t afford to wait.” Still Celestia said nothing. Silver let her gaze fall to the floor and sat quietly. After a long silence, Celestia spoke softly.
“Luna and I came to this place long ago because it was free of Discord’s influence. By some miracle, this land alone was free of his disharmony. And now I’m being forced to flee from it, because it’s the one place in the world where disharmony has returned.” She paused, and then, even more quiety, added, “And I think I caused it.”