//------------------------------//
// Chapter 15: Verbal Minefield 
// Story: Equestria: Awakening 
// by Fighterx345 
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	The ride back to Ponyville was silent for two reasons. One, I said that we should discuss what was said only when we actually got back to the library, so trying to do so any earlier would just be awkward for Twilight. She's a considerate pony, so she'll give me some space when I ask for it. Also, it luckily gave me some time to think over the answers I can actually give her without compromising the Princesses' identities. Two, my gut still hadn't adjusted to the speed at which the pegasi flew at, so I spent a good quarter of the hour-long trip gagging: much too often to even try to uphold a conversation. However, after an hour of awkward silence filled with nothing but the sound of my guts attempting to leave my body, we finally arrived at Ponyville, directly in front of the library. The bat-like ponies who drew the chariot seemed to land and take off much more silently than their golden-clad white-feathered counterparts. It makes sense for a night guard to be stealthier and more acute sense-wise than a day guard. The day guards are physically stronger and have more endurance, based on the appearances of the two pairs of guards I've seen so far.
However, my thoughts concerning the nature of the different kinds of pegasi abruptly came to an end as the image of Twilight opening her tree-home's door directly in front of me finally made its way to my brain. I internally sighed. Here we go.... Twilight opened the door and motioned for me to follow inside, her face betraying mixed emotions. I just hope we're still friends after all this is cleared up. I walked inside, and Twilight shut the door quietly.
Inside the library, I was greeted by the sight of Spike hastily storing a thin book under a couch cushion. I raised an eyebrow as he quickly turned back around to face me and Twilight with a nervous smile, wringing his hands behind his back. "Hi Twilight, hi Robin! You were gone much longer than I expected. Ahahahah..."
I rolled my eyes. You could at least put some effort into hiding something, Spike. The failure of Spike's spectacular performance was apparently lost on Twilight, who turned around with an apologetic look on her face. "Oh, Spike! Oh Celestia - I'm so sorry, I thought we'd only be gone for an hour tops. Tell you what: tomorrow, you can have the day off. I'll give you some bits so you can spend the day in Ponyville with plenty of things to do. Maybe you can stop by Rarity's place to say hi."
I nearly slapped my face. Good gods, every single creature in this town is a terrible liar.
Spike's prior look of fear gave way to one of relief and excitement. "Wow Twilight, thanks!" He was smiling widely.
Such is the mind of one who is distracted by love, I mused to myself. She's blatantly just trying to get rid of him for the entire day tomorrow to give us some privacy. I almost saw hearts visibly spring out of Spike's eyes at the mention of Rarity, but I guessed I was just imagining things.
Twilight nodded. "Now, you should go to bed, so you can get up nice and early to get the most out of your day tomorrow."
Spike nodded back. "That's a good idea." He yawned, "And I'm pretty tired already, so I'll go to bed right now, I guess..."
Twilight smiled. "Okay, you do that." She turned around to lock the front door for the night.
As soon as she had turned around, Spike's claw shot under the couch cushion where he had hidden the book. He grabbed it and rushed up the stairs, clutching it against his chest, mostly out of view. However, I caught the title of the book before he managed to conceal it completely.
I thought, Why would Spike hide a book called Dragon Anatomy: With Illustrations? Oh, -- waittaminit... Spike... I fixed a knowing gaze on him at the top of the stairs. He noticed my expression, and briefly turned around and shot me a glance that gave me mixed messages: either, "We're both guys, you know what this is about," or, "Please don't tell Twilight or else she'll kill me." I nodded to show I agreed with both of the messages, to which relief again spread across Spike's face before he retreated into the bedroom. There was an audible click as the door shut.
Twilight turned back around and quietly asked, "Is he gone?"
I nodded.
She raised an eyebrow. "And did he take that book on dragon anatomy with him, again?"
I smiled and nodded again.
She sighed as a grin spread across her face. "Ugh, I've told him time and time again that all the new books about dragons are family friendly, but he can't help but dig through every single one trying to find who-knows-what." She pouted artificially. "You'd think he would realize by now that I'd know if any single book in this library was missing, borrowed, or out of place. Still, boys will be boys, and he's growing up pretty fast -- for a dragon, that is. Hopefully he'll learn more about himself and his species, albeit not specifically what he's probably looking for..." Twilight almost blushed at this. I just smiled and laughed a bit to go along with it. But we both knew that we'd have to cut to the chase eventually. From Twilight's actions, we had nearly all of tomorrow to discuss what we should do, but I figured we were going to at least discuss what happened a thousand years ago tonight. And I'm sure Twilight's just itching to hear about what's not in her history books.
I sighed and figured we should get it over with. I'll make stuff up as we go along; there's no avoiding it. "...Okay, I'll tell you what happened a thousand years ago."
Twilight visibly brightened, but she still held some amount of hesitation out of consideration, which I appreciated. "Are you sure, Robin? If it's a touchy subject, I don't want to push you to tell me anything you don't want me to know..." She frowned in thought.
I breathed. "No, it's okay. You deserve to know; friends are there to listen to your problems. And besides, these lands belong more to ponies than humans at this point, anyway. So... where to begin? I think I'll start with human society-"
Twilight jumped up haphazardly "OH! Wait! I need to take notes~" A scroll and pencil popped into thin air with a lavender burst. I presume she wrote down the date and a title of sorts, before pulling up a seat and plopping herself down on it with an excited grin. "Please, continue!"
I sat and leaned back into the couch. This'll be a long night...


~~~


I just finished explaining the system of government used by Ylisse (which I claimed was a dominant kingdom akin to Equestria), when we inevitably arrived back at the virtual minefield of Ylisse's religion and deities. Twilight managed to steer the conversation here through my explanation of the Exalt being a holy leader, divinely ordained by a hereditary Brand. I explained the system of churches and ecclesiastical courts that veined the kingdom, which I did to stall for time to come up with a cover for who exactly the Church was founded in honor for. Think, Robin... Well, Naga and Grima DID say that I only had to hide the fact they were dragons, maybe I can just 'institute' Celestia and Luna into the idea of our Religion...
Twilight marked a section in the third scroll of the night, most probably a title called "Humanity's Religion" or something. She sat patiently, not seeming to be diminished whatsoever from how late at night it probably was. I looked out the window to see a beautiful night sky, illuminated by the moon among a myriad of constellations. Said moon seemed to be in the second half of it's arc, meaning that it was well past midnight. ...If the flow of time hadn't changed in the last thousand years, I thought. Twilight's honest smile and straight posture betrayed her seemingly limitless energy as she spoke up to keep egging my exhausted mind along. "You were about to get to your country's religion, right? You have no idea how much the information we've gathered will enhance what Equestria knows of history! Let's continue; the night is still young, and I still have five more candles in the drawer." I groggily eyed three puddles of wax on the table between us: all that remained of the candles we had completely used up in one night. Didn't Twilight say that each candle lasts three hours?
"Alright..." I breathed in, and hoped that my ability to lie had improved in the thousand years I floated in the ether. "You are aware that I am acquainted with your princesses, Celestia and Luna, yes?"
Twilight nodded.
"The Princesses weren't known as the princesses in our time, not to humankind. However, we did know that they were attempting to unite the three tribes of warring ponies. They invited us into the peace agreement, but for some reason, humans and ponies didn't seem to be able to coexist at all. The idea of long-term unity was out of the question, so we split off. However, the Princesses kept in contact with us."
Twilight asked, "Wait, but if you know what ponies look like, how come you were so surprised to see me and Applejack when we found you? You acted as if we weren't sentient; when we started speaking, you almost fell over."
I sighed. "I'll get to that, I want to finish discussing religion while it's still on my mind."
Twilight frowned, but agreed. "...Okay."
I closed my eyes and thought hard. "Like I said, the Princesses kept in contact with us. We assumed them to just be pure-blooded monarchs, as the tribes treated them. However, we slowly learned that they were responsible for raising the sun and moon. We also heard many tales of their kindness and good deeds. We knew that there would be no way for our two peoples to coexist, but we felt the Princesses required some amount of recognition in our culture. Therefore, for their combined power and virtue, we worshiped them as goddesses. Our churches were founded in their name. We knew very well that they weren't true deities, but they might as well have been with all they were capable of."
I sat forward and folded my hands to pause for a second for more ideas.
"They shortly discovered our rather undue devotion to them, and they appreciated it. They knew that ponies and humans would not be able to live together, but they wished to help us; they recognized our goodness as a species through our actions -- or at least, the actions of men who weren't bandits or marauders. Therefore, they used magic somehow to discover our purest bloodline: the one holding the noblest qualities, most suited to leadership. If they themselves could not lead us successfully, they designated the royal bloodline capable of doing so, with the Brand: a hereditary mark, passed down from generation to generation."
Twilight wrinkled her eyebrows. "But why didn't you recognize the Princesses immediately? You've described how intertwined religion is with your culture, so I think you'd recognize your own "deities", so to speak. And..." she eyed the mark on my hand "...is that the Brand?"
I kept talking. "With my Brand, I was designated Commander of the Royal Army," I lied. "There were two brands: the Celestial Brand, and the Lunar Brand." Gods, this sounds like the artifacts of Magvelian lore. "This is the Lunar Brand, given by Princess Luna. It designates the bloodline with the greatest strategic and military ability. Chrom, the crowned Exalt, had the Celestial Brand, given by Celestia. It designates the bloodline with the best political and ecclesiastical leaders. Therefore, the Celestial bloodline would lead, and the Lunar bloodline would command. Such is the way of our people." I should be a story-teller with how quickly I'm making up this poppycock...
Before Twilight could ask anything more, I grimaced. "And a thousand years ago was when it all began to fall apart." Here we go, Robin. Bring it home. Twilight leaned forward in anticipation. "It all began with the fall of Princess Luna. From your books in this library, you seem acquainted enough with the tyranny of Nightmare Moon. However, they do not clearly give a time frame to her rule. After she was corrupted from jealousy and hatred, she attempted to bring about eternal night. She was well on her way to doing so, if Princess Celestia had not intervened. However, while their conflict raged, the powers of Nightmare Moon and Luna combined were more than a match for Celestia. Because of this difference in strength, it was nighttime for the entire duration of their conflict."
Twilight thought for a moment. "Wait, but how long was their battle?"
I placed my elbows on my knees, and leaned my chin on folded hands. "They fought for nearly five years."
Twilight gaped at the implications of this.
"Humanity did not bode well in five years of perpetual night. The ponies worked together to preserve what food they had, and gathered as much as they could before the lack of sunlight caused all the plants and grass to wither. With their powerful magics, they managed to scrape by, losing a relatively small percentage of their population: at least, compared to mankind."
Twilight seemingly began to conclude why I was sensitive on the subject.
I continued, hoping she was buying all of what I was saying. "We did not have control over the elements as your earth ponies do, the incredible powers of your unicorns, nor the speed of your pegasi. There was no realistic way for us to gather enough food to survive for five whole years in darkness. And with Chrom and I leading humanity, we did not wish to detract from the ponies' already dwindling food supply, lest we cause their extinction as well."
Twilight visibly winced at the word "extinction", which signaled to me that she was believing everything.
"However, we did not want to silently starve to death in our beds. Chrom and I banded the strongest of mankind together. The bravest warriors, most adept mages, and skilled archers in our ranks formed a small, elite group, led by me. After nearly five years of darkness causing near starvation, we knew an end was probably nowhere in sight. Our people were down to their last few weeks of food, while many had already starved. The troops took what we could, hoping we could end the conflict quickly enough to restore the sun and grow more. We ventured towards the battle between the two princesses. If Celestia could not defeat Nightmare Moon on her own, we were determined to tip the scales. And Celestia was willing to accept any hope she could get."
Twilight was captivated by my story. She asked, "But why didn't any of the early ponies help Princess Celestia? If they were as powerful as you say, wouldn't they have been more useful allies?"
I explained, "Though the tribal ponies were occasionally violent towards each other before the Princesses united them, they hardly knew anything of tactics and organized warfare. However, mankind was naturally violent, and we nearly perfected our efficiency in battle. We developed machines, technology, and tactics specifically for warfare. Specifically for killing. Fighting such a dire battle was not within the nature of the ponies. This difference in psychology was one of the reasons why we could not coexist peacefully. Humans always worked for advantages over one another, whereas ponies worked for each other's betterment. This made us stronger as a people over time, but war was the consequence. However, with our abilities, we felt we could help." I added in the dark undertones of mankind as violent to dissuade Twilight from inquiring any further; from her suddenly withdrawn expression, I experienced a small, sharp pang of guilt, but felt I was successful.
"And we did help. Assisting an exhausted Celestia against a similarly exhausted Nightmare Moon, our small elite group managed to hold Nightmare Moon in check." I recalled what I remembered of Equestrian history. Luna was banished to the moon, correct? Maybe I can shape this into my explanation... "We pushed her to her limit, and demanded her to concede. We did not want to kill her; we knew that Nightmare Moon and Princess Luna were different beings, but we realized they could not be separated. We wanted with all our hearts to spare the kind being that was Luna, but Nightmare Moon refused to surrender. Humans tired extremely quickly compared to alicorns, so we were not able to uphold a battle against such a powerful opponent, even pushed to its limits, for too long. Princess Celestia, Chrom, and I all realized this. I felt I knew what I had to do."
I suddenly remembered the feeling of standing over Grima, arm raised, ready to strike. I channeled these emotions into my next words.
"Chrom and the other troops held Nightmare Moon's attention. I waited for an opening, knowing that with the Lunar Brand, I would be the only one capable of finding a flaw in her defense. I did. I managed to sneak behind her as she blocked a combined blast of fire from my magicians and Celestia. I raised my blade to her neck, knowing that Luna herself wouldn't want such a shallow shell of existence like this. I felt like I was about to free her from a prison of her own corruption. I didn't care how Princess Celestia would punish me, all I had in my mind was the survival of both ponies and humankind. I felt as if I were sacrificing myself for the world, and I selfishly took this burden as if it were mine alone to bear." I almost got caught up in my own story and sniffled a bit. It seemed to have an effect on Twilight as well.
"I couldn't have been more wrong. With the assistance of some of my magicians during the battle, Celestia had prepared a sealing spell: one that could send Nightmare Moon to the moon itself for a thousand years. Standing behind Nightmare Moon, I couldn't have realized that the fire spell being used by Celestia and my magicians was actually that very sealing spell. And with all my great tactical genius," I said with heavy, emotionally-charged sarcasm, "neither did I realize that the only thing protecting me from that very same sealing spell was the shield that Nightmare Moon was using to protect herself." I pretended to sob; once the sob came out, it didn't sound nearly as fake as I thought it would. "As soon as my blade cut slightly into her side, the unexpected pain broke her focus. Her shield shattered, and the spell impacted both of us. The spell was designed to specifically send Nightmare Moon to the moon; I was not considered part of the target in its weaving. Therefore, while she was sent to the moon, I was left to float in nothingness."
Twilight gasped. "Like a failed teleportation spell... A powerful enough spell can affect things it's not intended to, and without a specific location, the mere force of it dislocated you into the ether with no end in sight."
I nodded, tears in my eyes. "But I'm assuming that, once the original spell wore off after a thousand years, the magical force holding me in the ether dissipated, allowing me to re-materialize: on Applejack's farm." No honest leader should be this good at lying to innocent people... "I didn't tell you all I knew at first about Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon because I didn't know what to think! The battle feels as if it were just days ago; I wanted to talk with the Princesses to learn what has changed, but apparently a thousand years have passed. After all they told me, I'd hoped that I at least broke through Nightmare Moon's defenses in time for the next year's growing season. Hopefully, then, I'd be able to call myself a hero. But the next season was nearly a year away, and my people had only weeks left of food after everything the troops had taken to travel and sustain themselves."
I almost started crying, fearing that the rest of humanity and my old friends might have actually fallen to such a fate. Gods, I don't even know what happened to all of them! "But... with ponies not even having any idea of what a human is... I can only assume that the very, very worst has befallen... my.. friends." The truth of my last statement shook me to the core. The gravity of the situation finally sank in. Even though Naga stated she could send me back in time, the instance I was trapped in made me feel like a tortured prisoner. The pain of this realization racked my body, and made me truly begin to sob. "...they're all dead. My soldiers... my friends... my family -- Chrom, my best friend, Lucina, my wife, Morgan, my daughter...! They're all dead!!"