Synch

by sunnypack

16 - Epona

Luna peered owlishly at her bigger sister, determined to break through the icy façade of the ancient ruler.

“Oh you are impossible Tia! You have to talk to me some day!” she pouted, scuffing a hoof. The nervous habit almost evoked a smile from the elder sibling. Almost.

Silence reigned through the twilight of the day, the opportune time for conversing between the two sisters.

“’Tis only cake, dear sister! We- I can get you another one!” Luna pleaded, making puppy dog eyes. Celestia fought to maintain her angry demeanour. Unfortunately, it was a losing battle, younger siblings had honed their secret weapons for eons and it was the combined result of generations of evolution and universal law that she would not be denied. Celestia tried to gaze stonily ahead and ironically Luna’s face rose into her vision as the sun set for the day.

Today, the sun is eclipsed by the moon, she mused, trying harder to un-focus her eyes so her sister wouldn’t beguile her. Celestia knew that Luna’s most dreaded punishment was the silent treatment, as a filly she couldn’t stand not being able to talk to her bigger sister.

In order to take the pressure of Luna’s eyes off her mind she thought of a short poem.

Luna, Luna, you’re a trickster, deceiver,
Why would you betray me?
And eat what you were not the receiver for,

After seeing so many,
Whose need are plenty,
Of whom lives are petty,
But are varied, like confetti.

Wouldn’t thou who watches,
Over our foals in the day,
Deserve icing of many swatches,
That adorns treats, not hay.

Luna, Luna, you’re gaze is a labyrinth, a maze,
Why eat another treat?
When food from the kitchen, deserve praise?

Celestia tried for a fifth stanza but gave up when she rhymed herself into a corner trying to find a pair for ‘chaos’, but was unable to do anything with it.

This is why I do not like Discord, she thought nastily but instantly banished the thought from her mind. No, no, thoughts like that always lead down a strange path and she had forgiven Discord, even if she did not forget.

Her eyes refocused to see her sister with her head drooping and her mane static and flowing, disturbingly towards the floor. Celestia glanced at the guards and found their expressions to be both stoic and devoid of emotion, though she fancied their eyes had flashed in silent judgement before it returned to a blank stare at each other.

“Not you two, too!” she mewled, softly. One guard of the left couldn't resist snorting, the other one gave a swift kick and she returned to the same stance.

“Oh all right Luna I forgive you, now come here and have a hug”, she called out to her sniffling sister.

Luna pounced up to her sister wrapping her in a warm hug.

“Oh I can't believe that worke- I mean I apologise dear Tia!” Luna gushed, covertly tucking an eyedropper away.

Celestia narrowed her eyes in suspicion but decided to let it go anyway. There were more important matters to discuss. Waving a hoof, she dismissed the royal guard around her and beckoned Luna closer.

Celestia took a moment to organise her thoughts before bringing Luna up to speed.

“Though Twilight has not gotten back to me (she must have forgotten Spike again) I made some more progress of the problem of the null being.”

Luna nodded gravely. The null was a threat that had to be dealt with the sooner the better.

“We could not pin point the location of the null being, but tests of atmospheric magical fields have shown a disturbance that fits within the null model”, Celestia reported. At that, Luna sighed she had hoped that the null being would stay in the theoretical realm but unfortunately, fortune did not seem to smile upon them today.

“Have we received a proper model of the null momentum?” Luna asked, hopeful. Her hopes were plunged into icy waters as Celestia shook her head, sighing.

“Although we do not have a proper model on how the null being will gain momentum, I have approached a few unicorns who have been working on this esoteric research. They have some interesting theories on how the null being would interact with magic. I usually would like to get Twilight’s opinion on the matter but I believe she is still busy with the quest to retrieve Star Swirl’s notes from the old library”, she explained.

Luna started pacing again as she drew up her own theories.

“Perhaps this will not be as problematic as we had first thought, Tia. I think this will widely depend on the type of magic the null being interacts with at first. If the null being interacts with a Wellspring…” Luna squeaked and shuddered.

Celestia wrapped a comforting wing around Luna.

“Now, now, there is no need to panic, I’m sure the null being wouldn’t be close to a Wellspring, after all they are incredibly rare.”

“I know, dear Tia, but I have the strangest feeling that luck is far from our side this time”, she replied.

Celestia frowned, “Worst case scenario the null being erases magic which can neither be created nor destroyed and upsets the balance of the universe causing a complete paradoxical meltdown.”

Luna waved the ridiculous idea off.

“The second-worst case scenario is the null being will continue to gain momentum at an exponential rate, sucking magic into a thaumic vortex that will eventually drain everything, even life into it.”

Luna considered it and then dismissed it as not impossible but extremely unlikely.

“The third-worst case scenario is that the null being will drain magic at a slow rate and though it may never affect us in these generations, eventually the universe will suffer a slow death.”

Luna’s mouth twitched as she considered the implications.

“We may very well be around for that, Tia”, she commented.

“Oh I very much doubt it, Lulu”, Celestia replied, drawing a nervous breath.

Luna didn’t like the scenarios as they were presented. Maybe they simply had to optimistic.

“What about the best case scenario?” she pressed, feeling a sickening foreboding well up in her stomach.

“Oh that was the best case scenario”, Celestia admitted, absently running a hoof down her mane. It was a nervous tic for Celestia that more than a thousand years ago she had forcefully rid herself of and Luna didn’t like seeing her sister so flustered. Celestia was never flustered.

“Is there not anything we could do about it?” she asked, her voice wavering slightly.

Celestia’s brow wrinkled as she tried to think of a solution.

She sounded her idea out as they came to mind.

“If we try any sort of magical attack it would just exacerbate the problem. If we try any physical attack it would just spread out the null essence and make it harder to track. If we tried to- “ she swallowed “ -kill it, then the remains would simply do the rest. If we try to burn it the same thing will happen. If we try to send it away the magic would just be nullified. If we tried to do anything, it will simply make the problem worse…”

Luna thought about the conundrum, unwilling to give up.

“We cannot just let the creature run free!” she cried, options being exhausted.

Celestia nodded, “I agree. We must keep it away from magic.”

“B-but how?” Luna asked, but Celestia had no answer.

“I do not know, dear sister but we must try”, she answered, she firmed her posture keeping her head high and wings outspread regally. She gave one last comforting hug to her sister before making for the door.

Turning back Celestia locked gazes with her sister and parted with finality.

“We must try.”

Author's Note:

I have some other chapters on queue but I wanted to proof read them before publishing them. I also want to keep a few chapter for when work gets a bit crowded so that at least there will be regular updates. My workflow is built around using a word processor to get rid of the worst of my spelling and grammar and then a thorough read through every now and again to remove typos and bad grammar. Unfortunately, this means that the online version is more up to date than my word processor version.

A little on the chapter title, a lot of you might recall or recognise that the chapter title is named after Link's horse in Zelda, the root of that comes from the Gallo-Roman protector of horses, donkeys and mules (as taken from Wikipedia the font of all knowledge, ha ha). The meaning lies in the desire of Luna and Celestia to protect their ponies, but faced with a threat against magic, the two most powerful and magical beings feel powerless to this new threat.

Next up, the fated meeting of the main character and Twilight/Pinkie (finally you say). This update may take longer than normal while I try to think of really clever dialogue so it meets expectations. (I'll try to avoid clichés but you have been warned that I'm a first time writer).

As always, thanks for reading and hope you enjoy this chapter!

EDITED.

Comments

[MuzaWaza]

Things are going to be good with Twilight and Pinkie when they meet our human. Both of them are beyond comprehension.

[ArcaneVisions]

no I don't want them to not have any way to deal with the magical crisis. That kind of sucks, where does that leave the main character..

[sunnypack]

4995286 Medical crisis?