Day and Night
Cereal Velocity trotted from the tent’s gloomy interior into the slightly brighter gloom of an overcast sky. Thick, charcoal-black clouds blotted out the sun and blanketed the sky over the camp, and only the camp. He could see, off in the distance, a bright halo where the dark clouds stopped and the sun ruled again. Luna’s dark, gothic chariot squatted on the trampled grass of the clearing before the medical tent, like a predator crouching in the shadows.
Four strange ponies made a box around the chariot. They were of several colors, though a darker variety. It was as if they were perpetually in shadow or had become that shadow. Two of them sported leathery black wings, like bats. In place of manes, leathery webbed spines protruded from their heads that reminded Cereal of fish. The other two, flanking the dark vehicle, had crested ebony horns that gleamed darkly like their black armor. They regarded the gathered bronies with steely gazes and impassive expressions. All around, the bronies knelt to the dark princess standing on her chariot.
The Princess herself looked upon the crowd with benevolence, her proud neck arched and her head held high. A smile softened her features when Cereal and the others emerged from the tent and approached her. He could feel his shoulders relax from a tension he hadn’t noticed when she looked at him. He and the others bowed to the Princess.
“Rise, all,” Luna intoned. Cereal rose to find Phoe peeking out from behind Luna’s nebulous mane. The Princess turned to her with a smile. “Thank you for riding with me, Phoe. I enjoyed our conversation. Now, I am sure that you are busy so I will let you attend to your tasks.”
“It was my pleasure, Princess,” Phoe replied, then jumped down from the chariot. She bowed her head as she walked past Cereal, muttering, “Cereal Velocity.” She didn’t meet his gaze. It hit him like a fist to the stomach; a yawning gulf had opened between them. He opened his mouth to speak to her but she continued on, not even a glance back.
“Cereal Velocity, Twilight Sparkle, come hither.” Luna commanded and he dutifully obeyed, like an adoring puppy. Twilight also came forward, her face a mask of complacency. “Phoe brought me word early this morning of what has been ailing my subjects.” She looked at Cereal with an appraising eye, almost like a mother looking for anything amiss in her child. He caught a distinct ‘we must speak later’ look in her eyes. She turned back to the ponies before her. “I also understand that those who have been lost are now found and on their way home. I commend you, Rainbow Dash, in your efforts in coordinating the search and finding them so quickly. When can we expect them?”
Rainbow proudly thrust out her chest and preened under the praise. “They should be here in a few minutes, Princess!” she declared.
Luna beamed at the blue pegasus. “Excellent. Now, Twilight and Cereal, would you be so kind as to introduce me to your friend here?” She gestured with a hoof to the red unicorn quivering with excitement between where Twilight and Cereal stood and where Rainbow sat proudly. At the mention of him, he sat bolt upright and froze, like a deer in headlights.
“Of course, Princess Luna,” Twilight said smoothly, giving Cereal a worried glance when he said nothing. “This is Laichonious, a scholar of languages from his world and a specialist in runes.”
“Very good, very good,” Luna said with another smile. “Laichonious, come forward.” The wide-eyed unicorn stood, laid his ears back and shuffled forward a few feet, level with Cereal and Twilight. Luna chuckled softly. “You may come closer, don’t be shy.” He took a few more steps forward, trembling with his eyes stuck firmly on the Princess. “Twilight said you are a scholar of languages. How many languages are there from your world?”
“Uh, there...” the red unicorn croaked, then cleared his throat and started over in a slightly stronger voice. “There are several thousand, Princess. But... I’m only familiar with a few.”
Luna considered this for a moment, pursing her lips. “So many for one world.... With which ones are you acquainted?”
“I -- uh, specialize in the Germanic and Celtic families of languages; Old Norse, Old English, Old High German, Middle English, Modern English, High German, Low German, Schwäbisch, Welsh, Irish and Scottish Gaelic, and Breton. I‘m also fluent in Portuguese.” He looked at the ground while he mumbled out the long list of languages.
Luna nodded. “Impressive. Cereal tells me that you were able to quickly translate the pages from the ancient tome, and that you were able to tell they came from different times. These are exactly the skills that will be required to unravel the mystery behind it and some other writings that we have recently discovered. You will be accompanying me back to Canterlot to begin working on translation. Are you prepared?”
Laichonious looked up at the Princess and swallowed. “Yes, I am ready,” he said in a small voice.
“Very good.” She looked to the sky, in the direction of the Everfree. “Ah, the lost ones return. Rainbow Dash, please escort them here to my chariot and find the ones responsible for locating them. I wish to congratulate them personally and commend all who participated in the search.”
“Yes, Princess.” Rainbow saluted and shot into the sky.
The crowd of bronies had been growing steadily as Luna conversed with those in front of her. Cereal looked around at all of the multi-colored pastel ponies he had brought with him to this world. What did they think of this place? How did they feel about a world governed by laws they couldn’t begin to understand? Responsibility weighed on him like a mountain, constantly pressing, no respite, no mercy. One false step, one wrong decision, even just a teeter in the wrong direction and it would crush him without a moment’s hesitation. Did it really matter? He thought. Was he really in control?
His chest felt empty. His breath sighed through a cavern growing colder with every passing day. His mind felt numb. What was happening to him? What little warmth remained in him struggled to stay alight. The way Phoe did not meet his gaze, Sethisto’s indifference, they were gales of winter wind vying to snuff out the guttering flame of his soul. Everywhere he looked, faces looked back, happy it would seem. Did they feel it?
Cereal looked back to Luna, surprised that she was also looking at him. Her gaze drew him in, coaxing him back from a precipice he knew he was approaching. Believe. The word tolled in his ears like a gigantic church bell. Believe. Warmth flooded his limbs. Like an embrace, it enveloped his chest, melting away the cold feeling of dread that had settled there. The sound of rushing water filled his ears. How? There was no river near.
He blinked.
Luna wasn’t looking at him, instead she was gazing at the sky, a smile on her lips. The crowd cheered all around him. He blinked again, finally looking away from the Princess and to the direction of her interest. He was suddenly in the company of Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Laichonious. His head jerked around like a startled bird as he reformed his bearings. Phoe and Sethisto sat a ways off, next to the dark vehicle, cheering with the rest of the bronies.
Over two hundred pegasi flew in formation over the dark canopy of the Everfree Forest, arrayed in companies of fifty and flying in a classic double V. The first company broke down the center, banking away to either side of the crowd as they came under the blanket of dark clouds. The next company followed suit, and then the next and the next. The ground shook with the impact of their hooves as they came cantering to a stop from their flight. A few larger shapes detached themselves from the main body and disappeared into the crowd.
Two large, but sleek, silver chariots floated behind teams of four pegasi each. The first chariot descended, Rainbow Dash leading the team. As soon as the silver-spoked wheels touched the ground, Twilight and her friends galloped to the chariot and tackled the pink pony, barely giving her a chance to hop out of the coach. The ensuing group hug was so adorable that, even in his melancholy, Cereal felt the corners of his mouth twitch up in a smile. He glanced over at Laichonious, who looked upon the scene with a rather goofy smile splitting his face. A soft ‘ahhh’ and even a few giggles rippled around the bronies nearest the front of the crowd.
Pinkie laughed with her friends, a high pitched combination of a giggle and a maniacal cackle. Finally the hug broke up. Twilight held Pinkie out at arm’s length and got her first good look at the pink party pony.
Twilight gasped at her friend. “Pinkie, what in Equestria happened to you?!”
Cereal peered closer at Pinkie. She was looking a bit scruffy and dirty. Her coat was rough and matted with huge snarls in her mane and tail. He could make out a large bruise on her shoulder and she had a slightly swollen cheek and puffy eye.
Pinkie blushed. “Oh, uh, y’know... gettin’ into trouble is all. I’m fine. Really, I am. I can’t tell you how good it is to see all of you! We should throw a party!” Twilight had let go of Pinkie, letting her sit on her own. Though there was plenty of enthusiasm in her words, her voice was subdued, tired, drawn. She swayed from side to side with drooping ears and heavy-lidded eyes. She looked as tired as Cereal felt, but she still smiled from ear to ear, though it was interrupted by her puffy cheek.
Twilight laughed. “Oh, Pinkie Pie.... How ‘bout we throw a slumber party later?”
“That sounds good to me!” Pinkie chirped.
Other ponies started climbing out of the chariots, aided by the pegasi who pulled them. Cereal felt his eyes pop as he saw why they needed help out of the vehicles. There weren’t many of them, six total, but not a single one was free of a bandage of some kind. A blue unicorn had a wrap on his horn and around his head. A flaxen pegasus looked like he had several burns across his neck and chest. A pastel rose pegasus stepped gingerly to the ground, her chest was bound up in wide strips of cloth, with one wing in a splint. A steel-grey pegasus, with a black and white-striped mane and tail, had half of his face in a bandage. Two blue pegasi hopped out of the chariot. One, with a spiky, powder-blue mane, favored his right foreleg, his hoof and leg in a bandage. The other blue pegasus limped with a large bandage around his chest.
They looked like they just barely survived a battle. Where could they have been for two days to come back looking like that? A hush rippled through the crowd as the lost ponies gathered around Luna’s chariot. A cold sinking feeling came over him as he watched them. Every single one was tired, beaten and faded. Cereal remembered seeing the blue unicorn before, he wasn’t as grey as the others but he was definitely a few shades lighter than what he remembered.
Movement to his left startled Cereal; Luna had stepped down from her chariot and approached the ragtag group. The battered bronies attempted to bow to her but she thrust a hoof forward to forestall them. “You need not bow, my little ponies.” The bronies straightened awkwardly. Luna gazed at them, a frown tugging at her lips. “My sister, Princess Celestia of the Sun, tells me that you were lost in the Everfree. Pray tell, what befell you there?”
The group looked at each other furtively like a bunch of children caught sneaking out of the house at night. “We, uh, made some friends and...” Pinkie finally piped up, holding a hoof under her chin as she searched for the right words to say. “Oh, we had a disagreement with a troll, too.”
Luna took a few more steps forward. “You say you met a troll, Pinkie Pie? You are certain of this?”
Pinkie nodded. “At least, that’s what Lexicon said it was called.”
“Where is this, Lexicon? May I speak with him?” Luna did not sound as if she doubted Pinkie. Cereal even saw her nod in recognition of the term. She did sound worried though.
“Um, he’s very sick. They took him to the hospital, I think.”
“Did he turn grey, Pinkie? Did he shiver as if cold?” Twilight asked in a subdued voice.
Pinkie Pie blinked. “Yeah... he was really weak, could barely walk. Do you know what it is?”
Luna bent down to speak with those gathered around her. “It is the Onus,” she said, too quiet for the crowd to hear. Cereal had a hard time hearing her, and he was only a few feet from the princess. “Time grows short. This reaction, however, is not what it should be. Something is terribly amiss and I feel that the answer lies in the ancient tome we found.” The princess straightened and spoke again in a more normal tone. “I look forward to hearing about your adventure in the Everfree, but I see that you are weary from your travel. It warms my heart to see my little ponies here, safe once more.” She smiled at the bandaged bronies and then at the crowd in general. “Rainbow Dash, who am I to thank for rendering such service to me?”
Rainbow stood and trotted to the edge of the crowd directly in front of the Princess. The pastel ponies parted for the cerulean speed demon to reveal a pair of gryphons. One was brown with eagle coloring. The other was raven black with a white-speckled crest on his head. They stood as if rooted to the ground. Rainbow gestured them forward with a hoof and a smile. As the two gryphons stepped into the clearing, the crowd applauded by stomping on the ground, a few even shouted “vivat nocte”. The eagle colored one smiled at the calls.
While the bronies were celebrating, the atmosphere around Luna changed dramatically. Cereal watched as her expression hardened at the sight of the gryphons. With every step forward they took, he could swear the air grew colder. He glanced around at the others, they didn’t seem to notice the change in Luna’s countenance. Rainbow bowed again to Luna, then held a hoof out, gesturing to the eagle colored gryphon. “This is Lesolan,” she gestured to the raven gryphon, “and this is Garret. They were the ones who found Pinkie and the others.”
As they were introduced, the two bowed to the Princess. She turned to Cereal. “How is it that these are gryphons, Cereal Velocity?” she asked in a cold, direct voice.
He blinked at the question. “I-uh-we.... The device that we used to become ponies had the ability to produce other races as well, Princess. Not everyone wanted to be ponies. There a a few gryphons and minotaurs, and I believe there is at least one dragon among us as well.”
“So, these are also from your world,” she said mostly to herself. She turned back to the gryphons, her eyebrow rising when she found that they bowed still. “Lesolan, Garret... ye may rise.” They obeyed. Luna stepped to the side, walking slowly around the pair. “Tell me, why is it that ye have chosen to be gryphons? Doth ye know that they are a kind far different from us? And why do you subject yourselves to me?”
“We always knew that we were gryphons at heart, Princess,” Lesolan said, looking at the ground and speaking in a respectful, almost reverent tone.
“And you, Garret?”
“The same, my Princess,” the raven gryphon replied in the same tone as Lesolan.
Luna sniffed, rounding them again. “Why am I thy Princess? What of me dost thou know that convinced thee to accept my rule?”
Lesolan’s face tightened. “Because you are, Princess. We love you, for who you are and what you have done.”
“And what have I done for thee, Lesolan?” the Princess asked quietly.
The brown and white gryphon hesitated, but his raven friend spoke in the silence. “You inspired us, Princess.”
Lesolan nodded to this. “Yes, you inspire us with your strength and kindness, Princess. If you required it of me, I would give my life for you.” He bowed his head again to her. “If there is anything I can say to convince you, tell me and I will say it. You are our Princess.”
Luna stepped back and regarded the two brony gryphons. “Your sentiments would not go over well with your native kin. The gryphons are not... fond of me. We share an unfortunate history. If your loyalty is as strong as you claim, they will not welcome you. You forever alienate yourselves from your own kind.”
“If that means we can serve you, Princess, I don’t care. Let them hate us.” Lesolan placed a claw over his heart, Garret did the same.
“Lesolan, stand,” she said sternly. The gryphon stood, bravely gazing up at the Princess. Luna lowered her head, lightly touching his right shoulder with her horn. “Lesolan, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. For returning my beloved ponies to me, you have my undying gratitude.” She straightened and turned to the other gryphon. “Garret, stand,” she said in the same solemn tone. The raven gryphon obeyed. Luna again lowered her horn to tap the raven gryphon’s shoulder gently. “Garret, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. For returning my beloved ponies to me, you have earned my undying gratitude.”
The Princess straightened, taking a few steps back. The two gryphons could barely contain the smiles on their faces as they swept another bow to the dark alicorn. Luna nodded to them then mounted her chariot, standing tall on the platform. “MY LITTLE PONIES!” She raised a hoof to her subjects. “FEAR NOT, FOR THY PRINCESS SEES AND HEARS YOU. THIS AILMENT FROM WHICH YOU SUFFER SHALL NOT CLAIM YOU. FOR I HAVE CLAIMED YOU! FEAR NOT THE DARKNESS, REJOICE IN THE LIGHT, I AM THY PRINCESS AND SHALL NOT FAIL YOU!”
Her last resounding word was met with a roar as the bronies cheered. The earth shook again as they pounded with their hooves. The Princess turned back to those gathered in the space before her chariot. At a nod from Luna, Phoe took to the air and Seth disappeared into the crowd.
“Cereal, Laichonious, come. We must make haste to Canterlot.” Though she spoke in a normal tone, her words cut through the noise of the crowd as if she stood next to him. He and Laichonious trotted to the chariot as the bat-winged Nocturne pegasi stepped into their harnesses. With the red and the gray unicorns on her left and right, the Nocturne unicorns’ horns glowed with azure magic. Silver trumpets appeared before them after they stepped onto places in the rear of the vehicle. A strangely harmonic yet dissonant chord reverberated over the crowd of bronies. The chariot lifted from the clearing and entered the inky billow of cloud, shrouding them in mist.
“This is just too cool!” Laichonious whispered.
Star light bathed the dusty granite walls of the Vault. Three bright spheres hovered around the standing stone in the center of the large chamber, casting a cold bluish-white light on the ancient, scarred stone. Luna stood in the entrance of the vault, watching the red unicorn she brought with her pore over the walls. He whispered to himself as he ran a hoof over the symbols. Exhaustion beat upon her as she valiantly stayed on her hooves. Her unusual diurnal activities these past few days were taking their due toll on her body; stepping into the daylight burned her skin and she constantly felt hungry. Her weariness was nothing compared to the seething fear set in her by these silent walls.
The red unicorn’s whispers melded with hissing accusations at the very edge of her perception. Her guilt intensified the nearer she came to the Vault as if the stone in the center of the room were the fulcrum of a great lever, crushing her under duty a millenium neglected. Time and time again her gaze was drawn, like iron shavings to a lodestone, to one certain symbol. It was a single vertical line crossed by three diagonal lines that called to her. She tried not to stare at it.
Laichonious muttered to himself as he turned from one wall to another, crossing the room. They had been there for only a few moments, his books still rested on his back in a pair of strange saddlebags made from some curious black fabric. Lines of a shiny, dark, interlocking metal sealed several pouches shut. Other pieces of what looked like the same dark metal clinked softly as he moved about. Luna quietly observed, biding her time and letting him get acquainted with his work. Everywhere she looked, she could pick out that symbol from among its peers. The rest of the runes melded into a morass of lines indistinguishable one from another.
The Princess of the Night was not made to rule the day, that much was certain. She fought to keep her eyes open, her mind flitting from one thing to another yet always returning to that symbol. It seemed to burn on the walls like an iron heated to incandescence.
“Princess.” Laichonious was suddenly in front of her. He sat with his eyes on the ground in front of him, his saddle bags rested near the standing stone, a few of their contents placed next to the ancient pillar. She blinked. When had he the chance to remove them? She focused on the diffident young stallion before her. “Um... you... you look tired, your Highness. I can begin work on translating the carvings on the Standing Stone, if you wish. If... if you need to rest....” He fidgeted where he sat.
Luna smiled at him. “I understand,” she said softly. “Do I make you nervous?”
“N-no, Princess. I enjoy your company, it’s just that--”
Luna chuckled. “Do not worry, my little pony. I am not used to being so active during the day is all. I stay, for I am the only one who can sustain the starlights.” She gestured to the orbs of light hovering around the stone.
“Oh.” Laichonious adjusted the square spectacles on his nose and glanced back at the lights. After a moment, he squinted at the large iron cauldrons around the room. “What about those? They look like big braziers or something....” He trotted over to one.
Luna sat down with a sigh. “I’m afraid that whatever magic caused them to light, the first time I was here, has dissipated.”
He reared up on his hind legs to place his fore hooves on the rim of a cauldron next to the entrance. He cocked his head to the side. “Hmm, there’s an inscription here,” he mumbled.
Luna joined him next to the cold iron basin.
The red unicorn sidled around the edge of it, running his hoof along a ring of brass, deeply engraved with more runes. Luna narrowed her eyes at the engraving, looking from it to the carvings on the wall. “Laichonious,” she tapped the ring of brass, “this is different from the carvings on the walls, and those differ from the carving on the stone in the center of the chamber. Why is this?”
“Age and function,” he said in a distracted tone. “The Standing Stone is much older than the carvings on the walls. The Stone itself isn’t even part of the mountain. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that it came from someplace else entirely. It was exposed to the elements at one point, but it has been here for a very, very long time.”
Luna moved out of the way as he started going around the cauldron, eyes fixed on the engraving. She tapped a hoof on the floor. “Does this mean that the wall carvings were added later, along with the cauldrons?”
Laichonious paused, holding a hoof under his chin. “Not necessarily. The cauldrons I think have been here, maybe not as long as the Stone, but they were definitely here before the carvings were made.” He tapped the ring. “These engravings serve another purpose. This is a form of magic, called inscription, that the mystics used for various things. This one is meant to provide heat and light, or fire -- one of the principal elements. But it has been modified to require a trigger.” He motioned with a hoof for her to look closer, she did so.
“You just have to know what rune to touch.” He held a hoof up to one symbol. It was slightly larger than the others, a long straight line, going from the inside edge of the ring to the outside edge, had six other lines branching from it, all pointed at the outside edge. The scholar traced the symbol with the tip of his hoof, just as Cereal had done to open the Vault. Before he traced the last branch, he paused. “Princess, you may want to step back.” He leaned away from the cauldron.
Luna backed away a few steps. Laichonious finished tracing the rune and leapt away from the cauldron. A great roar erupted from the basin as blue fire filled it to the brim. The cauldrons, on their pedestals of onyx, roared to life all around them.
Luna laughed at the spectacular display of power. “Written spells....” she whispered to the walls. “Well,” she turned back to the red unicorn, “now that you won’t be left in the dark, I suppose I may retire. Come to me in the throne room after dusk.” She went over to the back wall of the Vault. “Before I take my leave, however,” she raised a hoof to the wall, touching the strange symbol that burned to her sight. “Can you tell me what this symbol means?”
Laichonious approached. He took one look at the rune, “That is a stacked rune. Its name is naudiz, or need. Why?”
She dropped her hoof. “I suppose... it looked familiar somehow,” she said, her hushed voice echoed back to her. One word in particular seemed emphasised in every retelling; familiar.
Luna shut the door to her private chambers a few minutes later. The trek from the Vault to her rooms was naught but a vague impression of white halls and blinding sunlight. Heavy black curtains covered the windows of her rooms, letting in only a faint hint of light near the tiled floor. She sighed in the gloom, slowly initiating her surrender to the demands of sleep. The Princess didn’t look at the wonderfully crafted furniture from the carpenters in Trottingham. She didn’t see how the graceful curves of the exotic, dark wood imitated a style from over a thousand years ago, and how it attempted to bring her solace. Familiar.
Every night that passed was supposed to make the pain grow faint. Time has a way of mending injuries, but was there any way to heal a broken heart? Her crown lifted from her head in a blue cloud of magic, coming to rest on a vanity expertly carved with doves in flight. Her shoes fell from her hooves, making hollow thunks as they hit the thick rug, woven with spirals of various shades of blue. The royal necklace that bore the mark of the crescent moon settled next to her crown, a cold weight. She had cried herself to sleep too many mornings since she learned of what became of her children. A decade does not seem long at all when you can remember the beginning of all things.
Another sigh danced through the air that was not her own. The dark princess went to the side of her bed, a little smile gracing her lips as she looked upon the grey unicorn sleeping there. The smile faded. She had done him a great disservice. He had no idea what was happening to him, why it was happening. She had shamefully taken advantage of his ignorance and trust, but if she had the opportunity to do it again, she would do the same -- every time. The bond, unfortunately, was flawed. Luna was still surprised at how she was able to slip the spell in, right under Celestia’s nose. The fact that he was beginning to mirror her moods was unexpected. His habits were changing, his body adjusting to her influence. She shouldn’t have sent him away from her so soon.
Familiar. There was something about these bronies, the way they accepted her so readily, how they looked upon her with such respect and adoration. She lifted a hoof and brushed aside a lock of blue hair from Cereal’s face. He reminded her of a few of her sons, now long gone. Familiar. Phoe, the witty white pegasus, reminded her of a few of her daughters, also gone. She was sure that if she took the time to know any of the bronies, they would likely share a trait with her many foals. Luna trudged through a bog of weariness to reach the other side of the bed. She lay on the soft pillows, feeling the warmth of the unicorn next to her, familiar.
Too tired to cry, she closed her eyes to confront spectres of the past. Familiar.
Fluttershy found herself hovering around the large hospital tent. In the hours after Princess Luna’s departure, she had spoken to no less than two hundred bronies. She tried to keep count at first, if only to occupy herself with something mundane to keep from dwelling too much on their problems. But dwell she did. The number didn’t matter. Twilight seemed to put great store in numbers and such, but Fluttershy had never understood what they did exactly. In the years that she had been friends with the studious purple unicorn, she had learned a lot about what made the world work. But something so cold as numbers could never tell the same tales she heard from these kindred souls from another world.
They were frightened. Truth be told, so was she. For some reason, they gravitated to her, they looked on her with soulful eyes such to put even the most adorable creature to shame. But what they held in their eyes differed greatly from any creature she had ever cared for. They were haunted, some even felt hunted, by their past. They wanted to be safe. They wanted to be happy. They wanted to hear her tell them that they would be.
A shuffling of hooves startled her. “S-sorry, m-m-miss Fluttershy.” An earthpony stallion, grey as winter’s dusk, shivered in the long shadows of the summer evening. “I-I d-didn’t mean t-t-to startle you.” His teeth chattered in his head and his legs wobbled as if made from flimsy rubber. It was a wonder he hadn’t collapsed by now.
Fluttershy quickly ducked beside him, throwing a wing over his back and lending a supportive shoulder. “That’s alright, you didn’t startle me. Come ‘ere, let’s get you a nice warm bed. Does that sound good?” She had no idea if her soft words connected to him at all. He gazed forlornly at the trampled grass, moving weakly with her as she started walking to the front of the large white tent. Far too many of them were appearing like this. Drained of color, shivering, lost. She swallowed lumps in her throat constantly, trying to appear brave for them.
“Is e-everyth-thing going t-to be alright, F-fluttershy?” he whispered. “P-princess L-luna... kn-kn-knows what’s h-happening... sh-she can h-he-help us?”
Fluttershy swallowed another lump and smiled at him. “Of course, you’re going to be fine. The Princess knows what to do.” Her words seemed to make him relax a little. He didn’t look at everything with as empty an expression as before.
She didn’t like doing it, but sometimes, being kind meant you had to lie.
A deep red unicorn walked slowly down the crepuscular halls of Canterlot Castle. He muttered under his breath as he walked, periodically shaking his head as if arguing with himself. The carvings on the walls of the Vault made little sense, even to his practiced eye. He could read them but the meanings were slippery at best. It all felt like prose and smacked of prophecy. The ancient carvers used a strange hodgepodge of styles and even the carvings themselves looked cobbled together from several different eras. There were elements of the Younger Futhark interspersed with the Elder, bindrunes and stacking, alliteration and allusion. It was very confusing, and troubling. He did not understand the entirety of what it was saying but what he did understand made his stomach turn somersaults.
Laichonious was so absorbed in his thoughts that he barely gave a second glance to the breathtaking beauty of the hall. He passed beneath the gazes of glass heroes and villains, unperturbed. The fact that no guards stopped him before he nearly ran into the great doors of the throne room jerked him out of his deep thought. Where are the guards? Ah, it was dusk. The changing of the guard had only just begun and the Nocturne Guard had not yet arrived. He raised a hoof to knock on the great door, but let it fall. Voices, angelic in the echoing chamber, seeped through.
“Sister, we must commune.” That was Luna. She sounded agitated.
“Of course, Luna. Speak your mind,” came Celestia’s calm response.
“No, Celestia, even this tongue, refined as it may be, is vulgar and will not convey what I must impart.” Luna’s tone began to waver, she sounded almost desperate. “Please, let us join our thoughts. It has been too long…”
Celestia spoke in a flat tone, as if this were an old argument. “Speaking will suffice—“
“No! It will not suffice. These words have not the strength to explain what I feel, Celestia.... Why do you fear us?”
There was a pause. “I do not fear us, Luna. But remember what happened when last we were too dependent on each other? I cannot bear to allow it to happen again.”
“So you would push me away? You would choose to be alone when now, after so long, I am here? A decade, Celestia. A hundredth of my exile passed away, and yet I feel a stranger still. I beg you, let us be as we once were… happy, sisters united… please.” The last word was only a whisper.
“I cannot,” was Celestia’s steely reply.
“You mean will not,” Luna spat.
“It will do us no good.” Celestia’s weary voice lost its usually melodic quality.
Luna gnashed her teeth. “Always, you say this,” she muttered.
“Because it is true, Luna. Now please, speak your mind. I will always listen,” Celestia entreated in a soft voice.
Hoofsteps clicked metallically behind the door, as if one of them paced back and forth. “If you insist,” Luna said curtly. The pacing continued, accompanied by a few huffs. Luna was very agitated it seemed. “I fear something is wrong with the Vaults, sister.”
“Impossible,” Celestia said flatly.
“Hear me out. I see the carvings in the Vault, the script of that tome, even the writings of the bronies and I feel that something is missing. I--I remember…” The pacing slowed and finally stopped. Laichonious leaned closer to the door. “I remember the humans,” she whispered.
“Yes....” Celestia drew the word out, as if uncertain of what Luna meant. “I remember them as well. Why does this trouble you?”
“Because, it--it is all wrong. I remember… what they looked like. I remember… being… with them. But I cannot recall their voices. I cannot recall their touch, their presence…” Luna’s voice quivered with fear or sorrow -- which it was, he could not tell -- perhaps both.
Celestia remained silent.
“In my dreams, I see their faces. They smile at me. They… look to me, they plead with me, they kneel before me.” Luna’s voice rose in intensity as she continued, the words spilling out on top of each other. “They accuse me! I see in their eyes dire need! But I cannot remember if I filled them. I cannot remember if I answered them. I cannot remember if I served them! They are gone! Why are they gone, Celestia?!” Luna’s final wail rent the air like thunder and shook the stone beneath Laichonious’ hooves. He should not be here.
“Shh, shh, shh. Hush, sister.” Celestia cooed. Sniffles and tiny gasps echoed in the other chamber. “Nightmares, these only be. The humans are gone because they were mortal, sister.” Her breath caught in her throat, a waver entering her voice as well. “I can imagine how it feels, to see so much change, and I know you hurt for the loss of your children, but the humans… they moved on, Luna. We did what was needed for them… do not fret. Hush, be still.”
“B-but, it is as if they did not exist…. We have no other records, only these tattered memories. Why has this happened to us? What did we do? Tell us, Celestia…. Our life, it feels empty. We work and do and plan, but for what?” Goosebumps ravaged the red unicorn’s skin as he listened to Luna slip into the old speech. He no longer knew if she spoke only of herself or for both. Uneasily, he pushed aside a dreadful thought; was Nightmare Moon still there?
“Much was lost when Canterlot burned, sister.” Celestia spoke softly but her words rang hard as solid steel.
“Thou couldst have restored it,” Luna mumbled. When Celestia did not respond, she spoke louder. “Thou couldst have restored it. Thou couldst have taught them to remember.” There was a rustling of wings and the metallic steps resumed again. “But lo, my children dwindle and vanish, my presence is forgotten and you hide me and mine away,” she growled.
“Do not suppose I did this to spite you, Luna.” Celestia’s words carried an edge he had never heard before.
“Is that how thou wouldst twist my sight, Celestia?” Luna was furious.
“I would leave well enough alone, if I were thee…” Celestia cautioned ominously.
“So what should we do? Tell us, how could the brightest light cast the darkest shadow?! How long are we to writhe in the dark? How far must we go to find closure?!”
“ENOUGH!” The Royal Canterlot Voice exploded from the room, throwing the doors open and knocking Laichonious off of his hooves. Before the doors swung shut once more, he caught a glimpse of the sisters locked eye to eye. Energy coursed around them like silent lighting for a brief moment, then all was still.
“I take my leave for this night, Luna,” Celestia rasped.
“I am sorry, Celestia. I-I went too far, I should not have accused you--”
“No... I am sorry. Fare thee well this night, sister.” Hoofsteps rang on the marble and approached the door. Laichonious’ heart started to race. Hoofsteps sounded behind him, two shadows falling on the wall of the adjoining hall. He scrambled to his hooves and trotted as softly as he could to one of the massive tree-like pillars. He wedged himself between the wall and the pillar just as the doors to the throne room were enveloped by golden magic. Celestia’s slow advance echoed down the hall. He tried his best to slow his breathing so that it didn’t weeze through his nostrils. The other hoofsteps stopped.
“Good even’ Princess,” Two deep, male voices greeted in unison.
“Good even’. Be vigilant as always.” Celestia seemed to speak by rote. Her words were hollow though her voice carried none of the weariness or defeat that it had a moment before.
“We shall, Princess,” the two guards muttered respectfully.
Celestia continued her slow, stately advance, not stopping when she spoke to the guards. The other set of hoofsteps began again and continued to the great doors. Laichonious’ blood pounded in his ears. What had he heard? Strife between the night and day? Luna, distraught over things she could not remember? Could it be that Celestia feared the return of Nightmare Moon?
He took a cautious peek around the pillar. Celestia was nowhere to be seen. Laichonious heaved a sigh of relief, turning back to walk behind the pillars, and came face to face with Celestia. His mind reeled, eyes widening in shock. Invisible bands suddenly clamped his mouth shut, muffling the surprised yelp in his throat. More invisible cords tightened around his legs and body, holding him in place.
“So you are the one they call Laichonious.” She gazed into his eyes, speaking in a flat tone that sent cold shivers down his spine. “I have many questions for you.”
The golden aura of magic around her horn brightened. All of reality seemed to warp around him, tearing itself apart to reveal an abyss of endless emptiness. Another muffled scream shook in his throat and the world disappeared.
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Hay everypony! Just, uh, uploading the chapter... without Retsamoreh and Pissfer at the moment. The chapter has been edited, I just waited to see if they resurfaced but I don't think they will any time soon. So this is the post in place of one of their posts. I dunno what it is that I do funny (have fun with this sentence, it IS grammatically correct, just ignore spelling) so I guess no copypasta from our chat portal for you this time. It's gonna start picking up, super fast. I was able to keep this chapter lean, mostly because I ended up cutting about a thousand words that didn't really say much, here and there. Hurray more sleep for everypony!
--Laichonious
HUZZAH!
1158479
Celestia is going to beat you like the naughty
personpony you are. Didn't your parents tell you eavesdropping isn't nice?1158671
I wasn't droppin' no eaves, I swear it was just an honest mistake...
That's about the dumbest premise ever.
1158727 PRAISE YOU TAKE ALL MY PRAISE ALL OF IT YOUR STATEMENT IS THE SMARTEST IV`E SEEN IN THESE COMMENTS...... no hommo
1158823
Yeah. I mean... widespread violent persecution on a Nazi Germany-level over an animated tv show? What the fuck, hahahaha. No, that's retarded.
1158840 No, that's realistic.
1158881
No, it absolutely and empirically is not.
1158893 When something defies all logic and common sense, that's what makes something realistic. For example, John Travolta keeps getting work. How about Justin Bieber? CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT?!
Another amazing chapter, but lets see if my brain is following this correctly. Did Luna create humans?
Did humans originally come from Equestria or did they just visit a long time ago using magic?
Or did my sleep deprived mind dramaticaly misinterperet something?
1158931
I'm not saying it's aliens. But...it's aliens.
1158931 Your logic is Infallible
1158823>>1158840>>1158881>>1158893
In all fairness, you are all wrong. Its a story. And the description is in need of revision apparently, because this is not the premise of the story. If messrs That_one_guy and FormNalvoid would take the time to read it, they would see this. For the record, this has been treated and dealt with at length, feel free to scroll the other comments on previous chapters
I caught something that your editors seem to have missed:
You've got one too many definite articles there... dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Lyra_smile.png
1158713 You're not a pony, eh? *readies his genetic serum* Well I can take care of that... maybe... *fills syringe* You'll either turn into a pony, or die a slow, horrible death as your tissues liquify. But it's a 50/50 chance!
1158693 Oh dear, are you going to have Celestia do sado-masochistic things to your pony now? Should I ready myself for full-on Tyrantlestia?
I like your allusion to eurobeat's "Luna"
1158960 In fairness, as an internet commenter, I'm far more qualified than you are to understand the premise of your story. Therefore, this is basically Richard III if King Edward was a talking fish.
1158948 This never happened. *Uses MIB Neuralizer*
1158995
bullocks (fixed)
1159011
An internet has been awarded youdl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Luna_lolface.png
1159012
For equality, I would like to take issue with your use of the name "Edward" after the word "King". Everypony knows that this is a physical impossibility. As for Richard III, has he quite finished with that crusade? Robin Hood is causing quite the fracas...
whatever laich says is a lie
this is why it was late
[8/22/2012 11:46:10 PM] Laichonious Raposo: HAHAHA!
[8/22/2012 11:46:25 PM] Laichonious Raposo: U READY FOR SOME SMOOTH JAZZ!?
[8/22/2012 11:46:27 PM] Laichonious Raposo: HAHAHAHA
[8/22/2012 11:51:06 PM] Laichonious Raposo: It's so smooth you can't take it
[8/22/2012 11:52:39 PM] Laichonious Raposo: lol
[8/22/2012 11:58:25 PM] Jackson Amber: I hope you realize
[8/22/2012 11:58:28 PM] Jackson Amber: that with that ending
[8/22/2012 11:58:40 PM] Jackson Amber: there's going to be a billion Molestia comments, akin to the Skyrim ones
[8/22/2012 11:59:19 PM] Laichonious Raposo: well if they want to be tards they can be tards
[8/22/2012 11:59:44 PM] Laichonious Raposo: I'm gonna write what I'm gonna write and they can read what they want to read
[8/22/2012 11:59:50 PM] Jackson Amber: Good attitude.
[8/22/2012 11:59:50 PM] Laichonious Raposo: almost like soviet russia
[12:00:28 AM] Laichonious Raposo: teh point is they can take it however they want
[12:01:02 AM] Laichonious Raposo: I won't worry too much about the ways they will construe things
[12:01:43 AM] Jackson Amber: ja
[12:01:49 AM] Laichonious Raposo: it makes my final victory at the end when I reveal all and tie up the story that much sweeter
[12:01:57 AM] Jackson Amber: Yup
[12:02:25 AM] Jackson Amber: I look forward to all the people who should-but-won't apologize for being idiots about thinking the skyrim nonsense.
Anyways I'm pretty lazy as an editor so woop woop. This chapter was terrible 10/10 story of the year.
1159162 I'm not even sure what we're talking about anymore.
1159244
We were talking about something? I forget sometimes...
1158727
enlighten the rest of us as to what you mean?
1159276 I think we were either designing a portal to Equestria or misinterpreting Shakespeare. Mine gorge doth rim at it! In a gay way!
1158479 You're Scandinavian, right? Also, I believe Molestia needs to blow off some steam.
If I was Laichonious I would probably wet myself when the princess captured me.
Laus ut Principem Luna.
Good story. And in your blog post you said this was short? Well, compared to what you usually write, I guess it is.
Well, guess that answers my question from a couple chapters back, it was simply the moonlight that took out the troll and not Luna acting through the moonlight.
Someone should have mentioned Pinkie's new party minions to Luna, that seems like a major detail to leave out.
Hmm...
scranton.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw6195-tumblr_m72sxteZBO1r5x4s2o6_1280.png
mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw6192-0d71.png
May the Grace of the Valar Protect You
Shire Folk
Where the hell is sethisto?
Going after some trixie action?
1159000
...I do not understand this...
1158479
LOVE this chapter! Although I am intrigued as to why you would have your self-insert OC get invisi-bound by Celestia.
NO, I do NOT think molestia. Unlike others in this fandom, I don't connect sexual encounters with MLP:FiM.
...
...
...
CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!
Like I said last time, Equestria has one Hell of a strict immigration policy.
Come over to Equestria! You just may have to go through a secret ritual and end up tied in with a conspiracy with the royal princesses. Please make sure not to disturb any dangerous creatures as several of our local wildlife are extremely dangerous and much bigger than you. If you ever end up faded out and cold, then that means Harmony rejected you. Don't worry, just send a complaint form and we'll get back to you within the next year if you're not dead by then.
Your card has been stamped and approved. Enjoy your stay!
Hey wait, the portal is behind the other door. Where are you going?
1159244 I have an odd feeling that Laich is operating at about 3 Cuils at the moment. Might be one more up or down, I'm not that good at judging Cuils just yet.
Must cliffhangers exist, that ending, this whole chapter, keep it up man
Fear can... WILL creep into the best of us eventually if one lives long enough... oh how some things destroy your version of reality... Why am I thinking this...?
Tia... Tia... What is she up to now...?
Nightmare Sun incoming?
This is getting more and more mysterious...
whoooo hooooo I was in this chap go raven guard.
1158934
Humans are certainly important, and I think they were closer to Luna than Celestia. Exposition time!
That cliffhanger.
scranton.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/thumb/mlfw7573.gif
1165111
Because, my good sir, I have decided that it is a form of measurement. The following is from my wiki in progress:
"Currently, there is only one system of measurement in use by the common pony. The Aloric System came into being during the first century of the Triad Era. A need arose for a standardized form of measurement during the construction of Canterlot, Equestria's first city. Several forms were in use at the time as carryovers from before the Millenium of Misery when the three pony tribes had little contact with each other. A system was proposed that did not derive from any of the existing systems. The ponies chose to pay tribute to their patron Rulers.
Thusly, the Aloric Lengths System follows: One smidgen is half of an inch. One inch is one ninth of a sceptre. 330 sceptres is a furlong. Six furlongs is a Canterlot mile (commonly referred to as simply a 'mile'). Eight furlongs is one country mile. Twelve Canterlot miles is one league. Ten country miles is one track.
One sceptre is the length of Celestia's horn which would equate to roughly two feet in the US Customary System. The average mare stands, full grown, at one-and-a-half sceptres, and the average stallion at one-and-two-thirds sceptres. Celestia herself stands at three sceptres tall. The height of a pony is determined from the hoof to the shoulder.
An intersting note on the physical differences between the ponified bronies and native ponies: The bronies tend to have slightly longer legs than the natives of Equestria. The average brony stallion stands at two sceptres and the average brony mare at maybe a few inches less than that."
1159399
hold on, Scandinavian? only a little. We have traced my lineage on my mother's side as far back as Erik the Red if that helps? On my father's side, we found out that we have ancestors who were distant cousins to Kaiser Wilhelm, leader of Germany in WW I but that's as far back as we have gone. So really, nope, born and raised in the Midwest.
From now on, every time you use sceptre as a measurement, a little puppy dies. I'm tired of not knowing exactly what distance you mean.
I won't even begin to pretend I understand where Luna's memory of humans is going, but I'm sort of scared about how she's become a God figure to the bronies. She's powerful, indeed, but not a God. I get the feeling that she will fail them, somehow, and there will be a great tragedy surrounding that failure.
But maybe I'm looking into it too much.
Great chapter, man! You write wonderfully.
Intersesting, shits about to unfold i dare say.
1166623
Dude, I just told you. A sceptre is roughly two feet. Don't sweat the small stuff.
1165276
Where can I found your Wiki?
1165368 Do you really know those languages then?
(You're part Viking? DAYUM.)
1168650
That's classified information... The wiki will go live at the conclusion of this story, also I only have like 10 articles for it at the moment and it is far from being organized. You will all have access to it soon though. 