The Stars Shall Aid in Her Escape

by Shiro Otokonoko

A Moonlit Talk

Twilight shut the book she'd been studying with a yawn. Still nothing. You'd think the ancients would have been more concerned about a prophecy foretelling the end of the world as they knew it... She sighed. Then again, most of them probably dismissed it as sheer paranoia - the Elements were thought to be all-powerful, after all. That certainly explains why no one had heard of Nightmare Moon before that night.

She had come to Canterlot on a whim to peruse the Royal Library; Spike had been left in charge of the castle for a few days, giving Twilight the opportunity to indulge her inner researcher. From the balcony of her room in the palace, she gazed over the sea of glittering lights that was the Equestrian capital. A wry grin settled on her lips. Of course, I could've just asked Princess Celestia to send me the books I need - but it's been too long since I visited last. It's good to be home again, even if it isn't really home anymore.

A cool night's wind played over her spine, and Twilight shivered, ruffling her feathers. "Good evening, Princess Luna."

The Lunar Diarch materialized next to her, a puzzled smile playing across her face. "And a good evening to thee, young Twilight. How did you know 'twas I?"

"Who else could visit another pony's dream?" For indeed, she had been dreaming. Lucid dreaming was a skill like any other, and one that Twilight had mastered at an early age.

Luna looked impressed. "'Tis not often that a dreamer can perceive me when I do not intend it so. Pray tell, what keeps thy mind awake when thy body is not?

Twilight grinned sheepishly. "It's a technique I worked out only just recently - by placing a certain enchantment on my books, I can pull them into my dreams, which lets me study while my body catches up on sleep. It isn't a perfect solution, though - the mind still needs sleep to organize itself every now and then."

"Ha! Only thee, Twilight. My sister did not exaggerate thy dedication to the scholarly arts." Luna smiled warmly at the younger princess, taking the sting from her words. "May I ask, what is the subject of thy studies?"

Twilight quickly hid her book behind her. "Err, nothing important, princess. Just some astronomy." Well, technically.

Luna frowned. "Thou'rt a terrible liar, Twilight Sparkle."

The lavender mare bit her lip. "I didn't want to upset you, princess. It's about the Nightmare."

"...I see." Luna paused, taking a moment to digest this. "Very well. What didst thou wish to know?"

Twilight scrunched her face in confusion. "You aren't upset?"

Luna shook her head. "No, Twilight. I have come to terms with what I was, and what I am. You were the one, after all, who showed me that my past as Nightmare Moon does not define me." She closed her eyes with a faint smile. "I do not think you realize just what it is that thou and thy friends saved me from - I owe all of you a debt greater than I can repay. So, ask as you will." Setting herself down next to the younger princess, Luna carefully settled a wing over Twilight. A soothing warmth flowed into the lavender mare, giving her the courage to speak.

"Well, all right, I suppose... I was just trying to find some information on the prophecy about the Nightmare."

"'On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars shall aid in her escape.' This is the prophecy to which you refer?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes. I've been looking through every book I can get my hooves on, and though there are a few that mention the prophecy itself, nowhere can I find any mention of who wrote the darn thing - or what exactly the 'stars' were. I know for a fact that those four stars had never been visible before that day. And why a thousand years? Is that the default setting for a magical seal, or something? I mean, the Nightmare, Discord, Sombra, Tirek..." She rubbed her temple with her hoof, frustrated. "If that's a coincidence, it's a really strange one."

Luna mused for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "As it happens, I do have most of the answers you seek. For one, it is I who spoke that prophecy, though 'tis my sister who first put it to parchment."

Twilight's eyes widened. "...Huh. I guess that explains a lot, but how? When?"

The elder princess grimaced. "After... After we were first sealed, the Elements had yet to fully bind us, giving us a limited degree of freedom those first few days. The Nightmare, being the dominant entity, had taken most of the shock from our sealing, which gave me an opportunity to slip a message through to my sister." She took a moment to compose herself, her midnight wing clenching unconsciously against her would-be student. "She was so happy to see me, overjoyed that the elements had worked as intended after all, had purified her beloved sister and sent her back home... She was devastated to find that it was only a dream." Luna lowered her head to the ground, her voice choked with regret. "It was then that the full impact of what I had done struck true."

Twilight laid her neck alongside the elder princess's, nuzzling her in what she hoped was a comforting manner.

After a moment, Luna let out a heavy sigh, and continued. "As to the stars themselves... They are not, in the astronomical sense, actual stars. They are relics of a civilization much older than our own, weapons of war left behind for what purpose I cannot say."

"Wait, what?" Twilight blinked rapidly. "You're kidding. You're kidding, right?"

Luna shook her head, her expression grave. "Would that I were. There is a malignance which radiates from those four structures, like a beacon of cold hatred lancing into the night."

Twilight shuddered, goosebumps raising themselves along her spine. "Suddenly I'm glad that that's the only time I've seen them." At the same time, I'm a little curious... Life on other planets? Still, I hope I never encounter that particular form of life.

Luna ruffled her feathers uncomfortably. "It gladdens me to see them gone dark. The Nightmare made use of them during our rebellion, and again to free us - and as far as I know, that effort rendered them inert. Whether this state is permanent or no, I cannot say. Let us pray that it is the former."

Deep in space...

The lunar battlestation rotated silently as it orbited the moon, keeping its vast array of sensors pointed squarely at the planet below. Along with its three brothers it had kept watch for millennia, and would continue to do so for millennia more. Roughly spherical in shape, it was almost completely smooth save for the various antennae poking out from various ports in the hull, and a small indicator panel set along the equator. On the panel a series of numbers flickered.

996 : 03 : 27 : 07 : 00 : 01
996 : 03 : 27 : 07 : 00 : 00
996 : 03 : 27 : 06 : 59 : 59
996 : 03 : 27 : 06 : 59 : 58...

Author's Note:

So, this is my first attempt at a short story. Hope you enjoy!

Comments

[NorrisThePony]

One-shot.

Hm? This was good, but it really doesn't feel like it ends here.

[Gamigm]

The timestamp's rather odd. One would think the first two counters would be together, or else have the single-digit counter first.

[Fwelin]

Only Nightmare Moon and Sombra came back after 1000 years. Discord and Tirek were sealed/imprisoned for significantly longer than that.

[xv22shasokais]

I thought this was Comedy?

[Sigmacipher]

7050614 look a little closer, it looks like the night mare isn't quite done as we thought.

[Shiro Otokonoko]

7050614 My apologies for the confusion. It's meant to read:
Years : Months : Days : Hours : Minutes : Seconds.

[Gamigm]

7050940 Even then, unless Equestria has only 9 months, the second counter would have two digits, as the last two have.
Nothing saying it couldn't, granted, but that's the point of confusion.

The satellites have one digit for months and hours, but still show two for minutes and seconds.

Either 996 : 03 : 27 : 07 : 00 : 01 etc. or 996 : 3 : 27 : 7 : : 1. Otherwise, what comes after 996 : 0 : 00 : 0 : 00: 00 ?
Variable overflow is serious business.

7050845 I got that the satellites are counting down for another round. It's the design of the counters that is confusing.

[Lord Of Dorkness]

7050167

Have to second that confusion.

Not a bad idea, certanly, but there's a difference between a mystery and just plain not hinting at what something actually means.

I mean... Those count-downs? Could be for the long-lost orbital Equestrian kitten-pie cannons for all we know.

Still, not bad at all for a first try. Short stories can be surprisingly tricky in their own right, let alone a mystery. Just have a bit more of a pay-off next time.

[Rocinante]

I want to give you props for using the archaic thee / you correctly.

[Bobby Dole]

"The stars shall aid in her escape" has always struck me as well. My own 'hey, this would be interesting' solution to what it means actually points to Twilight.

My thinking is that her destiny was always entwined with the princesses and that when she read the prophecy, her worry, fear, and anxiety about it all caused her magic to act subconsciously. Celestia controls the sun, Luna controls the moon, and Twilight controls the stars. I thought it made it almost poetic in how Luna's return is her fault, but that without that she would have never been able to clean the Nightmare from Luna. It also makes me think that Celestia, who knew what the Tree of Harmony looks like, recognized Twilight's cutie mark and that that was why she worked Twilight so hard and sent her to almost certainly face Nightmare Moon.

The other idea I had was that the sun is a star. And that Celestia, who has experience controlling stars, used them to free her sister when she felt things were in place to be able to cleanse her of the Nightmare.

It's such a perfectly vague bit of show lore that there's likely scads and scads of fun options available. I liked this one. And, like the other guy who said it, I really *REALLY* appreciate it that you know how to use middle English pronouns and conjugations correctly.

[Shiro Otokonoko]

7051187 Fixed ^_^

[PinkiePieFox]

Interesting, I wonder what the intended purpose was for the satellites.

[Secundum]

So...What were they keeping watch for exactly?

[Reishin Amara]

7051187
Ha..it's counting down from 1000 years...since nightmare triggered them. Twilight shoulda kept her mouth shut about thousand year seals.XD