• Published 8th Dec 2011
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Interview With a Princess - Hoopy McGee



What if you had the chance to ask Celestia any question you liked?

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...and Answers

Here it was, my chance to ask Princess Celestia, co-ruler of all Equestria, any question I wished! She sat there, curled up on my couch, looking at me expectantly.

I cleared my throat and braced myself against the sudden onslaught of nerves. Well, I decided, I may as well get the big one out of the way, first!

"I want to say this before I start, Celestia. If I ask any question that you don't like, please feel free to decline to answer it."

"Very well," she said. "Thank you."

"Of course! You're a guest after all, and royalty. It's not right to just grill you for answers!" And then I took a deep breath and continued, "But if you don't mind, the one question that I, personally, have wondered the most about is... What, exactly, was Nightmare Moon?"

Celestia blinked, and then sighed and looked away. I thought maybe I had offended her at first, but no, I think she just wanted to collect her thoughts before she answered.

"That's a difficult thing to explain," she said finally, "especially as you have no real understanding of magic, as you've said earlier."

She sat up slightly and cleared her throat before continuing, her voice becoming thick with emotion.

"In the early days of Equestria, before the founding of Canterlot, everything was potential. Life was a force in and of itself, yearning to grow. What we now call magic, in fact, though magic currently is much more structured and ordered than it was back then. Luna and I found that we could impose our will on this magic, and cause things to change. Not without limits, of course, but finite changes. The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters was created through such an act of will, naturally. And many of the life forms were... not created, but encouraged to grow, and to awaken to their potential. And thus, came the first races of ponies. Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns."

"But in the raw and wild early days, care had to be taken. What one wanted could come true, often in spite of what you thought were your true desires. And what Luna wanted, more than anything at that time, was to be as loved and respected as she saw that I was, but that she believed that she was not. Those desires, along with her jealousy and bitterness, surged within her. And, from the primal magics of the realm, Nightmare Moon was born. Both a part of Luna, and apart from her, she became a creature all her own, trapping my beloved sister within. The Nightmare was... a shell, over her form and soul, possessing its own consciousness, but borrowing heavily from Luna's memory and will. It became everything she thought she wanted to be. Powerful, regal beyond words, terrifying in its beauty. But it carried none of Luna's joy, love or caring, and instead only emulated her greed, bitterness, fear and envy. Does that answer your question?"

I swallowed. The emotional impact of that answer had left me feeling a little stunned. Not the words or the story itself, but the depth of emotion that Celestia's voice had managed to convey. A thousand years hadn't dulled the edge of that grief.

"Yes, Celestia, and thank you. Another question I have often wondered about is, why banish her to the moon? If you had the Elements of Harmony, couldn't you have cleansed her yourself?"

"Sadly, no." she said, with a shake of her head. "There are a few things that prevented that. As I said earlier, Nightmare Moon's power is a match for my own. In fact, she may be slightly stronger. And, in those days, magic was wild and unpredictable, which had a diluting effect on the power of the Elements themselves. Not to mention, there are six Elements, and, as strong as I was, I was only one pony. The Elements themselves weakened Nightmare Moon to the point where my own, inherent power was enough to defeat her, but I could not wield them effectively enough on my own to remove the Nightmare itself from Luna without killing her.

"And that's when I was faced with a terrible choice, one that I dearly hope that nopony ever has to face. I could not cleanse my sister of the taint that had consumed her, but neither could I simply let the Nightmare go. Equestria had suffered enough from our battle as it was. The Everfree forest is one such place that, even a thousand years later, has still not recovered completely. That left me with only one option, which was to make certain that none of my little ponies would never suffer under the hooves of Nightmare Moon again.

"I was ready to strike the finishing blow, when it occurred to me that I could lock her away in her moon, instead. The Elements had weakened the Nightmare enough that my own natural power could work against her almost unimpeded. I managed to lock nearly all of Nightmare Moon and her terrible power into the moon, where she would stay while I planned and prepared for its inevitable return."

"Nearly all of her power?" I asked.

"Yes. A small portion of the Nightmare's power had managed to keep itself free, and it worked slowly but surely over the next thousand years to affect its escape."

"Was... Was Luna aware of the time that passed on the moon? I can't imagine how terrible that must have been..."

"Yes, and no. As she told me after her release, time passed fitfully for her, in brief glimpses as the Nightmare wavered from time to time and briefly lost complete control of her. On these occasions, Luna could see out of her prison to the Equestria below. Sadly, Luna was never quite able to free herself entirely from its grip. I had fashioned the prison so that, should she ever free herself completely, she would immediately be released. This, obviously, did not happen. But I had hope."

"Thank you, Celestia," I said, and then there was a brief lull in the conversation as I absorbed these facts. Then I continued.

"Can you tell me, please, what the Elements of Harmony are?"

"You recall that I said that, in the early days, the magic of life was wild?" I nodded, and she continued. "Luna and I found these... for lack of a better term, seeds of Harmony. By which I mean, the essences of life that would allow life to work together, to grow and change in ways that complimented all of the different forms of life. As well, it allowed life and the forces of nature to strive together, rather than against each other. Before harmony, life grew in wild fits of passion, and died out just as easily. Unbelievable storms would rage one moment, followed by an intense stillness and heat, followed by snow. It was chaos. Many creatures suffered and died."

This was beginning to sound familiar. I thought of the season two premier and Discord. Sounds like his kind of place. I shuddered briefly at the thought of what Discord freeing himself must have been like, after hearing Celestia's description of how short the first two episodes had fallen in explaining the hardships Twilight and her friends had gone through for Nightmare Moon's defeat.

"Order had to be imposed, if life was to truly flourish. But not just any order. Order without flexibility is stagnation. Life had to work together, along with the natural forces, in order to develop, rather than to just strive and compete and fail over and over again.

"Luna and I noticed that, in the regions where the seeds of Harmony had taken root, life flourished and thrived like it did nowhere else. There was peace, of a sort. The first time that I saw plants and insects working together in order to better provide for each other, the bee getting nectar for its honey, and in return the plant having its pollen spread to all the other plants in the region, was... amazing. I had never seen the like before. And it caused a complete shift in our perspectives. We realized that all life could work like this, rather than just tearing down any other form of life that came along. That life could work together to form stability, and develop in ways that were never possible when each strand of life worked only for its own benefit. That idea, the idea of cooperative effort towards a common good, became the core of what we call Equestria today.

"We encouraged those seeds to grow. And, when the time came, we fashioned the Elements of Harmony that you know of, in order to focus them. And that Harmony spread over Equestria, and life... worked itself out. With a little help from both Luna and myself, of course."

"So," I said, "If I understand what you're saying, the effects of the Elements basically calmed the wild magic of the time. And this is why it worked against Nightmare Moon?"

"Indeed. As a creature formed of the essences of the raw magic of life, having Harmony imposed on it sapped nearly all of its strength. When Twilight Sparkle and her friends not only wielded the Elements, but wielded them with the power of their friendship, the resulting wave of Harmony obliterated the chaos that formed Nightmare Moon, and allowed Luna to awaken, free of the corrupted life magic that had clung to her."

"That... is amazing," I said. Then something she said tweaked my interest. "So, you said 'the power of their friendship'. So, friendship is an actual, real force of magic on Equestria?"

"Oh, absolutely!" Celestia said with a laugh. "I thought that was clear in those episodes that you just showed me."

"Oh, well," I said with a blush, "It's hard to say how much of that would be real, and how much is just marketing!"

Celestia looked a little confused by the "marketing" comment, so I rushed on to my next question.

"In your description, though, you make it sound like life is evil in some way. The way it clung to Luna to create Nightmare Moon. Did I misunderstand that?"

"There is no evil without intent. And the intent was born from Luna's desires. Life itself has no intent, it just strives to be, to grow. That portion of life that attached itself to Luna's emotions grew and twisted, but it was the darkness in my own sister's soul that caused the Nightmare to take the form it did, not the magic of life itself."

I was absolutely fascinated, which is probably why I asked this next question without thinking.

"Do you blame Luna, then, for allowing her emotions to run away with her and cause the Nightmare to come into being?"

Celestia stiffened momentarily, then relaxed.

"You've come very close to asking a question that I would decline to answer," she said, and I blushed, feeling horrible at my tactlessness. I stammered to apologize, but The Princess brushed off my apology with a slight movement of her wing and a shake of her head. "I know you didn't mean to cause me pain, so I accept your apology. But Luna blames herself far too much as it is, and I am very aware of the pain that causes her. That first battle between us caused great harm to the world. It's a source of guilt that neither of us can ever be free of for as long as we live. And we live... for a very long time.

"To answer your question, though... No, I do not blame her. Nopony can control their emotions at all times, and the wild magic of life was omnipresent. She had no desire to hurt anypony. Not then, and not now. Nightmare Moon was one of the last remnants of the old, untamed magic before the advent of Harmony. If those events transpired even a few centuries later, after the Elements had more time to work on taming the magic of Equestria, the Nightmare would never have manifest, regardless of how Luna had felt."

I liked the way she said 'A few centuries later', as if the passing of a few hundred years was no big deal. Probably, to her, it wasn't.

"So, if magic, for lack of a better term, has been tamed, why can unicorns still use magic?"

"Not only unicorns. Many creatures of Equestria can use magic. Earth and pegasus ponies, as well as dragons, griffons, and many many others. I think that what you consider 'tamed' is a vast misunderstanding. It was channeled and focused, but it is no less present or powerful. It simply now works for the betterment of life, rather than just raging around Equestria.

"You have it here, as well, though it's not in a form you can easily tap into. After all, you never would have been able to send that letter to me, otherwise. I would say that Harmony, here, gathered an early and powerful hold over life in this Realm. To such an extent that you believe that magic can't be used."

Magic... existed here. That was quite a bombshell! I felt completely poleaxed by that revelation, even though in retrospect, it was quite obvious. After all, she was right. I had sent that letter! But her statement reminded me of yet another question that I wanted to ask.

"Realms," I said. "I think I may know what you mean by those. After all, we each come from different Realms ourselves. But could you tell me more about those?"

"Certainly. Your universe is vast. I sensed it when I first arrived here. As well as sensing that you live in a Realm where planets orbit stars, rather than the other way around. This is not always the case. Realms are separated by boundaries that are nearly impassable. What a student of mine named Starsong once called "The Chasm of Infinity", though that's a needlessly dramatic title for it. And each Realm can have vastly different rules under which it operates. Many Realms are outright hostile to anything that we would consider life. Many contain forms of life that we would find horrific, strange, or even just unbelievably beautiful. I once saw a Realm that was populated by what appeared to be nothing but shifting prisms of light in every color imaginable. For centuries, I would look in on it, just so that I could regard it's beauty, before I realized one day that it was watching me back. That entire Realm was alive, as a single entity. We spent decades just learning the basics of how to talk to each other, and I find it fascinating, though I can hardly say that I can comprehend it even at the best of times.

"Your realm is quite like mine, in many ways. Many of the same forms of life, but far less of the magic of life. Still, you seem to do quite well for yourselves with your science. Perhaps... perhaps that is the way your magic typically chooses to manifest itself? I truly can't say, but I find it intriguing."

I nodded, though it was all a bit metaphysical to me. I think I got the basics of "Realms", though. I'm a huge sci-fi and fantasy buff, after all.

"Another question, if you don't mind... You mentioned our sun, and in the cartoon, it said that you raise the sun and Luna raises the moon. Your moon, I assume, is somewhat like ours. But what is your sun like?"

"Our sun is somewhat similar to yours, just on a much smaller scale. It gives light and heat, and helps life to grow. Our moon gives peace and comfort, and allows life to rest. It's all part of the Harmony that grew in Equestria, along with the Elements. By harnessing the sun and the moon, Luna and I were able to extend the reach of Harmony across Equestria, calming the forces of nature to give life a better chance to thrive."

I nodded again. This was all so fascinating! I cast about for another question, and decided to stick to more generalities. I didn't feel like asking her another painful question after upsetting her about Luna.

"You mentioned that earth ponies have magic, but in the cartoon, they don't seem to do a whole lot. Could you tell me more about them?"

"Why certainly! Recall what I said about wild magic and life becoming tame through the Elements of Harmony. Well, Harmony itself exists in every living thing. And, it exists quite strongly in the ponies of Equestria. Unicorns help to bring and maintain harmony to magic, pegasi do the same for the weather. But earth ponies... they bring harmony to the land itself. They help plants to grow, and animals to coexist. They aren't the only things, of course. Equestria is inherently harmonious now. But the ponies of Equestria help to maintain that harmony, just by their existence."

"Ah! That's very interesting. In the show, one thing that always bothered me was that there seemed to be a fairly rigid caste system, with unicorns at the top positions, pegasi running around having fun and messing with the weather, and earth ponies doing all the hard, menial work. So, is that the case?"

"Goodness, not at all! It's true that many earth ponies prefer to work with the land. That's where their inherent magics display themselves most strongly. But earth ponies tend to have a certain levelheadedness that makes them invaluable advisers to me. I'll tell you this... Equestria could survive without unicorns. Even without pegasi, the weather itself would still be regulated somewhat by the sun and the moon. But without the earth ponies... All of Equestria would be like the Everfree forest. Harmony can only extend so far without a focal point. And each pony that exists is a living, breathing focus for Harmony."

"Wow... That's good to hear, though it's odd hearing 'levelheadedness' used to describe a pony as random as Pinkie Pie."

Celestia laughed a little. "While it's true that Pinkie has her moments, in her own way, she is an extremely clear thinker. Her mind simply moves differently than most others."

You can say that again, I specifically didn't say. But seriously, Pinkie's antics have grown on me over the episodes. She may not be my favorite pony, but it's hard to imagine the show without her. But now I had to think of another question.

"Celestia, could you tell me about cutie marks?"

"What would you like to know?"

"Well... where do they come from? How do they appear? How do they know what form to take?"

"At the simplest explanation... it's magic. Simply put, the Harmony that exists within each pony will manifest itself when that pony discovers who they are, or what they would like to do with their lives. Each pony will have an epiphany, a moment of profound insight into their own character. When that happens, their own subconscious will fashion the cutie mark for them, and their inherent magic will cause the mark to appear on their flanks. I admit, that was a bit of an unintended side-effect from when Luna and I were helping them to develop. Unexpected and wonderful."

"Has there ever been a case where a pony simply hasn't manifested a cutie mark?" I asked her.

"No," Celestia said, and then sighed deeply. "Or rather, no pony reaches adulthood without attaining a cutie mark. Accidents do happen, however, no matter how safe I try to make Equestria. Not all foals live to adulthood."

The grief was evident in her voice as she said that. And, again, it struck me that if I were in Celestia's place, I would have cracked under the weight of all that emotion ages ago. A mortal being can only feel so much grief before their emotions shut down out of self defense. I felt a moment of both admiration and pity move through me, before I chastised myself. Celestia deserved my admiration. But not pity. Not from me. I cleared my throat and blinked back the sudden sting of tears that suddenly sprang up in my eyes.

Celestia was watching me curiously. It was starting to get late, and I was having trouble coming up with more questions. At least, questions that covered what I thought would be "safe" topics. This was very ironic, because before she arrived, I had dozens! And, of course, after this night was over, I thought of dozens more. I didn't want this interview to end, though, so I cast around for something, anything, to ask her.

Finally, I thought of something to ask her. It wasn't exactly "safe", but it didn't touch on Luna or Nightmare Moon, as far as I knew. I decided to risk it.

"What can you tell me about Discord? How did you defeat him?"

Celestia's head reared back in shock, and she started up off my couch, standing, with her wings slightly spread. I jerked away from her in surprise at this sudden reaction, staring at her, the look of shock on my face surely matching the ones on hers.

"How do you know about Discord?" she asked me, and the force behind her voice reminded that this was a Princess, used to command, and used to being obeyed instantly. I found myself replying without even a thought.

"He... He's the primary villain of the first two episodes of season two. He was trapped in the form of a stone statue in the royal gardens of Canterlot and managed to free himself. I know is that he's the spirit of chaos, and that you and Luna had to use the Elements to defeat him."

Celestia was staring at me still. I could sense the tension radiating from her. Finally, she spoke, in a tightly controlled tone of voice that didn't manage to hide the roiling turmoil underneath.

"Discord is still in his statue. Or, rather, he was before I came to this Realm. Tell me what you can of his return."

"O-ok, Princess," I said with a stammer, and this time she didn't ask me to use her name instead of her title.

I mentioned the school tour, and the CMC fighting by the statue that was Discord. I mentioned the pink clouds of cotton candy that rained chocolate milk, and Twilight's failing failsafe spell. The urgent summoning to Canterlot, only to find the Elements of Harmony missing. Discord's cruel game in the maze, where he twisted each of the Bearer's Elements against them. The finding of the Elements back in Twilight's library in Ponyville, inside the Elements of Harmony reference guide. Twilight's breakdown after failing to stop Discord. The Princess sending back the friendship reports, which restored Twilight's spirit, who then restored each of her friends, and the final defeat of Discord.

"But remember the two episodes you saw today, Princess. What actually happened in those episodes I described probably won't be what actually happens in the real Equestria. At best, it's a clue as to what may happen."

"Yes, I am aware of that," she said tightly. "I am sorry. I will have to cut this interview short. I must return to Equestria now, in case this actually comes to pass."

Then she glanced at me, and I think she saw the fear and concern on my face, because she inhaled deeply, then sighed in release. Then she smiled at me, and said in a much more normal tone of voice, "Thank you. The information you gave me, if Discord is truly going to escape, could very well save the lives of countless ponies. For that, I will always be grateful. But now, I must go."

I could sense her gathering her will. I don't know how, but I knew she was getting ready to go back to Equestria.

"Wait! Princess, please, I have one last question..."

She regarded me for a moment, and then nodded. My jaw worked soundlessly for a moment. I struggled with myself, briefly, and I lost. Was I really willing to do this? Was I really willing to ask this, and maybe throw my whole life away?

Yes. I was.

"Take me with you?" I asked. "Please?"

She looked startled for a moment, and then sad. She smiled at me, and I knew the answer before she even spoke.

"I am so sorry, but I can't. The Chasm between Realms... I can only traverse it myself due to my nature, and my immortality. There is simply no way that I could take you with me, and have you survive. You must remain here."

Then she stepped forward, and gently laid her horn against my forehead.

"But I will always remember our conversation with fondness. And, if I can, I will return here one day, to continue this interview."

I was struggling against tears again. Crushing disappointment will do that to you every time.

"I... understand, Princess... Celestia... And I thank you for your time. And, if it's not too much trouble, even if you can't return yourself, could you maybe send me a letter and let me know when you have successfully managed to beat Discord's sorry tail back into the ground? I'd like to know that you and Equestria are safe, even if I can never go there myself."

Celestia smiled.

"But of course. Thank you again. And here," she said, reaching around with her muzzle and plucked a feather from her wing. She floated it out to me with her telekinesis, and I took it with a trembling hand. "Keep that, in remembrance of our time together."

"Fare Well," she said. There was a flash of light.

I raised my hand to wave goodbye, but Celestia was already gone.