Blast from the Past

by Uber_Shy

Until We Meet Again Your Magnificence (Epilogue)

“Auntie, you sent for me?” Prince Blueblood asked as he entered the royal dining hall. He quickly located Celestia at the end of the long dining table on the far side of the room.

“Ah yes come in,” Celestia instructed.

Prince Blueblood walked in slowly and approached the end of the table opposite of Celestia. It was odd of her to invite him to, what he assumed was, breakfast so early in the morning. He was thinking of what to say to her when he heard the doors slam shut behind him. He quickly whipped around to see a black and purple wolf standing between him and the door. Its eyes glowed bright white as it took two slow and deliberate steps towards him.
“You are quite right princess,” it said to Celestia in a voice that sounded like a demon speaking into a giant glass bowl, “he is quite tender looking.”

“AUNTIE!” Blueblood exclaimed, “what is the meaning of this?”

“I’m sorry dear nephew, but you have become too much of a burden on me, and the staff here at the castle” Celestia responded calmly.

“Wha- what?!” Blueblood yelled as the wolf started to approach him. It lowered its head and let out a growl that sent a chill up his spine. Blueblood quickly realized what was happening. He was being fed to some demon his aunt had conjured. He reacted to this realization with a terrified whiny as he made a brake for the opposite side of the hall. When he was about half way, he looked over his shoulder to see the wolf rapidly gaining on him. He made a panicked attempt at an evasive serpentine pattern and collided with a pedestal displaying an antique vase, causing him to fall. Blueblood pushed himself onto his haunches just in time to see the wolf baring its teeth inches from his face.

“Please auntie no I’m sorry, just make it go away, AHHHHH,” Blueblood screamed in an unnaturally high voice before feinting.

* * *

A soon as Blueblood was unconscious, Canis stood upright. His entire body was briefly shrouded in a black cloud. Seconds later, the cloud dissipated revealing his normal pale blue form. He turned to Celestia to see her giggling softly into her hoof.

“I trust that performance met with your approval,” Canis enquired calmly.

“Indeed it did, well done,” Celestia said before softly laughing to herself again.

“If you two are quite finished,” Luna said irritably as she stepped out of the shadows in the corner of the room, “Canis and I are long overdue for some rest.”

“Yes, well, thank you again Canis. Don’t worry about Blueblood I’ll have him brought back to his chambers. I wish both of you a pleasant day,” Celestia said.

“And to you as well your highness,” Canis responded.

Luna nodded in recognition of her sister’s statement and left the hall, Canis in tow. When they reached Luna’s chambers again, they both went immediately to bed. Canis plopped down on his pillow, and Luna used her magic to pull the covers to her bed back. The sun was already well above the horizon.

“Just one more thing for future reference Luna,” Canis said, closing his eyes.

“Yes Canis?” Luna asked as she climbed into bed.

“Wolves are not dogs. We do not wag our tails so feverishly as they do.”

“… Oh, I’ll keep that in mind.” Luna responded with a blush. She hadn't realized Canis knew she had manipulated his dream.

“In any case, I thank you for that.”

“You’re most welcome,” Luna finished. She turned onto her side and got comfortable. Minutes later, she was fast asleep.

This time it was Canis’s turn to sneak out of Luna’s chambers. He lay on his bed with his eyes closed, intently listening to Luna’s breathing. When it had noticeably slowed, Canis opened his eyes and slowly crept towards the door. He didn’t dare change forms, because he knew Luna would sense him if he used his dark powers. He opened the door to Luna’s chambers. Thankfully the door’s hinges were well oiled. As he closed the door behind him, he turned and quickly padded through the various hallways to his destination.

Canis wasn’t entirely honest when he told Luna that he had not explored the castle before finding her. He had in fact made one stop before their reunion. He walked down to one of the lower halls and stopped in a small empty corridor. Canis checked both ends of the corridor to make sure no guards or servants were watching. He stuck a claw into a small recess in the corner where the floor met the wall. With a click, a small slit in the wall opened at eye level. Canis changed into his ethereal form and slipped through the inconspicuous crack. He re-materialized on the other side. In this new room, glowing lichens growing on the ceiling were the only source of light. The dim blue glow revealed a secret repository of weapons and armor designed for ponies and wolves alike. Canis walked past the various works of warfare until he came upon what he was looking for at the end of the room. There, sitting on a small pedestal, was the helm of nightmare moon.
Canis walked up to it and bowed. He had originally planned to lead Luna down here and present her with the helm as a symbolic gesture of rebellion. He would have done anything for Luna in her quest for revenge against Celestia. However, when he found that Luna and Celestia had begun their friendship anew instead of fighting, he decided against inciting any conflict between them.

“It appears that we may not be graced with your presence any time soon your magnificence,” Canis said to the helm.

It remained silent and still on its pedestal. He drew upon his dark power and focused it on the helm. A slow stream of dark essence branched out from his body and slowly meandered its way to the helm. It glowed faintly as absorbed the tendril of dark power. Canis remained still for several minutes as he channeled his energy into this one piece of armor. He could feel the lively presence of the dark magic leaving him with every passing second. Before long, he sensed that he could not safely contribute any more. When his job was done he cut off the stream and sighed with sudden exhaustion. It would take him about a day or two to recover to full strength, but he felt this had to be done.

Canis was genuinely optimistic about his future with Luna and Celestia. However, he was not about to be caught without a backup plan again. The helm now had enough energy to boost Luna’s own dark magic significantly and bring back the fearsome Nightmare Moon. Canis hoped it would be enough to help Luna gain an edge against Celestia in case another fight should break out between them. He was not going to risk losing his princess twice in his unnaturally long lifetime.

“Until we meet again your magnificence,” Canis said bowing again.

He then turned and left the way he came. The helm sat silently on its pedestal, and the feint glow faded. It seemed as if it was watching him as he walked away. He slipped back through the slit in the wall and it closed behind him. Canis was quick to return to Luna’s chambers. She was still sound asleep when he arived. He silently laid down on his bed and closed his eyes, ready for whatever the future would hold for him.

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading. I have an epicly massive Canis origins story in it's concept stages, but I'll be working on other stories in the near future. (On a side note, if any artists are reading this and want to draw some cover art for this story you would be my favorite person ever.)