Ursae Majoris: Eternal Knight

by Draconaes

Chapter 18

Chapter 18
******

Luna sat in the Hall of Harmony. Stained glass windows depicted key events from Equestria's past, although the dead of night lent them an eerie look. Luna liked the effect. Her gaze shifted from window to window. There was the Usurpation. And the Reign of Chaos. The Unification was not present in full: it had its own wing. There was the Griffin War and the Great Storm, both of which taxed the Pegasus tribe disproportionately. At last, she looked upon the Nightmare's End.

That night, she had been rescued from herself. Freed from her anger, only to be drowned by her shame. It was probably worth it, if it meant Equestria was safe. This window wasn't why she was here, though. Painful as it was, the window next to it demanded her attention. Part of her wanted to leave; she knew well enough what that window portrayed. Casting her gaze upon it again would do no good. Part of her wanted to remind herself of her mistake, to ensure that she did not make it again.

With a deep breath, she snapped her gaze to the Night's Sealing. She would have accused Celestia of making light of the event with a pun, had Luna not known how horrific the experience had been for her. In that moment, a thousand years ago, Luna had turned her sword, literally and figuratively, on her charge. And it had been so easy. So fast. So simple.

Sure, she wasn't in complete control of herself at the time. But who was to blame for the dark magic she had unwittingly unleashed upon herself? Unleashing havoc on the world is no less criminal when done unintentionally. All because she had wanted power...

Upon her return, she had sworn an oath to herself: she would not seek power for her own gain ever again, and devote herself entirely to her role as the Shield of Dark. Celestia was better suited to being the Sword of Light, anyway.

Celestia would guide.
Luna would restrain.

Celestia would lead the charge.
Luna would guard the retreat.

Celestia would strike.
Luna would block.

The sun would stand alone and center stage, a central figure to rally to.
The night would cover the world, a blanket of protection and peace.

'Am I doing it again? is this latest scheme really for the good of Equestria?' It was getting hard for her to justify keeping these events to herself. At this rate, even if she was successful, it wouldn't look good for her to have kept her activities secret for this long. And that right there was the problem. This wasn't supposed to be about her clout: this was supposed to be about protecting Equestria. But power and influence were important too! They could help her protect Equestria in the future!

'Perhaps I am being unfair to Celestia. Surely, if I voice my concerns to her, she will understand. Can We serve as Equestria's guardian without trust?' She shook her head. Trixie was still missing, and it would be best to go to Celestia with all the information she could. Luna stood and headed for the archives. While she waited for Twilight Sparkle's correspondence, she would see what she might find regarding the secondhand description that Twilight provided of the creature. Celestia's counsel could wait a little longer.

******

Trixie stood at the edge of the Everfree Forest, looking at the stars fading in the early morning light. She hoped they would give her courage, but given recent events they did little more than remind her of why she was nervous in the first place. She decided to double check the contents of her cart instead. 'Good. It looks like I haven't lost any books.' Harnessing herself once more, and taking a deep breath, she started toward Ponyville.

She decided that she really didn't have cause to be nervous. This plan was genius. It even retroactively explained her sudden departure. She would have to thank Tyr for helping her come up with it. He wasn't such a bad gangly, tooth-filled alien-monster-of-the-night after all.

She'd still have to figure out what to do about Princess Luna, but she needed to find out what she wanted first. Thankfully, she should have left by now: she couldn't sit in some random small-town library all night, after all. She was a princess, and no doubt had a lot to do. She hoped.

She was nearly to the library when Twilight Sparkle burst out into the street, a spell being readied. She noticed Trixie and turned to face her, the spell dying on her horn. "Trixie?! I was just about to come looking for you! I noticed we're missing quite a few books and... is that..." Twilight's eye twitched for a moment. "You... but I... how...Trixie I really have to know what happened!"

"Oh, did Trixie surprise you by solving your problem before you even knew it existed? Be careful, Twilight! The title of Greatest Unicorn in Equestria may yet find its way back to me!"

"Trixie..."

"Oh, shush. I'll tell you what happened. Let's get these books inside while I start." Trixie grabbed a pile of books with her magic. "Alright. So, the story starts with Trixie noticing a skulking figure with a sack walking away from the library. After I had escaped from you-"

"Why did you do that again?"

"Hmph. I didn't have time to stop and explain to you, and if I just took off, you would have followed me and given me away to the figure. Now let me finish. Ahem. Anyway, after I had escaped from you, I followed it discreetly-"

"In your bright, sparkly, highly visible costume."

Trixie glared at her. "As I was saying..."

******

Tyr and Trixie sat at the campfire, across from each other. Tyr had managed to calm her down, and now they were about to have their first exchange of information. Tyr was allowing Trixie to go first.

"The Nightmare Moon incident... you know, a thousand years ago. I read about a creature that matched your description, called a Star Dragon, that apparently appeared around that time. Did you... your country... have anything to do with that?"

Tyr was thoughtful for a few seconds. "I think I know what you are referring to. As for your question..." Tyr looked away. "The correct answer would be yes. However, our involvement was not what you might think. I do not know the details, though."

"So... you didn't, you know, transform Luna into Nightmare Moon or anything?"

Tyr locked eyes - well, eyes/magic sensory organ - with her. "No."

Trixie relaxed. "Okay. Good. Next question. Where are you from?"

Tyr pointed downward at a seemingly random angle. "An inconceivable distance in that direction. We called our sun Father, but that is also meaningless to you. The humans called it 47 Ursae Majoris. If you look at the constellation they call Ursa Major, our star would be below one of its paws. The world upon which I took my first breath was the second moon of Mother, that humans, in their wonderful creativity, called 47 Ursae Majoris b. That world is no more, now."

Trixie had difficulty processing everything he said, but she did catch that his home was apparently gone. She lowered her head. "I'm sorry."

"Don't concern yourself with it. We destroyed it intentionally, to save our race."

Trixie was perplexed. "How did destroying your home save you?"

"It is a long and complicated history, and I do not wish to speak of it."

"Alright... next question. Why did Tiamat introduce herself to me as "Epona"?"

Tyr chuckled. "Epona is the name of a mythical human god that rules over horses. She was jokingly insinuating dominance over your species. She needs to alleviate stress somehow."

"That's... creepy, but okay. What about those sleeves? They seem odd."

Tyr lifted one of his arms and looked at it. "It's a part of our culture. We cover our claws as a symbol of peace. It is considered obscene or offensive to display claws to those that are not intimates. It is a threatening behavior. We also often wear hoods over our heads, but that is more of a... "formal/informal" distinction, to use human concepts. From what I understand, your people and humans are very similar, culturally. I know Kelly has expressed an interest in talking to you about that."

"Okay. Final Question." Trixie took a deep breath. "What do you want with me?"

Tyr grinned. "What indeed?" Trixie shifted uncomfortably. "I will be blunt. I wish to help my people. Our leader is unfit to rule, and I will stop her. I have heard of a creature called Discord that once ruled your people. The comparison is an interesting one."

"So, you want my help stopping your leader? The same way Celestia and Luna stopped Discord? I... I don't know. I mean, I'm a very powerful unicorn, of course, but this seems to be out of my league!"

"Yes, I want your help, but not directly. I have heard of something called the Elements of Harmony. They were supposedly important in stopping this Discord entity. I want you to help me find them, and study them. I might learn something that can help me."

"I-" Trixie bit her lip. "Look, the Elements of Harmony are powerful artifacts! It sounds like you have noble intentions, but..."

"Trixie, you are looking for a reason to embrace cowardice."

"What!? The Great and Powerful Trixie is no coward! You dare question my abilities!"

"Then help me save my people. Besides, if our leader, Nyx, were to find out about your world, she would destroy Equestria. You can help prevent that."

"Hmph. Equestria! What do I owe Equestria?"

This was problematic. The default appeal to typical human attitudes was not working. Either these ponies were not as similar to humans as Tyr originally thought, or Trixie was not a typical pony. Still, she showed certain signs... perhaps if he appealed to something else...

"Trixie. This is a chance to do something significant. You can prove yourself, and show Equestria what you really are. Does being known as the savior of at least three civilizations hold no appeal to you? The humans are currently under siege by Nyx. You would be saving them, my people, and Equestria, all at once. Just help me learn about the Elements of Harmony."

Trixie sat silently for a moment. She looked up at Tyr. "Alright. I'll save everypony. No one will believe me after this is over, though. Not on my own. In return for my help, you will help me convince everypony that I am not a liar. I don't want my first honest heroic deed mistaken for another lie. I'm done with lies! I don't want to pretend anymore! I'll be a real hero! And you'll help me!"

Tyr felt a strange emotion stirring within him. It was... sympathy? Pride? So what if she had just declared herself opposed to lies. She wasn't a starborn. Why should it matter? Why should he feel anything at all? Maybe Tiamat was right. Maybe there was similarity enough between the Starborn and their cousins.

'I will have to think further on this.'