Chapter Three – Moon
Celestia, Cadence and Chrysalis stood as one and walked through a door at the back of the room, leaving Twilight alone with Princess Luna. Twilight had not noticed the door when she first came in because it was hidden behind the massive center chair. Only when it clicked shut did Luna finally speak.
“We shall interview thou one by one. We are first. The others have not told us who is next.” She looked down at Twilight, still sitting on the stone floor, and pulled over a wooden chair with her magic. “Sit. We shall be a while.”
Twilight followed the order, trying hard not to give any reason for Luna to doubt her eligibility. “Not that I have decided to try the spell yet; I just want to keep my options open,” she thought to herself.
Once Twilight had gotten comfortable, or as comfortable as she could on the hard wooden surface, Luna continued. “We should thank thou, Twilight. It has been a long time since We have had an opportunity to join in the Committee.” She nodded towards the door the others had gone through. “That is partly because somepony sent Us to the moon for a time out.” There was no venom in her voice. She was just stating the fact.
“You’re welcome, Princess.”
“There is no need for titles amongst us, Twilight. Unlike our sister, We have no need to advertise our superiority over other ponies. She was the same before Changing.” Luna shook her head with a small smile, as if remembering a naughty student.
The revelation stunned Twilight for a moment. “You knew the Princess before she became an alicorn? But I thought you were the younger sister?” Other, ruder, questions were in her mind but she managed to suppress them. She was certain that her teacher would not appreciate being the subject for gossip.
“She is older. She Changed first, thus older. We were older before the change, her mentor in fact, but she Changed first. ”
“Her mentor? She was studying magic before finding the book? Did she discover the spell?” The parallels to Twilight’s own life were uncanny.
Luna shook her head as she spoke, “No, she wrote the book. She was given the spell by its creators. And yes, We were her mentor for a time, teaching her magic. At least, until the Element chose her. She was far too busy after that to study much.”
“Element? The Elements of Harmony? By creators do you mean the dragons? Why was she given a spell from the dragons? And why did she write it into a book?” Twilight was starting to hate how ignorant she seemed. Next time she was just going to nod politely.
“It is not Our place to answer most of those questions, child. We can tell thee that she only held the Element of Magic at the time. The others belonged to five other ponies after certain adventures that they had together. After Changing, the Element of Magic passed to us, like it will pass to another after thou Changes. After We Changed, we too lost control of the Element.”
Twilight blinked twice while trying to understand what the Prince– No, what Luna had just said. ‘Focus, Twilight. “No need for titles”, she said,’ the unicorn reprimanded herself mentally. It coincidentally gave her more time to try to figure out what was going on.
It was a solid minute before Luna next opened her mouth, “Take your time, Child. It is a lot to take in.”
“So… I will lose control of the Element of Magic if I attempt the spell? Why?” the unicorn spoke slowly, still coming to terms with the concept. The Element of Magic was a symbol of extreme magical prowess. Surely increasing her power would make her more eligible for it, not less. She couldn’t deny that if that were true, then Celestia would still be in control of it.
“Again, it is not Our place to tell you. Another will explain it further. It will make sense in time.” After a moment, “Did you have any other questions for Us?” Twilight shook her head.
Luna looked at her disappointedly for a moment before getting up and walking towards the door at the back of the room. Twilight’s voice rang out after her, “Wait! I have one last question, Luna.”
She turned back and returned to her chair, looking smug. No, closer to proud. A mixture of both, perhaps. “Go on.”
“I was just wondering…” Twilight trailed off, “No. It’s silly.”
“Tell us.”
“Um… Well, I was wondering how is it you stay sane over eternity? Silly, I know. It was sorta bugging me.”
“Thou wanted to ask Us how We, a pony who had a psychotic break and attempted to plunge the world into eternal night (twice!), managed to stay sane?”
Luna looked amused as Twilight blushed madly and looked down at her hooves. “Uhm… Er… Yes? I think so?”
The alicorn giggled at her before answering. “To put it simply, we play a game. All of us.”
“Game?”
“Yes, a game. A game of power and intellect. Are you familiar with the concept of chess?”
“Two players have a simulated battle to capture the opposing king, symbolizing the player controlling that team.” Twilight regularly played the game with Spike in the library when it was quiet. Well, quieter than usual. The dragon never put up much of a challenge, but she would sometimes let him win by ‘accident’.
“Something like that, although we are not constrained to board and wooden figures. We wage war on one another using our powers. The goal is to defeat the ruler of Equestria. This can be done by capturing her, banishing her, or simply making her unable to continue ruling. The alicorn who achieves this becomes the new ruler and the game begins again. Celestia won last time (with Our help), and so took control. That was somewhere around fifteen hundred years ago.”
Twilight had assumed something along the lines of writing books or secret concubines. Nothing could have prepared her for the truth. “Alicorns wage war for fun,” she realized. Just as the blocks were starting to fall into place, Luna continued.
“Shortly after helping her take power, We realized that We still had to play. We had not won, Celestia had. We were still in the game. It was far easier to analyze her from the safety of Canterlot than the mountains We had dwelt in prior to helping her win. We uncovered a weakness that We had not noticed before. She could not raise the sun while Our moon was up. Over the course of four hundred years We planned and waited.”
Luna conjured up a glass of water and took a sip before going on. “Two other alicorns tried to take over during that time. Chrysalis was first, leading a rebellion from the western parts of Equestria. You have not yet met the second alicorn. She attempted a head on assault by herself. Both times, Celestia and ourselves brought them low and expelled them from these lands. It was necessary to fully gain her trust. She would not have trusted another alicorn, but her former mentor? Perhaps. Surely We would not ever try to usurp Our student? Or so We thought.”
Another sip. “Even alicorns are not immune to the occasional cold. When Celestia took ill, We slipped a powerful sedative into her tea that evening, designed to sap both magic and physical strength. With the assurance We would manage both sun and moon until her return to strength, she retired to her room. We assumed she would drink her tea that night. She didn’t. Her natural rest alleviated her illness and upon learning of our plan, rushed to stop us. It had been night for over forty-eight hours by that time.”
Two sips this time. “Rioting and widespread panics had begun. Ponies were cursing Celestia, for they knew not that We controlled the moon. They had turned against her. Even her most valued assets betrayed her. Although she had rejuvenated greatly from her rest, We were still more powerful by far. All that remained was to smite her down in public view and restore daylight to Equestria. Her subjects would adore us and she would be banished from these shores. Victory was assured, along with the undying loyalty of every pony in the land. That had never occurred before. Somepony always remembered and challenged the new ruler in the past. We had but to confront and strike down our beloved pupil and We would win the round.”
Luna drained what was left in the glass and tossed it aside. It poofed out of existence before it could shatter against the wall. Anger directed towards herself was evident in her voice now. “But, We had forgotten something. A very important something. As We mentioned earlier, the elements of harmony pass to other ponies after the Spell is cast. Other ponies had control of them not long before my attempt. The last of them had perished a year or two prior to our attempt and We had forgotten one of the many rules of the elements. When none of them are controlled, they all pass back to the ruler of Equestria until new bearers rise up. We confronted Our sister in the front courtyard of the castle and everything was going to plan. We had laid her low and turned her subjects against her. Victory was at hand, but then something happened. It took Us years to discover what it was and why it waited ‘til then. The elements returned to Celestia, curing her entirely and doubling her powers. Already tired from our previous duel, We were annihilated in a blinding flash of magic. We awoke on the moon, and there dwelt for a thousand years.”
The room was silent after she finished. A silver tear slid down her cheek, although Luna was not crying. Twilight dared to break the silence, “Luna, that’s…” she swallowed and pushed on,” That’s awful. The books never mentioned any of that.” She placed what she hoped was a comforting hoof on the larger pony.
“History is written by the victors, Twilight. Sooner or later that harsh reality will find you and tear you apart. What happens next will be up to you. Do you expect that Celestia would be remembered for her five hundred years of peace if We had been successful? Neigh, she would have been a tyrant overthrown by her righteous sister. Sound familiar?” Twilight nodded. The version of Equestria’s history she had learnt as a foal matched this perfectly.
“Our story doesn’t end there, for We returned. There had been many unsuccessful attempts to overthrow Celestia during our captivity and We had a front row seat to see what did and didn’t work. The elements passed from and back to her a dozen times in our exile. We knew We had to wait until they chose a new bearer before trying to return. That is why We returned when We did. Celestia had lost them to you and your friends, although you did not know it. What better time to strike?”
She would have continued, but Twilight interrupted her. “Why did you return directly from the moon? Why not travel elsewhere and regain your strength, even get followers before attacking?”
“We did not because we could not, child. Celestia had placed spells over our prison to alert her if we tried to use our magic to teleport away, amongst other spells. She would know when we left and teleport us to her should we flee anywhere other than Equestria. She sent us a note shortly into our exile to tell us this.”
Twilight nodded slightly and let her continue with her tale. “As We mentioned, We had an excellent view of Equestria during our exile and saw the lay of the land change over time. We also saw where the elements returned after Celestia lost them.”
“The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters,” suggested the unicorn.
“That is one name for the place. It is where ponies first received the Elements of Harmony. We returned there because it was both inside Equestria, thus avoiding Celestia’s spell, and contained the only magic We suspected could stop us. We did not prepare for thy resilience and fortitude. Thou knowst the rest. Celestia again took us under her wing, although We understood not why at the time. We now know it pertains to this meeting and thy opportunity.”
Luna stood from her chair and walked to the door at the back of the room. Before she could disappear inside, Twilight asked one more question, “Luna, if you were under Celestia’s care because you were defeated, does that mean that Cadence also tried, and failed, to defeat her?”
Luna paused in mid-stride, “It is not our place to answer that, Twilight.” She walked through the door and closed it behind her with a click.
I, what....woah. Quite the change in history you got going on here.
Okay, if I were Twilight, I'd beg off right now. To describe the alicorns as homicidal psychopaths is an understatement. Treating the whole world (and an incalculable number of mortals suffering and dying) as an entertainment? If I accepted this power, it would solely be to hunt them all down and destroy them so that no-one had to suffer through their sick, twisted idea of a game ever again.
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You're looking at it from a mortal viewpoint. From an immortal viewpoint, it really would be the only way to not go completely and totally insane.
Unfortunately for them, mortals suffer. Mortals die. Whether it happens due to influence of immortals or not, it still happens.
1826753 No, I think this viewpoint is the most mortal of all. People (at least those who don't suffer from dementia) mellow with age, as they come to the realization that power is a trapping of the weak and frightened. An immortal would easily reach the same conclusion. Entire perspectives change as the centuries pass by. Little skirmishes and petty jealousy become meaningless.
The entire universe opens up for an immortal. And they have only lived for a few thousand years, let us not forget. If they must go through these ridiculous contests to maintain their sanity every mere thousand years or so, then they are surely not worthy of such power.
How can warfare lead to mental stability? How can stabbing each other in the back, looking constantly for weakness to attack ones fellow immortals, keep one sane? The very idea is completely counterintuitive! This would breed paranoia, suspicion, fear, distrust, and absolute tyrany as each sought to keep followers on their side and strike down their fellows own armies.
I am only 36 myself, but I can tell you that I have QUITE mellowed from my younger days. I see no need for warfare other than to prevent evil men from ruling. I see no need for death, as it would be quite a hindrance to my boundless curiosity about the entirety of the cosmos.
I do believe the unicorn of "The Last Unicorn" was one of the most thoughtful interpretations of an immortal I have ever seen. With nothing to fear, no dread of aging and dying, she had no ambitions and was content simply to guard over her forest. It was the same with Tom Bombadil in LoTR, the First and Fatherless. Immortals would have no care for such meaningless things as war, unless the conflict threatens their patiently crafted works. Rather, those of strong mind and wisdom would simply tend to worlds like we tend to gardens; like a master with a bonsai, carefully snipping just a little here and there to maintain his vision of perfection while still keeping the illusion of a naturally-growing ancient tree. They become angry only when someone threatens what they have made.
The alicorns in this story seem more like petulant children of the wealthy, arrogant and spoiled, who amuse themselves with cheap thrills and irresponsible acts, uncaring of whom may be harmed in their thoughtless games. Thus, I despise them.
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i.imgur.com/syUFf.png
Trying to take over or protect large countries is much more stressful and tiring than what people make it out to be. There's no WAY that WAR would keep an immortal SANE. Not that I'm going to stop reading this, mind, but... Yeah, kinda poorly thought out to explain why/how alicorns do what they do, IMO.
This story so far.
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I would argue that it's not warfare that keeps them sane, but having a focus. Something to treat as a primary goal, something that is hard to forget, and even as they lose their focus will seem important. Intrigue spread over a thousand years provides focus.
Politicing is stressful, but it does wonders for one's reasoning prowess.
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I agree that you would need a focus.
I do not think that this is a reasonable outlet, even if they stopped valuing the lives of mortals.
Also, they ALL play? That I find incredibly hard to believe.
Personally, if I had eternal life, I think I'd start studying a subject for a hundred years, or until I got bored of it. Or a sport. or some other skill. Start touring the world on foot, learning everything about an area before moving on.
Then pick another. and another. and so on.
And if you run out of things to do and learn, well... they have mindwipe magic. Delete your knowledge on a subject or better: store it, relearn what you forgot and compare.
I really enjoyed this story. I liked the tone it had, I like the thought put into it. Then after this chapter, I am not sure what to think anymore. I will still read it because of story sake, but honestly, I'm not sure weather to dislike the story or the characters. Celestia and Luna had a pretty good rap with me, but this changes everything. It makes me think that Celestia is that kind of pony that presents herself one way to the public, and another to another audience. Like the man who goes to church, but has a sailor mouth everyday of the week and disrespects his own religion. (this is not a religion talk, that was just an example.) I still need to take it all in, but wow. It really makes me have to rethink each of the characters.
Good story though, even if I decide to dislike it, it is still a good story. It is written very well, very professional. Keep it up. (yeah, i just realized that this is a completed story...i'm late. oh well)
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Yea, but what about Twilight?
She's learnt that her mentor has the blood of thousands on her hooves. Mass panic, mass riots, civil war. People die in these, many that are not even involved. People have died horribly because the alicorns (Celestia included) have been playing around like children with an ant hill.
I was looking forward to this story, but if this is an accurate history this is an awful characterization.
If their mindset is that this sort of stuff is okay, then I think it does terrible things to you even if you cast it on yourself, not just try to cast it on others
Ok now I am on the fence. I really like celestia and Luna is the best princess but now...now I don't know what to think. I guess I shall read on but I have MY eyes on you.
Well that chapter was... strange. The depiction of alicorns as a bunch who plays king-of-the-hill with Equestria's throne is okay-ish. But the way its handled just seems too be out of character for both Luna and Celestia.
... well, except if Luna just flat out lied. In that case all is fine?
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You are aware that by doing so, you would join their game in a way?
edit: finished the story. Quite out of character for all of them. And Discord now appears to be the most sane and benevolent of the bunch ... which is quite a feat, especially without having Discord in the story at all or providing any alternative character interpretation for him.
And this is where I've decided to stop reading this story. I'm not interested in bullshit immortal 'chess players' who are actually homicidal psychopathic tyrants.
For a perfect example of how is would not work, see Sheogorath. The frickin GOD of madness. He's immortal, been alive for far longer then the alicorns, yet he is still INSANE! He's murdered people for fun, crafted Zombies out of corpses, wages war on himself every once in a while, and is obsessed with cheese. Prime example of a god gone mad.
1874166 Discord is another prime (and quite similar) example.
I LOVE this account of unknown Equestrian history. It makes one look at the Princesses in a whole new perspective.
This is the part where I laughed out loud for over a minute.
That never happens.
Well played, sir or madam.
We shall interview thou
That should be "thee". Learn how to properly use antiquated pronouns before you attempt to use them.
Nothing like a rousing, millenia long game of chess with living unaware pawns.