Mortality
Fleur
By CStGeorge
~~~
“What is it, Sister dearest? What troubles thee?”
Celestia shakes her head, deep in introspection, her mane, pink as the first kiss of morning, shimmering in the torchlight. “Luna, what happens when we die?”
Luna frowned, not understanding. “Sister, why wouldst thy thoughts tread down that road?”
“Luna, if either of us should perish, what would happen to Equestria? What would happen to the world as a whole? If we should die, your moon falls and my sun never rises again. What would happen to the ponies, to the zebras, to the gryphons? They shall all die with us. So what do we do?”
Luna looks at her sadly. “Celestia, thou knowest that no life is permanent. Though we may live for centuries to come, or even millennia, nothing can be eternal. We shall end, and with us shall end life on this world. That is the curse we were dealt. That is mortality.”
The white mare sighs, looking sadly at the ground. “How can we live with ourselves, knowing that our mortality is the mortality of millions? Are we really such selfish ponies as to enjoy life whilst we are to be the murderers of our subjects? How can we be arbiters if we are as guilty as those we judge? Ever the ponies have called dragons their enemies, but if we are to be their downfall, why do they not drive us away? By all rights, they should despise us. Yet, they adore us. Why should they, if we wouldst kill them all?”
“Shake off these thoughts, dear sister! Why wouldst thee worry about those things that thou cannot change?”
Celestia refuses to show her face, but stands up quickly, quietly leaving the bedroom.
“Because I intend to change them.”
Luna’s mouth drops open slightly, and she takes a few seconds to shake her head, and chase after her sister. “Celestia! You cannot be serious! Dost thou knowest what happens when one breaks the bonds of life? Do you what will happen to you? Even if your mind does not break…Oh, sister dearest, please reconsider what you are about to…—“ She gets no farther as a pure white fetlock folds over her mouth. Her worried eyes meet her sister’s sad ones, and she bows her head in sadness and acceptance.
“…If thou truly believe this to be the wisest course, Celestia, then I shall stand beside thee. But be warned, sister. If thou create some abomination, I shall not help thee with sending it back to where it came from.”
Celestia nods once. “I understand, sister. And thank you.”
Luna opened to the door to the throne room, walking slowly up to her sister just after Day Court. A small scroll floated in front of the regent of the sun and a calm smile was spread across her face.
“Sister?”
“Sister!”
“CELESTIA!”
The white mare snapped out of her reverie, confused and disoriented, but calmed down quickly and smiled as soon as she saw her sister, her powder blue mane and tail just beginning to take on the mantle of stars of that came with the height of her power.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Luna. I was just reading my student’s latest report.” Luna’s fuzzy ears perked up at that.
“Report? Student…? Ahhhh, thou must mean that purple unicorn that freed Us from the Nightmare…Regardless, that is not what We came to talk to thou about. Dost thou remember what we discussed just the night before I was…shall we say, corrupted by the darkness?”
Celestia tapped her forehead with a hoof, attempting to recollect the memory, and shrugged.
“I’m sorry, sister, but it WAS a thousand years ago. Would you refresh my memory?”
Luna averted her gaze, mumbling something under her breath. “…thbnshmntfmrtlty...”
“What was that, Luna?”
“The banismntofmrtly…”
“One more time?”
Luna sighed. She knew well that her sister could hear her. “The banishment of mortality, Sister.” She instantly heard a sharp intake of breath from Celestia, but with no further input, took it as an opportunity to continue. Never one to beat around the bush, she continued without pause, “What happened?”
Celestia sighed, her memories flooding back to that day…That terrible, terrible day…
“Luna…Luna…I’m so, so sorry…”
Tears flow freely down the white pony’s face, drenching it in water as she sobs brokenly. The colors of her mane and tail, imparted by the power of the Elements of Harmony, gradually fade back to the soft pink of the morning light. Though in another time she might have found it fascinating, she pays it no mind and goes on crying, the tears streaming down her face in thick rivers. Her magic finally stops, and the six gemstones drop to the ground, a melodic clinking echoing around the silent, empty palace.
Three days pass, and Celestia still refuses to move, her spirit nearly broken. But little by little, day by day, she recovers, until she is able to move into the kitchen and feed herself, drinking a little water and chewing on a slice of bread. Turning to return to her mourning, she notices a small leather book on the counter, a white quill resting on top of it. She cradles it gently and cracks it open with her magic, turning to the final page. Her eyes narrow in determination. Grabbing a small piece of chalk, she walks with purpose back to the former library.
Celestia stands in the ruins of the old library. All around her is destruction. The walls are nearly crumbled, and every book has been destroyed, fading into ash. The shelves lay askew, shattered and destroyed. None of this is of importance, however. All of her attention is on the casting circle beneath her hooves, reading once more the intricate incantation, looking it over with a critical eye. Everything must be perfect; any error, and the catastrophic magical fallout would be the least of her worries.
Looking around at the six runes, she makes sure they’re drawn impeccably. The sun, symbol of purity, is directly in front of her, and the leaf, symbol of life, off to the right. Nearby was the mirror, symbol of the soul, then the sword, symbol of severing and separation. Then the moon...She swallows and turns away from the symbol of innocence, the event still raw in her mind. She wasn't quite ready to face the object of her shame quite yet. Finally, displayed prominently in the center is the mist glyph, the symbol of mortality. Channeling her magic into her horn, she begins to pump it through the circle, focusing it on the gemstones sitting on the glyphs. A balloon for the moon. A an apple for the sun. A butterfly for the leaf. A gemstone for the mirror, and a lightning bolt for the sword. Finally, situated atop her head was a crown holding a six-pointed purple star.
The stones begin to pulse an unearthly golden light, connecting to each other with rays of gilded energy and leaving Celestia trapped inside a cage of radiance. Blasts of the brilliant power surge into her and she lets out an involuntary cry of pain before steeling herself and clenching her jaw tightly.
As the power of the Elements burns its way into her, her mane once again begins to take on the pastel lines of color. With each jolt of fierce pain, another piece of the golden cage about her fades into pink. Celestia clenches her jaw ever harder, rivulets of blood seeping from the base of her shining horn as the spell threatens to backlash. She intensifies her focus more, holding on to what order she can muster from the chaotic magic. As the pain threatens to overwhelm her, the cage is finally completely pink.
A huge discharge of magical energy blasts through the palace, knocking many of the half-crumbled walls where they stand. Celestia is knocked back against one of the few left standing. As she finally fights back the pain and opens her eyes, spitting out blood, she’s shocked by what she sees in front of her. A tiny white filly with a mane as pink as the first light of morning stands in the center of the circle, looking around with wide, intelligent, pink-grey eyes. They center upon Celestia. Celestia stares at her in turn.
Of course, she reflects. Mortality is, after all, not something that can simply dissipate out into the Æther under normal circumstances. It has to go somewhere, a container of sorts. And in her case, it is even more dramatic; alicorns live far longer than a normal pony, and thus their mortality is far more potent. What form could it take other than a living being? Wide-eyed, she struggles to her feet, limping her way slowly to the small unicorn. Briefly, she wonders why it has no wings, but discards the idea quickly; the world doesn't need any more alicorns to keep balance.
The filly's eyes instantly lock onto hers, staring into her with surprising intensity. “I suppose you do not need me anymore, hmm?”
Celestia nearly jumps. The filly is still staring at her, her eyes narrow and accusing. Composing herself for a moment, she nods gravely. "You know that I do not do this lightly. I need to, for the sake of my land. With Luna..." she swallows a moment, "With Luna gone, I shall need to stay strong, not for my sake, but for that of those I rule." The filly’s eyes widen and a small smile emerges on her face.
“That is the right answer, Celestia. So I suppose I will go make myself a life out there. First, however, I need a name. Your thoughts?”
Celestia swallows, the lump in her throat making breathing a little bit difficult. She looks around for a name and her eyes suddenly center on her golden horseshoes, each depicting a stylized lily. She turns back to the filly and smiles slightly, knowing full well that when her mortality turns her back, she'll be saying goodbye to a piece of herself forever.
“Fleur,” she whispers, “Your name is Fleur.”