This is the place for side stories, origin tales and plot bunnies for my fic: "The Wizard and the Lonely Princess". So come on in,
A collection of various side stories from the universe of "The Wizard and the Lonely Princess". Included are various origin tales for OCs and side adventures for various characters in the main story that were left on the cutting room floor. Want to see Nightmare Moon sneaking around Hogwarts? You'll find that here among others.
Watching as Luna brings over the first aid kit they have stashed under a loose floorboard to Harry, Nightmare scowls as she looks over the scrapes on him. Seeing this, Harry gives her a slight smile. “They’re not as bad as they seem.”
Taking the kit from Luna, Harry opens it and takes out a cotton swab and places some alcohol onto it. Nightmare’s scowl if anything grows as Harry hisses while gently cleaning a scrape. “That accursed mongrel chased you up a tree and they laughed!” She then gains a nasty grin. “Oh, soon they won’t be laughing…”
Harry just sighs in defeat. “Nothing I say will or could possibly change your mind, could it?” Nightmare’s cocked eyebrow and smirk is answer enough causing him to shake his head. “Why do I even bother to try?”
Luna just pats him on the knees before grabbing a band aid and placing it on a scrape with some antibiotic cream as she sighs. “I feel your pain…”
Nightmare waits until the next day, a school day, to put her plan into motion as Harry would be out of the line of fire. Once she hears him walking out the door, she grins as she puts her plan into action. Climbing up onto the window sill, she takes a breath before leaping off. Landing on the ground behind some bushes, she chuckles as her plush body didn’t even scuff. ‘Now then… where’s that window…’ Sneaking through the bushes, she stops under the open kitchen window and hears Petunia and Harry’s “Aunt” Marge talking. ‘There we go…’
“… I swear Petunia, you and my brother are a better people then me. Taking in that tramp of a sister’s of yours kid and all.”
A sound of dishes being done drift in. “Ah, well, blood and all.”
“Yes, yes. Me? I would have dropped him off at the nearest orphanage if not in some alleyway. In fact, I might have well been tempted to do as I do with any defective pups I have! Just throw him in the river and be done with it!”
The sound of the dishes being done stops for a split moment before continuing. “Yes well, I owe it to my parents at the least.”
A snort comes out. “Bah! It’s obvious that they didn’t know what they had.” Another snort. “And they wasted all that money on her when it could have gone to you and my brother. Probably spent it all on drugs and such she did.” A moment of silence was broken by the sound of something glass being set on the table. “Does Vernon have any more of that lovely rum of his Petunia? I do believe that I need another pick-me-up!”
“Um… yes, he does as a matter of fact. It’s in the den. Would you like me to go get it?”
Nightmare raises an eyebrow as she gets the feeling that Petunia is actually quite uncomfortable. ‘Perhaps she still does have some sisterly feelings…’ She then shrugs. ‘Then again, she just might not like that fat cow all that much. Can’t blame her for that.’
A grunt comes out of the window. “That would be lovely Petunia.” As she continues to lay there, hidden under the bushes as she hears Marge continue on with her ranting, she keeps wanting to perform some form of harm onto the woman. The only thing that stops her being that she’s in a weakened state. Though she does promise herself that if she ever gets the opportunity once back to full power, she’ll give Marge a personal visit. After a few hours of this, Nightmare finally gets a break as the sound of a chair scrapping against the floor echoes out the window. “Ah, time to let Ripper out for his washroom break.”
Smiling, Nightmare’s eyes nearly glow in the shadow of the bush. ‘Excellent… It’s time for the first stage…’ Dashing across the lawn, she hides in some bushes near a hole that another dog had dug a few weeks before. Her grin becomes more vicious as she sees Ripper come out the back door. ‘It’s time to start then…’
She then takes a stick and starts whacking it against the bush and chuckles as she sees Ripper turn in her direction before sticking her head out of the bush so that’s it’s visible to him and no one else. Growling, he starts tearing across the lawn towards her. She turns to the hole as she can hear Marge laughing. “Well look at that, Ripper must have seen a cat or a rabbit or something. Go get it boy!”
Ripper is nearly on Nightmare before she dives down into the hole and out the other side, making sure to whack Ripper on the snout causing his rage to grow. It grows even more as he smells the boy his mistress hates on Nightmare. “That’s right you filthy beast. Let’s see you try me on for size.” Nightmare then leads him on a merry chase across the backyards of several houses as back at #4, Marge calls out for Ripper. Seeing an open shed, she runs into it with Ripper behind her. As he gets in, an indigo glow surrounds the doors before they slam shut, a rake falling down and jamming them closed. Yelping, Ripper turns back to get out, going so far as to scrabble at the door. He stops as he hears soft footsteps heading towards him and looks up to see two glowing green eyes in the darkness of the shed on a nearby shelf as they . Then a soft glow begins to fill the air as the fur on his neck stands on end before he whines. “Oh… You thought that you were a big bad Alpha going after my Harry…” Nightmare then stops with a sadistic grin on her face as Ripper slowly sways before falling to the ground asleep. “Too bad for you… I’m muchbadder…” She chuckles darkly as she steps towards him. "Welcome to Nightmare's Dog Training 101. First lesson: Why you should not attack Harry..."
Out on the street, Marge is calling for Ripper when a bone chilling howl cuts through the air. “RIPPER!” Rushing towards where she heard it, she sees the shed and can hear him yelping and howling. Reaching it, she grabs the knobs and yanks on them again and again until the door flies open revealing Ripper curled up into a ball, unharmed, and shivering with whimpers coming from his mouth. “Oh, Ripper! Mommy’s here…” Looking around the shed, she ignores the shed’s owner coming up yelling at her before she turns and starts yelling at them, neither noticing a small black shape streaking from the shed into the nearby bushes, though Ripper does and whimpers as he tries to curl more into himself. ‘Heh. Too easy.’
Later that night, Marge is settling in to go to sleep before she scowls at the sound of Ripper under the bed. “That boy must have had something to do with this. After all, why would my darling baby run away at the sight of him!" She snarls a bit. "He’s no good!”
Closing her eyes, she goes to sleep and soon the room is silent except for her snores and Ripper’s whimpers. As the clock reaches midnight, he freezes as he sees the door open revealing Nightmare there with a grin. Backing up, he scrambles into the closet and hides there causing her to chuckle. “Good mutt.” Spying Marge, she sneers. “And now it’s your turn… now let’s see how you like it when the tables are turned…” Hopping up onto the bed, Nightmare’s horn glows as she grins down at Marge, her eyes dancing with glee.
Inside her dream, Marge opens her eyes to find that she’s now around four feet tall causing her to scowl. “What the bloody hell is going on here!? Where am I!?” A moment later, she finds herself being lifted into the air by a large, furry hand before finding herself before what looks like a humanoid bull dog with green, slitted pupil eyes. “Put me down you beast!”
The creature just snorts at her before sneering. “A runt. Bah! No good.” It then grins in a familiar manner until Marge recognizes that it’s speaking in her normal adult voice. “Ah, well. I know what to do with useless runts like you.”
It begins walking as Marge struggles until it reaches a river and pulls out a burlap sack. Realizing what’s about to happen, Marge’s struggles increase before she’s shoved into the bag. “No! PLEASE NO! GAHHHH!” She soon finds herself and the sack thrown into the air for a moment before it hits the water. Still struggling inside, Marge and the sack slip beneath the surface. And as her air runs out and the burlap sack entangles her, Marge finds her vision slowly darkening until blackness and cold overwhelms her…
Only for her to wake up in her bed breathing heavily and soaked with sweat, the sheets entangled with her limbs. Wild eyed, she looks around every which way. Until slowly her breathing comes under control and her heart starts to calm. Finally she lays back and pulls the covers over herself once more. “Just a dream… that’s all it was…. Just a dream…”
Slowly, sleep once more claims her as Nightmare steps out from the shadows, her horn still glowing. “Oh, we’re not done yet little thing. Not by a far shot. After all… no one says that my Harry should have been killed or sets a mongrel on him and gets away with it that easily… Now then, what shall I use next? Hm… Since you’re an animal abuse…”
The next morning, Harry’s at the windowsill watching as Marge’s car tears down the street, nearly running some people over before rounding a corner and disappearing from sight. “You know what? I’m not going to ask what you did Nightmare, because I think that I’m better off not knowing.”
Chuckling, Nightmare settles into the sheets. “Let’s just say… I put her on the opposite end of her cruelty and leave it at that…” She then softly sighs as Luna gives her an inquiring gaze. “Now, if you’ll excuse me… I have some rest to catch up on. Yesterday was a long day…”
Walking through the halls alongside her teacher, Twilight takes a moment to glance outside causing her eyes to widen. “Wow! You did an incredible job tonight with the Moon Princess Celestia! It’s so bright!” A moment later she looks away with a blush. “Um… not to say that you usually don’t do a great job that is.”
Celestia merely chuckles. “I thank you for the compliment my faithful student.” Taking a look herself out a window, Celestia finds herself surprised to find that her student is correct. The Moon itself was positively glowing. A split moment later the expression of shock disappears before she turns back to her student. “Now then, about your assignment for tomorrow…” Later that night, Celestia is on her balcony looking up at the sky in thought. ‘How odd… the seal is not any weaker than it should be and yet…’ Stiffening for a second, she soon relaxes. “I should have known that you would visit me tonight.”
A soft snort sounds. “Do not flatter yourself Princess.” A pause. “Our Lady of the Night does seem happy though.”
Looking up, Celestia notes that there’s a beauty in the sky that has not been there for centuries. “The seal has weakened, but not enough for this to happen.”
A slight chuckle. “While our Lady’s connection with the night has weakened, it has not been severed. As the seal weakens, her emotions will affect the Night.” Celestia nods only for the voice to continue. “Wondering what might make her so happy?”
Celestia just shakes her head looking down as a small tear drops from her eye. “Not particularly. I am glad that she’s happy with something. Perhaps a nice dream?”
There’s a moment of silence before the voice makes itself known. “Perhaps.”
For a few minutes all that’s heard is silence until Celestia begins to speak again. “You know, I think that my sister would be happy and pleased as to the loyalty demonstrated by you and your fellow Night Guards.”
Celestia turns to see a slightly transparent Pegasus Mare with bat wings and what looks like small horns sticking from her mane. The mare narrows her eyes in an indignant expression. “She has earned our Loyalty Princess. Many times over.” She then softens as she gazes back at the moon. “She accepted us and so we shall wait and guard over our Lady.”
Celestia softly whispers. “A thousand years is a long time for anyone.” She then shakes her head. “Why the Elements…”
The mare is silent for a moment before speaking, what she says shocking the Princess. “Because we asked them to. In that moment when she was sealed we begged them to as it was our duty…” The mare looks down in sadness before once more giving Celestia a stony gaze. “And our punishment.”
Celestia shakes her head. “A self imposed punishment. You were never at fault.”
An angry snort is all that answers her as the mare takes a step. “We could have prevented our Lady’s fall!” The mare looks away. “And yet we failed.”
Raising a hoof as if to comfort her, Celestia stops and puts it back down. “Still. A thousand years away from your family…”
The mare gives her a look. “’Family’? What family?” She then glares as her wings spread out. “Have you forgotten exactly why I joined the Night Guards Princess?” Celestia looks down as she hisses at her. “Do you… remember?”
Celestia nods as she softly whispers to the ghostly figure before her. “I do.” She then turns and looks out over Equestria. “I’ve worked many years since then so that what you went through wouldn’t happen again Typhoon. Even the stories about your Grandsire have changed over the years.”
Typhoon sneers. “Ah yes, Grandfather Hurricane. May his soul stay icy.” She too then looks out over Equestria. “Though I doubt that even now the people would accept one such as I or Talon.” She snorts in derision. “After all… they never accepted half-breeds before.”
Celestia flinches some. “That was unfair of them. Particularly with how your parents gave their lives against Discord.”
Typhoon gives her a glance before scowling. “Please Princess. I had two marks against me.” She glares at the surrounding countryside. “Not only was I the grand child of one of the most hated Pegasi, but I was born of a union between Pony and Dragon.” She shakes her head. “And Talon was the child of a Pegasus and a Griffin.” A bitter chuckle winds up leaving her throat. “Is it any wonder that me and Talon, Juniper and Krys all became her guards? Outcasts one and all. Us and our Lady.”
Celestia grimaces. “I always hated that.”
Typhoon shrugs. “Perhaps.” She then gives Celestia a small smile. “But then, that is why we never hated you. Dislike you at times, yes. Hate? No." She shakes her head before giving Celestia a glance. "You were the only one other than our Lady to give us respect and kindness.”
Celestia gives a nod before noticing Typhoon glancing over her shoulder. “It’s time, isn’t it?”
Typhoon nods as she slowly fades, the star on her armor glowing brighter. “Yes Princess.” She then nods her head. “Until the next time Princess Celestia. Take care of our Lady’s night for us and her.”
Blinking away some tears, Celestia nods as the mare disappears entirely, leaving behind only the bright star that had been on her armor before it rises and joins with three others in the night sky around the Moon. “I will.” She then takes one last look at the Moon, and in particular the mare shaped shadow on it. “Only a while longer Luna… then you’ll return to me.” Hanging her head, she swallows a lump as several tears fall. “I am so sorry…”
Snorting back some mucus, Harry gives the worried Luna a small smile. "Don't worry Lu-ACHOO!" Grabbing a piece from the roll of toilet paper he has by his bed, he blows and lies back with a groan. "Don't worry about it. It's just *Snerk!* the flu."
Luna just flutters around him while adjusting his blankets and pillow. "Are you sure? It's just that you look really sick... Do you need another blanket? Or maybe some more pillows? You look warm, do you think-"
Harry cuts her off. "It's the flu Luna. Nothing else." He sighs before sneezing again. "Some rest and stuff like juice and I'll get better."
Biting her lip, Luna slowly nods. "If you're sure..." She then perks up. "I know! I can get you some juice!"
Harry just facepalms as he takes a breath and let's out in a sigh. 'She's not going to give up, is she...?' Taking it away, he sighs again that Luna's smile. "Okay, sounds good and could you get me some cough medicine?" Luna nods and flies off causing Harry to grumble as he leans back. "Finally..."
He soon slips into a doze as Luna flies into the empty kitchen. Looking around, she scowls at the note that the Dursleys had left shortly after Harry became ill.
Boy, going to Marge's and will be there for several days. Don't destroy the house and clean it up once your illness is down.
Still scowling, she turns away. ‘Hopefully they'll get some very nice nightmares from this...'
She blinks as a familiar voice pipes up. 'Oh, they will. They will...'
Luna sighs mentally. 'Oh, you're back.'
Nightmare darkly chuckles. 'Of course. I never left Little Princess.' A few moments later, Luna could feel the raised eyebrow of her darker self. 'Why not use magic to cure it?'
Luna sighs as she uses her magic to open the fridge and sees that there's no juice there. 'You think that I didn't try?' Luna then scowls. 'Mother damnit, none of the spells I can do worked and the best I can do is take away his aches.'
Nightmare for lack of anything better blinks. 'Zebra potions?'
Luna grumbles a little as she sits back for a moment. 'Don't have all the ingredients needed and don't want to screw up with substitution.' She then lights up. 'Wait! I can make him some juice!'
Nightmare is quiet for a few moments. 'Do you even know how?'
Luna waves her off. 'I've seen the servants do it often enough.' She then nods. 'Not to mention seeing Harry do it as well.' Hearing Nightmare sigh, she scowls. 'What?'
Nightmare takes a second to respond. 'Nothing. Nothing at all.'
Mumbling, Luna walks over to a cupboard and opens it using TK. "Now then... where art thou?" She leans in and starts digging around until she springs out with a squeezer in her hoof. "HUZZAH!" Setting it down on the counter, she opens the fridge and takes out an orange. "Hm... Right! I need a knife and cutting board." Opening a drawer, she takes out the cutting board before setting it down, the aura around it vanishing as she does so. She then reaches in again... and pulls out a cleaver. "Yes! This shall do nicely!"
Unseen to her, Harry walks into the kitchen and is about to say something when he sees a laughing Luna waving around a cleaver with her magic. His eyes go wide and he slowly backs out of the kitchen. 'Just go back to bed Harry... this looks like one of those times...'
Blinking as she hears something, Luna turns to look behind her as she stops her triumphant laughter. "I could have sworn that I heard something..." She then shrugs. "Oh well." Placing the orange on the cutting board, she grins. "Now then, time to cut you!" Raising the cleaver, she brings it down... only for it to glancing hit the orange sending it flying. Luna blinks at what happened for a moment before turning to look at the orange now on the floor. She then scowls "You were supposed to hold still!" Landing on the floor once more, she grabs it and tries again and again until what looks like a shredded bunch of pulp is in front of her. "This is a most annoying orange." She narrows her eyes as she could swear that it was laughing at her in a nasally voice. 'Grrrr...'
Nightmare once more pops up in her head. 'Beaten by a fruit... pathetic.'
Luna just growls at her. 'Shut up you.' She scraps it into a bowl she got and places another orange on the cutting board and holds it there with magic. With a single stroke, she cuts it in half. "YES! TAKE THAT CITRUS!" She suddenly stops before looking around and coughing. "Yes, well..." Taking it, she places it on the squeezer and pushes down. After doing it with both pieces, she pours the juice into a glass causing her to smile. "Excellent." She then looks at the pulp from the previous orange and grins as an idea comes to her before she heads to the fridge and grabs some ice...
*********************** Later *****************************
Taking a sip of the juice, Harry gives Luna a smile. "Thanks Luna, I appreciate this."
Luna holds her head up in pride before gesturing at the bowl of shredded ice mixed with orange pulp. "Try some of the citrus ice. I remember Celly having the dessert cooks make it for her at times."
Harry smiles and takes a spoonful and eats it before cocking his head to the side. "So you used your magic to remove the seeds then?"
Luna blinks as Harry puts another spoonful in his mouth. "You're supposed to remove the seeds?" ___________________________________________ Walking into the kitchen for the second time that day, Luna rubs her front hooves together as she sits at a table. "Now then... what should I make Harry for supper...?"
Nightmare groans. 'After what happened...?'
Luna simply grumbles. 'How was I to know that you were supposed to remove the seeds first?!' Sighing. she turns on the radio and turns to dial as she tries to think of something. "Now... what would be good...?"
She blinks as she stops on one station, a talk show to be frank. "So doctor, what is your recommendation for those who are sick? Are there any old fashioned remedies that work?"
Luna's head whips around fast enough that it audibly cracks causing her to wince. Shaking it off, she turns to the radio. "Yes, what works?"
After a few moments another voice (who Luna assumes to be this doctor) speaks up. "Yes, well. There's a number but what I prefer myself when I am sick is a nice bowl of chicken noodle soup. I find that some celery makes it even better!"
The host speaks again though Luna is no longer focusing as she hits her hoof into the other. " That's it! Chicken Noodle soup!" Rushing over the cupboard, she pulls out a can and sets it down on a counter and pulls out a pot before suddenly becoming thoughtful. "Now how does one go about making chicken noodle soup?" She then leans down and examines the soup can from the edge of the counter. "And how do you open it?"
Nightmare mentally rolls her eyes. 'With a can opener of course.'
Luna narrows her eyes and looks at the can opener which is in the sink. 'Yeah, don't think that will work.' Her eyes then light up as she turns on the sink and runs something under the water. She then slowly levitates the can over the pot using her magic. "Now... HIIIYA!" Jumping up, she uses the now clean cleaver to cut the can in half before folding her arms as the last drops fall into the pot. "Yeah, I get ideas." A few minutes later finds herself looking at a stove. "Now... how to turn it on..." Leaning closer to it as she levitates the pot nearby, she rubs her chin before nodding as she remembers how from when she watched Harry. Turning it on, she places the pot down before heading over to the fridge and taking out some celery. Stripping the leaves, she sighs. 'What a waste...' Chopping them up, she throws them into the slowly bubbling soup before stirring. Sitting on a nearby chair, she sighs as she wipes her brow. "Whew! I think that today I used more magic then I have... in a while actually." As she ponders, she sights a salt shaker and her eyes light up. "Don't you add salt to soup?"
Deep inside Luna's mind, Nightmare raises an eyebrow. 'Are you sure that you should...'
Luna just snorts. 'Of course! Besides, everyone likes salt!' Flying over, she hovers as she uses her magic to shake some salt into the soup... only for the top to come off and pour a quarter of the salt in before she can do anything. "Eep!" Looking around, she uses her magic to screw the top back on before shakily smiling. "I... I can fix this." She then nods smiling once more. "Yes, all I need to add some water to balance out the salt! And maybe some pepper as well! Now... where is that glass...?"
*************** A few minutes later ****************
Looking at the bowl of soup and then at the hopeful expression on Luna, Harry sighs as he takes a spoonful and puts it into his mouth. Putting the spoon back into the bowl, he closes his eyes as he swallows. Luna slowly leans in close and Harry opens his eyes to see her eyes sparkling. "Is it good? I heard that chicken soup was good for illness."
Harry blinks for a moment. "It's... interesting..."
Luna claps her hooves together happily. "Oh good! And I still got three quarters of the pot left! I'll be right back!"
As she rushes off, Harry slowly looks down at the bowl in his lap before coughing a bit. "Ugh..."
Grumbling as she leaves the backpack, Nightmare looks up at Harry and Luna as they settle at the desk in the far corner of the library, his dripping coat hung on the back as rain patters at a nearby window. Finally getting out, she looks herself over with a frown. "You must find a different way of transporting me, Child…" Looking herself over again, she sighs. "Or, at the very least, a new backpack so I do not get wet."
Blinking, Harry looks down and has to hold in a snort as he can see various wet patches on her body. Luna, on the other hand, has no such compunctions as she laughs. "And will you look at what the cat has dragged in, will you?"
Nightmare growls a little as she glares at the other Alicorn. ‘If only you weren’t like a ghost…’ Sighing, she props her head up one hoof while gesturing around. "So what are we reading today then?"
Harry holds up a book with a picture of a dragon on a hoard. "Well… I was thinking of trying this one." Seeing the surprised looks, he rubs the back of his head as he looks at Luna. "Well, after you said how good it was… I thought that I should give it a try as well."
Luna slowly smiles while placing a hoof on his shoulder. "That’s great Harry and I am sure that you’ll love the story as much as I did." She then seems to stare off. "Reminds me of some things that I got into when I was younger…"
Nightmare shrugs. "Meh, not a bad one I guess." She then uses her hoof and gestures at Luna. "And I don’t need to guess what the Little Princess is going to be reading. Probably something heavy and complicated." Seeing Harry’s lips twitch while Luna blushes, she sighs before blinking as she sees the book on the table. "A ‘King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table’ book?"
Luna just raises her head and sniffs. "I was interested since it’s a part of Harry’s cultural heritage."
Rolling her eyes, Nightmare waves off the fuming lunar princess. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." She then begins to walks off. "While you’re doing that, I’ll go find something for myself."
Harry and Luna share a look before Harry clears his throat. "Are you sure that’s a good idea Nightmare? Because what if someone sees you…?"
Nightmare just smirks as she shoots an amused look over her shoulder. "Don’t worry about me. I think that I can hide myself easily enough." She then chuckles as her horn gives a brief glow though she puffs a little afterwards. "There. A simply spell to make it hard to notice me. Happy?" At their nods, she trots off looking for a book. Heading into the adult section, she climbs the bookshelves until she’s standing on the top. ‘Now then… where should I go…?’
Getting an idea, she starts walking, jumping over gaps every once in a while until she suddenly stops as she hears voices below her. "That’s pretty bloody amazing!" A second later, she can hear a smack. "What was that for?"
A female voice answers causing Nightmare to roll her eyes. "Watch your language!"
The guy grumbles and Nightmare looks over the edge to see a girl with red hair and a guy with black hair talking. "Yeah, yeah." As all she can see is the top of their heads, Nightmare loses interest and begins to move away when she suddenly stops at the guy’s next words. "Still, can you imagine it? The sun being blocked out for months…"
Nightmare having heard this returns to where the two are, listening in as she watches them. ‘What!?’
The girl shakes her head slowly. "I think that it would be pretty terrifying myself. It would be like what nuclear winter would be like, I suppose."
The boy then nods. "So… where’s this book and what’s the name?"
The girl slowly shrugs her shoulders. "It’s over in the Earth Sciences section…"
As the girl tells the boy the name, Nightmare mentally takes it down before ducking out of view for a moment. ‘"Nuclear Winter"? That’s…’ Looking over the edge, she notices they’re gone causing her to scowl. ‘Just great. At least I have a name.’ Leaping over across the aisle, she makes her way to the Earth Sciences section. Grabbing the book in question, she starts reading out loud in a whisper. "The impact of the asteroid released more energy than all the atomic weapons in the world many times over. It was so powerful, it sent massive amounts of dust into the atmosphere while wildfires started by the impact added their own smoke to the dense layer blocking out all the sunlight." She slowly blinks. "That sounds like…" Getting an uneasy feeling in her gut, or what passes as one, she continues. "Without sunlight, temperatures dropped dramatically and plants began to die…" As she continues to read, she starts to tremble before stopping. "No… no, no. This is just a theory… it has no basis in real life… right?" She then notices something. ‘The volcanic eruption of Tambora….?’
****************** A few days later *********************
Watching out the window as Harry works in number 4’s garden, Nightmare shivers as her mind drifts back to what she had read. ‘Dammit… stop thinking about it!’ Turning away, she pulls a foreleg over her eyes and when she uncovers her eyes, she finds herself in a darkened room that’s only lit by pale moonlight. And there, on the bed, is a pile of sheets with a small, thin arm poking out, glistening with ice… "GAH!" Backing away, she blinks as her back hits the wall and finds the room back to normal with sunlight streaming in. "Ju-just a figment of my imagination… yes, that’s all." Trembling a little, she gives a shaky smile as she looks at the ceiling. "Besides… he’s just a pawn, that’s all…" Needless to say, it sounds a little hollow to herself causing her to grimace, before the image flashes through her mind again, this time of Equestria covered in ice. "STOP IT!" Grabbing one of Dudley’s broken remote controlled cars; she flings it at the wall hard enough to shatter it as she screeches in anger and frustration. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD BUCKING DAMMIT!" Seeing the notebook, with all her notes on what she’s found, open nearby, her trembling increases. "Just… make it stop… make it stop…"
Outside, Harry glances up at his bedroom window with a frown as he hears her screech. "Luna, is Nightmare okay? I’m starting to get worried with how she’s been acting in the last little while."
Luna rolls her eyes. "Harry, she’s always temperamental, angry, and gruff."
Harry’s frown only becomes more pronounced. "Yeah, but it’s gotten worse. Not mention she seems… distant at times. Just sitting there staring off into space." Sitting back for a moment, he uses a rag to clean his hands of dirt. "And more than that, she’s gotten physical." Seeing Luna narrow her eyes and open her mouth, Harry shakes his head. "Not against me or anyone really… But…" He looks back at the window, and takes a breath. "I’ve been noticing that some of Dudley’s toys are being destroyed. Sure, they were already broken, but when some are turning up shattered that up till now weren’t…"
Now it’s Luna’s turn to frown as she thinks, only to realize he’s right, causing her to bite her lip. "That… is worrisome." She then gives him the best comforting smile she can. "I’m sure that that she’s just going through one of her moods, though." She then tilts her head to the side. "But I’ll go talk with her nonetheless, okay?" Harry nods but before he can say anything, Luna flaps her wings and flies to the window. Alighting on the sill, she gets a sinking feeling as she sees Nightmare with her forelegs covering her eyes. ‘Never mind her being physical, this is more worrisome.’
Nightmare meanwhile, is trying to get the images out of her head when she hears Luna land right next to her. Pulling her forelegs away from her face, Nightmare snarls partially at being caught being "Weak" by Luna. "What the bucking Hay are you…" Whatever words are about to be spoken die in her throat at the sight of Luna looking over the notebook. Snatching it away, she glares. "And what do you think that you’re doing looking through my stuff?!"
Luna just looks at her, a variety of expressions mixing on her face. Mostly bad ones, but the one that hits Nightmare is the fact that her eyes seem empty. "So… you found out about what would happen with eternal night did you…?"
Nightmare stars at her uncomprehendingly for a moment. "You… knew…" The blaze of anger that’s been focused inwards for the past few days suddenly finds a new target. "YOU KNEW ALL THIS TIME!?"
Reaching out with her magic, Luna slowly closes the window before sighing, still looking away. "For the past two years. I found out about nuclear winter after overhearing a couple in the park."
Nightmare begins to shake in rage. "How dare you… HOW DARE YOU STAND THERE AS IF YOU’RE UNAFFECTED!"
Now Luna whips around, her own face filled with anger. "Do you really think that…?" She takes a step towards Nightmare who backs up a little. "Do you think that you’re the only one who, when she closes her eyes sometimes sees people she cares for dead of starvation and cold… DO YOU!?" Taking a breath, Luna looks away. "Remember two years ago? When I was… not acting myself?"
Nightmare slowly nods. "Yeah, you were… home… sick…" Her eyes widen as her head whips up to stare at Luna. "It wasn’t because you were homesick… was it?"
Luna bitterly chuckles. "No, it wasn’t." She then sighs. " After finding out what we… what I nearly did… what I might have caused…" Luna gulps as little as some tears fall from her eyes. "If I had anything at all for those days in my stomach, I would have had it all brought up. As it was…" She then hangs her head. "As it was, a few times I dry heaved." She then looks Nightmare directly in the eye, both of her own shining in horror. "If I hadn’t been stopped… we might have killed everyone…"
Nightmare just snarls. "You weren’t the one who came up with it, it was me!" She starts trembling again. "I was in control…" She starts trembling even more as she chokes out the next bit. "I… was going to kill them… and they looked to me for protection…"
Trembling a little herself, Luna’s tears begin running fully as she closes her eyes. "And yet you would have never considered it if I hadn’t thought about it at times before…" Opening her eyes, she continues with her voice thick with emotion. "When I realized what could have happened…" Blinking, Luna nods. "Part of me wished that Celly had ended it right there." A bitter chuckle escapes her throat as she shakes her head. "And for all our power, she could have. But no… she used the Elements to seal us."
Nightmare just snarls as she squeezes her eyes shut. "You think that I’m not going through that too!?" All of a sudden, Nightmare seems to go limp as if she was a puppet with her strings cut. "All I wanted was them… to love us… And now…"Looking up at the other Alicorn, she looks totally lost. "I… what do I do? I…"
Taking pity on her, Luna gently makes those last few steps before gathering her into her forelegs as she nuzzles the doll. "I don’t know." Looking up at the ceiling, Luna rocks back and forth. "But… we have each other… and we have Harry."
And at that point, a familiar voice makes itself known causing them to stiffen. "You’ll always have me." Turning, they find, to their horror that, Harry is standing there, his own eyes glistening. "Always."
Swallowing, Luna tries to ask the question on both their minds. "How…"
Harry sadly sighs and shakes his head. "Enough." Walking over, he pulls them into a hug. "And no matter what, I’m not about to leave you."
Nightmare just shakes her head, her voice sounding small and tired. "But… after what we nearly did... "
Harry just continues to hug them before rocking back and forth. "I know you. Neither of you would have meant for it to happen…" And the three of them spend the rest of the day like that. Simply holding each other.
Sighing as he leans back against Nightmare on the moon, Harry glances over at Luna. "Hey, Luna?" Seeing that he has her attention, he asks a question that's been on his mind for a while. "Remember how you told me that you would explain your past when I was older?"
Blinking for a moment, Luna gives him a long stare before nodding. "Well... I think that you can handle it now." Getting up, she walks over to where Harry is and lays down while getting comfortable. After a moment, she gives pause. "Are you sure you want to hear this now?"
Her wizard friend sighs for a moment. "I do." Giving her a smile, he continues. "I want to know more about you Luna."
Nodding, the lunar princess chuckles. "I suppose that, that would be fair considering that I know just about everything about your’s that you do, Harry."
Grunting as she shifts, Nightmare looks over at him. "So then Harry... where do you want us to start?"
Harry simply shrugs. "At the beginning I suppose would be best."
Luna grins as she softly chuckles. "The beginning is always the best place to begin I suppose." Slowly the grin slides off her face as she turns towards the distant sphere of Equestria on the horizon. "I won't get through it all now, or even tomorrow. After all, my and my sister's story is quite long and even then, we're going to skip large parts of it where nothing really happened."
Slowly nodding, Harry smiles softly. "Okay then."
Luna watches as she shifts into a more comfortable position against Nightmare's body. Glancing over at the dark Alicorn, Luna notices the raised eyebrow making her lips twitch. 'If you had told me even a decade ago that I'd be getting along with Nightmare...' Gazing at Harry, her lips turn upwards into a soft smile. 'We had some help though, didn't we?' Clearing her throat, she catches Harry's attention. "Ready?" At his nod, she continues. "Good. If you need to ask anything, go on ahead. I don't mind being interrupted if something needs clarifying." Looking towards the horizon, she gathers her thoughts as she begins. "As you know, I had two parents. I don't really remember much as it was both long ago and I was very young when they disappeared."
Harry raises his eyebrows. "How young are we talking?"
Snorting softly, Luna turns back to him so as to get his expression. "A few decades old." Seeing his jaw drop, she chuckles. "Harry, I am, for all intents and purposes, immortal. And we age very slowly as is." Her grin widens a little bit more. "As is, I'm 8,000 years old now."
As she outright laughs at Harry's expression, Nightmare shakes her head. "Enough teasing him Little Princess. He wants to know our story after all."
Giving her a fake pout, Luna sighs. "Aw, but I wanted some fun after all." Seeing the eye roll, she smirks. "But you do have a point after all." Still slightly smirking, she continues where she left off. "Anyways... I don't know where Mother and Father came from as they never liked talking about it." She then frowns. "Only Celly actually knows as since she was older, she was born around the time they left their homeland 2,000 years before I was born. And all I could gather from Mother and Father was that the people they looked after no longer needed them." Becoming thoughtful, Luna shakes her head. "Celly did say that they weren't from Equestria though."
Harry blinks at this. "So where were they from then? And were they the only members of your family?"
Instead of Luna, Nightmare is the one who answers. "They never said and neither did Celestia. The most we got was that they had come from a great city." As Harry turns to her, Nightmare shrugs. "I personally believe that a war or something like that had occurred."
Luna scowls at her. "And as I said, you have no proof."
Rolling her eyes, Nightmare snorts. "Really Little Princess? Then kindly explain why they seemed so saddened and angry when they mentioned it?"
Sensing an old argument, Harry holds up his hands. "Guys? Story?"
Rubbing the bridge of her nose with her hoof, Luna takes a moment before nodding. "You're right." Nodding, she clears her throat. "Yes, anyways..." Frowning slightly, she shakes her head. "I don't know much about the other members of our family as I only had known Mother, Father, and Celly personally. But I do remember something about having an Uncle that had left one day... Never did find out what happened to him other then he sired a family... but that's for later." Shrugging, she turns to Harry with a smile. "As for the ones that I did know..." Gaining a far off look, she sighs. "I still remember my Mother's soft voice as she told me and Celly stories... Her red mane tickling my nose... how the smell of ink and parchment always drifted around her..." Shaking her head, she smiles. "And father... I remember his laughs and his bushy brown mane." Shaking her head, her smile only grows. "The greatest thing they taught me and Celly was that we should always work at things and not take them for granted. Both were artists and believed that fashioning something with your own two hooves would be far more gratifying then anything else." She then saddens as even Nightmare looks down. "That's why it hurt so much when no matter how hard I worked, nopony liked our night and loved the day. Celly didn't have to do much and they adored her. Me? No matter how much I worked, they never felt the same." Sighing, a small tear trickles down her cheek as Nightmare looks away, one making it's way down her's as well. "I think that they would be ashamed of what I've done..." She looks away as she closes her eyes tightly. "And then that day came..."
Seeing her reaction, Harry's eyes widen. '"That day..."?' Harry frowns and bites his lip. "If it's too painful, I can understand..."
Luna just shakes her head. "No, you have a right to know since I know about your parents..." She then takes a deep shuddering breath. "It was truly frightening. It seemed like all the stars fell from the skies with how dark the day had become while the very world trembled. Whatever it was, it was pure evil..."
Gulping, Harry says the name on his mind. "Discord...?"
Nightmare shakes her own head, hissing. "No. Whatever this was, it made Discord seem like a child throwing a fit." Closing her eyes, Nightmare sighs. "It's blurry, but there's the impression of a great serpentine shape, and that's it."
Luna slowly nods. "Yes." She then sighs as she hangs her head. "Mother and Father went out to confront it but never returned. I..." Raising a hoof, she lays it on her chest. "Me and Celly never found any bodies after the battle besides the torn remains of the creature. But I know in my heart that while they were gone, they weren't truly dead." Becoming serious, she continues. "That battle was so powerful, that the very ground and sky were torn asunder by it. And, in the end, me and Celly had to take over the cycles of day and night because otherwise..." She then gestures at her flank. "And the first time we did, Celly, who was up in time, raised and lowered the sun giving her, her Cutie Mark. And me? Celly was too tired after lowering the sun so I, in my youthful exuberance, raised the moon, giving me my Cutie Mark."
Harry blinks away some tears as he nods and they slip into silence for a few minutes. "So... what happened then?"
Luna's lips twitch as she chuckles. "Afterwards as I was still young, Celly raised me." Shifting around a little, she looks up thoughtfully. "We also had to deal with several threats that came about."
Raising an eyebrow, Harry clears his throat. "Threats?"
Nodding, Luna continues. "Yes." She then makes a gesture with her hoof. "See, when Mother and Father vanquished... whatever it was, monsters came into being. The mortal ones came from it's dead flesh. From it's saliva came an ooze that devoured all in it's path. It's dying breath would, in time, become the first Windigos. Cold and full of hatred for all those still alive. Discord himself traces his being to this thing as he came about from a shard of it's soul and power." Seeing Harry shiver as he's heard how powerful Discord was, Nightmare drapes a wing over him. "The mud created from it's blood became a race of beings that, having no real form themselves, would take the form of others to feed on the lighter emotions." Making a thoughtful sound, Luna shrugs. "By the time of my fall, they were gone having been hunted to extinction by me and Celly and those who followed us."
Nightmare herself becomes thoughtful. "I do wonder whatever happened to Lepidoptera..."
Harry looks over at her. "Oh? Who's that and what connection does she have with these shapeshifters?"
Nightmare grunts. "Lepidoptera?" At Harry's nod, she shrugs. "She was a member of the Unicorn Royal Family. She was very beautiful and a noted expert in transformation magic as her butterfly Cutie Mark showed."
Luna chuckles some as she remembers those days. "I remember her now. She was the one who invented the Butterfly Wing spell to give flight to Unicorns. Always had it on." Luna's mood soon becomes saddened. "She never truly recovered from Discord's years though. And the fact that the Unicorn she loved never returned her feelings. Rather, he stomped them while 'Loving' Celly."
Nightmare snorts. "Is it any wonder that she despised our dear sister so?"
Sighing, Luna shakes her head. "No..." Turning back, she looks at Harry. "As to her connection... she studied them heavily as she was amazed at their abilities to take any form. She wanted to understand how their magic functioned. But after the... altercation between her and Prince Tryst, she became cold and obsessed with them." She shakes her head as she continues. "We were not friends, close, but not quite." Becoming thoughtful Luna looks at the sky. "More professional acquaintances then anything." Shrugging, she looks down. "We might have become friends in time as she was opening up, but she disappeared after an accident in her lab. She had somehow gotten her hands on the remains of the last dead Shifters and had been studying them. Celly had sent some of her guards to observe but..."
Harry sighs. "One of them did something..."
Nightmare nods with a grunt. "Yeah, the foal was over eager and busted in as Lepidoptera and her followers were performing an experiment with the magic still in the Shifter's remains. There was a massive explosion and the section of the mines under Canterlot she had been using for her lab collapsed. Nothing was ever recovered as there was too much debris and the area was unstable. The mines themselves were soon closed off due to the danger of farther cave-ins."
Shaking her head, Luna takes a breath. "Anyways... that came much later." Shifting a little, she smiles. "Well, as I was saying, after a few decades of me and Celly knocking down the monsters that had been created, we noticed that there were days that we were either too tired or busy to raise the moon and sun where they did so themselves. For the first couple of decades, we just assumed it was the other. But, eventually, we sensed it."
Sitting a bit straighter, Harry leans forward. "Sensed what?"
Lips twitching as she holds up a hoof, she be taps it on the moon. "Someone else was using magic on the celestial bodies we were connected to and moving them. Me and Celly soon left the area that would be Equestria in the future and started travelling, looking for the source of the magic affecting the sun and moon. It took a while as we had to leave the sun and moon alone, not raising them so as to actually get a better idea as to the source. We found though, it wasn't just a single source, but hundreds working together. The fact that they were scattered made it even harder for us to track. But, eventually we found them."
Totally enthralled, Harry raises an eyebrow. "So who was doing it?"
Luna grins as she leans back against a rock. "Unicorns. That was when me and Celly first saw the Earth, Pegasus, and Unicorn ponies. Grant you, all three feared us and in the case of the Pegasus ponies actually attacked." Looking down, Luna shakes her head. "Me and Celly, used to battling monsters used too much force and killed the group. We then fled and hid."
Harry winces a bit before asking the next question. "Then how...?"
Taking a breath, Luna let's it out. "Me and Celly then hid but continued to watch them. They fascinated us. We helped them out every once in a while, mainly by saving lone travelers, healing those who fell ill, helping lost foals find their way home. And so on." Luna shaking her head, she sighs. "We became sort of guardian spirits to them. Each tribe had us looking different and would fight about it from time to time. All the time me and Celly watched them." Luna then winks. "Eventually, we decided that the only way to truly understand them was to walk among them."
Harry just gives her a deadpan expression. "Oh? I would think that they would notice you."
For her part, Luna laughs. "You would, but that was only if we went as ourselves." Raising a hoof and eyebrow, her eyes twinkle with merriment. "Me and Celly would disguise ourselves as a young orphan filly of the tribe in question's type. No one ever gave it a second thought as with the monsters and wars, there were always orphans around. And so, we would live out our 'Lives' with the tribe, using our magic to seemingly age and then, once we 'died', we would either take a break, or move on to our next 'Life'. We each had our preferences though. Celly enjoyed the Earth Ponies and their down to earth nature as well as the Unicorns for their political intrigue. Me? I liked the Pegasus for their ferocity in the defense of their beliefs and loyalty as well as the Unicorns for their magic and search for knowledge. And so we went. Sometimes we would try to give their societies nudges through our fake personas. Sometimes it would work, and other times it wouldn't..."
As Harry sits there listening, he can't help but be amazed as he hears about the lives and adventures that Celestia and Luna had gone through. Finally, one question comes to mind. "So... why didn't you try to make any friends then?"
Stilling, Luna blinks before sighing. "At the time I was young and stupid Harry. I thought that all I would ever need was Celly. Not to mention that lifespans for most of that period could be measured in just a few decades." Shaking her head, she grimaces. "Thanks to various factors, a pony would be considered 'Old' at thirty. And... well, I never really bothered making more then passing acquaintances with anypony. And it hurt when they passed on so I never wanted to feel it even worse. And Celly? I lost track of how many times I showed up because I could feel her despair at losing someone due to her being so open to making friends. So... I never bothered going that far and by the time I did..." She clinches her eyes closed. "Me and Celly were the rulers of Equestria and so protocol prevented it and those who were 'Friends' often were little more then leaches wanting some political power from being associated with us."
Harry's looking distinctly uncomfortable at this which Nightmare notices and rolls her eyes at. "Oh do calm yourself Harry."
Luna nods, a slight smile on her face. "She's right you know. Me and you have had this conversation and you know my answer as it's never changed. I will never regret becoming friends with you." Walking over, she reaches down and takes his hand between her hooves. "Harry, I know that when the time comes for you to leave, it's going to hurt. It's going to hurt horribly. But you know what? I wouldn't change this for anything. No matter what." Closing her eyes, a sad smile blooms on her face. "One of the gifts and curses of me and Celly being immortal is a perfect memory. And once you're gone, I'll still be able to look back on these days and feel the warmth of our friendship." Pulling his hand to her chest, she leaves it there. "And a piece of you will always be with me, here. In my heart of hearts."
Harry blinks before swallowing the lump in his throat. "Luna..."
She shakes her head before hugging him. A moment later, she giggles some. "You know, I used to roll my eyes at Celly when she told me that I would find someone out there. A pony, or in this case a person, who I would share a connection with."
Harry chuckles a little bit. "Oh? Like a soulmate?"
Snorting as she recognizes him trying to lighten the conversation, Luna shakes her head as a small smile appears on her face. "Not quite..." Opening her eyes, she slowly tilts her head to the side. "What sis used to tell me was that eventually I would meet somepony that would be the perfect friend for me." Looking up at the sky, her smile widens as she look back at Harry. "I guess the closest that I can come to it is from your world and that's you're my Anam Chara."
Harry just raises an eyebrow. "Anam Chara? What's that?"
Closing her eyes, Luna slowly sighs as she softly smiles. "It's a word I came across in a book. It's a Celtic word from Ireland that translates as 'Soul Friend'. It's similar to Soul Mate, but instead of love there's deep feelings of friendship." Opening her eyes, she gazes at him. "And it's so much more then that as an Anam Chara is also a Confidant, an Advisor, a Confessor and much more."
Harry just gives her a lopsided smile before going back to hugging her. A moment later he chuckles. "Then I guess that for me, you're my Anam Chara..." He then looks over at Nightmare. "Well... along with Nim I guess."
Both look at a stiff Nightmare who looks away with a huff. "Don't joke about such things!"
Harry just raises an eyebrow as he smirks slightly. "Who's saying that I'm joking?"
Nightmare blushes some and snorts. "Anyways... I think that we should continue with the lesson. And since you already know about Hearth's Warming, we can skip that."
Both her and Harry chuckle a bit before Luna gives her wizard friend a wink. "Yeah, we should." Settling down once more, Harry leans back against the still slightly scowling Nightmare. Thinking for a moment, Luna slowly nods. "Right. Anyways, after the defeat of the Windigos and the loss of the leaders of the Three Tribes, new ones, except for the Unicorns as the King came out of retirement, came to the fore. Now united however, they needed a combined government. As you can guess, since Equestria was mine and Celly's original home, we watched what happened with interest. We both were surprised that they used us as the symbols of the new nation they were forging,"
Harry slowly nods. "Because the legends of you two were something that the three tribes had most in common, right?"
Luna slowly nods. "Yes. By that point they had, for lack of better words, known of us. And because we had attributes of all three races, we were the perfect symbols. Of course, there were many growing pains in those years. But the greatest surprise for me and Celly was yet to come." Seeing the interested look on Harry's face, Luna chuckles. "Clover, Pansy, and Smart Cookie were not fools in the least and knew that they needed help. But what they set up was..." Luna blushes some. "Well, me and Celly while not arrogant like what I read about when it comes to human gods, we were still slightly full of ourselves at this time. So certain we were that our disguises were perfect."
Harry's lips twitch some as he figures it out. "They found you out."
Nightmare snorts."That's putting it mildly Harry. Turns out that they had known about who we were for a while before then."
Luna slowly nods. "She's right. Clever is far too mild a word for Clover's title. And the name Smart Cookie did her no justice either. Both of them had noticed small things and put them together after much research of the myths and stories surround me and my sister. And Pansy had a rare empathic ability to the point where she could tell a person's emotions. And me and Celly thought that we had hid so well..." She slowly shakes her head. "At the time I was pretending to be a Pegasus soldier and Celly had been a fellow student of Starswirl. One day, Clover asked Celly to accompany her to a meeting with the other two. And Pansy, who by then was the ambassador for the Pegasi asked for me to guard her on the journey. We all arrived at the designated meeting place within Everfree Glade, which was used as a meeting place for the three tribes. What me and sister had not known was that Clover had other powerful unicorns including her teacher, Starswirl, set up a spell to dispel disguises under the excuse that she had read about the Shifters and wanted to make sure that none could cause trouble there. And when me and Celly walked into the meeting spot..."
Harry starts laughing. "It tripped the spell!"
Luna nods. "It did indeed Harry. It was so unexpected that me and Celly had no chance before it ripped away our disguise spells. After a few moments we turned to see the three with the most, at the time, infuriating knowing smirks."
Looking down in thought, Harry slowly nods. "I take it they wanted you to rule?"
Luna shakes her head. "Just Pansy and that was expected as Pegasi society had the strongest rule. The other two had a slightly different plan." Raising a hoof, she gestures with it. "Sure, at first they made me and Celly think that was what they wanted. Took a while, but we fell into their trap. They had outsmarted us." She then leans forwards and places her hoof next to her mouth, a twinkle in her eye. "What they truly had wanted was for me and Celly to act as advisors to the new nation. To give guidance when asked. After more arguing, where they pointed out that the Three Tribes needed a true rallying point, me and Celly agreed to taking up the position of being advisors to whoever the Tribes decided to for their rulers." The twinkle becomes more pronounced as her grin grows wide. "But in the end me and Celly got them. Because the first thing we did after revealing ourselves, and by my Mother those expressions were priceless, was advise that Clover and the other two become a Council to rule over the united tribes. All three tribes agreed over those three's objections. And so, Equestria came to be and had almost a century of peace..." Seeing Harry's expression as he realizes what he realizes what she means, her own falls. "I'll tell you more about what happened tomorrow, okay?" Seeing Harry's nod, she claps her hooves. "Anyways, enough of that! Time for a bit of fun before we go to sleep, hm?"
Sitting down and once more laying against Nightmare, Harry watches as Luna sits down across from them as well. "So I suppose that you want to hear more of my history then Harry?" At the roll of his eyes, she gives him a playful glare before smiling. "So, where was I last night?"
Shaking his head at her playful mood, Harry's lips twitch as he dryly comments. "Well, guess that proves all it needed about your so-called 'Perfect Memory'."
Rolling her eyes, Luna slowly snorts. "Right..." Clearing her throat, she shakes her head. "Anyways, we were at the point where me and Celestia became advisors. Starswirl was another as by that point he was quite old and so very wise, yet he still had the health and youthful vigor of one much younger." Luna then blinks for a moment before smiling. "In fact, now that I think of it, he was very much like a Unicorn version of Merlin."
Raising an eyebrow in thought, Nightmare herself nods slowly. "The similarities are quite astounding, aren't they?"
Luna snorts in amusement. "Very much so. One of which was his longevity." Turning to Harry, who's listening with an interested expression, she slowly shakes her head. "By the time Equestria was founded, Starswirl was already in his fifties. And he would live to just a few years before Discord's arrival." Luna then slowly closes her eyes. "And poor Clover would live through the reign of Discord as she, too, was extremely long lived by pony standards."
Harry raises both of his eyebrows in amazement before shaking his head. "Do you have any idea as to why they were both long lived?"
Luna once more slowly nods her head. "Yes, as a matter of fact." Gaining a far off look, she sighs. "Both Starswirl's, Clover's, and a few others that were also long lived had a familiar... feel to their magic. And the combination of powerful magic and longevity ran in family lines. Me and Celly had noticed such before on our adventures, but never really thought to ask why till then."
Shifting a little, Harry becomes thoughtful. "Wouldn't such things be normally in noble families considering the time we're talking about though? I thought Clover was a Commoner?"
Luna nods at this before grimacing. "Clover had a rough childhood Harry. She was what I suppose humans referred to centuries ago as a bastard. Her father was a Unicorn Noble while her mother was simply a Commoner. Due to that, while they loved each other, they could never be together. However, the fact that her father was a friend of King Palladium, the Unicorn king allowed her to move up some by becoming a servant in his household. Sadly for her, she was chosen as Princess Platinum’s handmare." Luna then shakes her head "But when Clover became a council member, she was elevated to the nobility for 'Special services to the crown'." Luna laughs some as she shakes her head. "She would later marry the younger of the Unicorn King's two Grandchildren, whose father was his son. The king's other daughter would marry into the Blueblood family." Luna then starts laughing a little. "Ironically, Clover and her future husband met during her service to Princess Platinum. See, she didn't want to bother with her nephew and shoved the duties off on Clover."
Nightmare herself snorts in amusement. "And of course the little one gained a crush of sorts on his much older minder while Clover herself was fond of him as most foalsitters are of those they take care of. After he was too old for foalsitting, she was shuffled off to other duties and they didn't see each other again for many years." She then laughs a little. "He met up with her later as her guard of sorts and all it took was him saving her from a rampaging dragon for her to see him as something other than the foal she had once taken care of."
Harry gives them both an odd look. "Isn't that kind of... wrong though? She was much older than him after all."
Luna just shakes her head. "Here in this time period on your world? Yes. But back then in Equestria? Not really unless you were a snobbish noble who thought that one who had been raised from the Commons should never have been in the first place. And you could see something similar with your own world back around the middle ages and 16th to 17th Centuries."
Harry gives her a curious look at this. "Really?"
Luna nods her head. "Yes. See, at one point in your world's history, it was not uncommon for a noble woman in her mid-late teens to marry a man many years or even decades her senor. Grant you, seems like they were usually political in nature." She then shakes her head with a chuckle. "And in this case with Clover's long life, it was less of an issue as Prince Electrum was also from a long lived and magically powerful family. So there was no real issue with the age difference." She then smiles a little in remembrance. "After they got married they took the name Amore in honor of not only their love, but also that of Clover's parents." She then sighs a little. "It was also somewhat political due to the fact that Prince Electrum being the grandchild of King Palladium and Clover being one of the 'Three Saviors'. Though that was mainly an excuse." Luna sighs thoughtfully. "Those two started two family traditions. The Amore family married only for love and the oldest daughter would when young take care of children. Or at least they did up until..." Shaking her head, she smiles back at Harry. "A third tradition of sorts that the Amore family had that they stayed friendly with both Pansy's and Smart Cookie's descendents. Their bonds were so strong that intermarriages between them and adoptions of orphan members of the others two families weren't uncommon. Though, the intermarriages never got to the point of inbreeding like what happened with most of the Unicorn nobility. By the time I... had my issue, the three families were pretty much one in the same."
Wanting to get off the uncomfortable subject of her banishment, Harry clears his throat. " Right, so you were going to say the reason for their longevity and magical strength?"
Thankful for the diversion, Luna nods. "Yes, well... it took both me and Celly quite a while to find out the reason." She then leans forwards. "See, there were many legends regarding it so it took me and Celly the better part of 20 years to go through the Unicorn King's archives. We also looked into the ones owned by the Earth and Pegasi Ponies. Slowly we pieced together the information. Stories told of Unicorn 'God-Kings'. Unicorns of great magical strength and very long lives, far longer then what me and Celly saw with what was then the modern-day Unicorns. One of them reigned over the Unicorns for almost 300 years. There was similar stories for Earth Ponies of great physical strength and Pegasus who were faster than the wind. It was here that me and Celly really started looking. And in a small tomb in the foothills in the now frozen wasteland of the Three Tribes original home we found the answers."
Harry finds his eyebrows rising at this. "And..."
Nightmare looks over at him before explaining. "As it was an old Unicorn tomb, the legends carved into the walls were much closer to the origin then anything we had found." Getting slightly more comfortable, she continues. "They told of how in time immemorial that the Three Tribes were separated into small herds. These were targets for predators and rival herds. And then, out of the south came a great flying Unicorn..."
Harry's eyes widen as he realizes what she means. "Your uncle..."
Luna nods. "Yes." She then shakes her head. "He apparently united the various herds into the Three Tribes by both force and guile and then into one nation, a kind of proto-Equestria. He then took one wife from each race which bore him children of that pony race. Children of great power." Grimacing, she shakes her head. "Then came a day of darkness and he left for where he had came from and never returned."
Harry narrows his eyes at that as he connects the dots. "He was there with your mother and father."
Luna sighs as she shakes her head. "That was the best explanation me and Celly could come up with." She then looks up at the sky with an angry frown. "And that was when the whole mess of the Three Tribes began."
Harry just shakes his head, already guessing what happened. "They could not agree on who would take their father's place, could they?"
Luna nods before shaking her head. "Each one thought that their way of ruling was best. The Unicorns believed that they should rule by virtue of their blood. The Pegasi, due to having acted as the military due to their speed and abilities, believed that Might made Right and only the strongest should rule. And the Earth Ponies believed that only the people could decide who ruled. And so, the siblings separated and took each race with them. Ruling as they believed was best."
Rubbing his face, Harry groans. "Morons..."
Luna nods with a snort. "True. The bad blood from that lasted so long it became culturally ingrained and the Tribes forgot the true reason behind it." She then grimaces. "Not that I was much better with what happened."
Reaching out, Harry gives her hoof a squeeze brightening her mood. "So then, why weren't there long lived Pegasi and Earth Ponies then?"
Luna snorts a little before sighing. "Because of the way they lived, the Earth Ponies and the Pegasi saw their Alicorn blood diluted much faster than with the Unicorns." She then gestures with a hoof. "Earth Ponies, due to not having wieldable magic like the Unicorns or flight like the Pegasi, had large families in order to have some survive with the strongest acting in defence of the community. The Pegasi, due to their militaristic culture, would often die in some battle before old age could claim them. And, the strongest sometimes took more than one wife to 'Spread their strength'. Unicorns on the other hand had small families with maybe one or two siblings. And the nobility, those who were descendents, would stay away from the front lines of battle. Add that to their habit of keeping within a select pool of mates and the reason why it took so much longer to dilute became obvious." She then snorts. "Though inbreeding eventually made it so when Equestria was founded maybe twenty family lines had the longevity or magical strength. There was also the fact that ponies with those were uncommon in said families as was. And the number of families with such was cut down in half by the time I was sent to the moon."
Shaking his head, Harry raises an eyebrow. "So..."
Luna blinks as she snaps out of her thoughts before smiling somewhat sheepishly. "Right." Clearing her throat, she sighs. "Of course, around this time with Pansy and Smart Cookie growing older, a fear sprung up."
Frowning thoughtfully, Harry mumbles. "A fear...?"
Luna nods. "Yes. See, the Tribes, though now united, were still frightened about the possible return of the Windigos. And when Pansy and Smart Cookie died they would no longer be able to form the Heart of Friendship with Clover." She then shakes her head. "So, the idea sprung up to create a way to store the energies from the Heart in order to protect Equestria..."
Harry's eyes widen as his breath catches. "The Elements of Harmony..."
Ignoring Nightmare's grumble, Luna smiles. "Yes, though they were not known as that at the time." She slowly raises a hoof. "The gems used were not found easily. In fact, no matter where we looked we could not find any that could contain the power needed. Until one day..." She shakes her head. "It was on a whim you see. Me and Celly went one day to pay our respects to our parents like we had every other year. Ironically, the battle field was inside what was then known as Everfree Glade."
Harry raises an eyebrow in askance before crossing his arms. "What does paying your respects have to do with the Elements?"
Nightmare just taps him on the leg and gives him a small look. "Hush Harry. You'll find out in a second."
Luna gives her a thankful look before continuing. "She's right Harry." Taking a breath, she slowly lets it out. "That year an awful forest fire had swept through the area and basically left just burned out forest behind. And the rain that the Pegasi used to put it out had swept out masses of the ground. So, there was me and my sister standing before where the battle ground was when we heard a twig snap." Blinking, Harry leans forwards. "Me and Celly looked down into the battleground from the rocky outcrop we were on to see a flash of red and white disappear into a stand of trees. To this day I still don't know what possessed me and Celly to do so, but we began chasing it. It was frightening and terrifying but something deep within us pushed to chase whatever it was down."
Nightmare nods as she takes over. "We never got close to whatever we were chasing. We only saw flashes of white or red, the sound of wings beating the air... and, every once in a while, the sound of light giggles drifting towards us." Looking at the distant orb on the horizon, Nightmare sighs. "It led us on a merry chase over charred fallen trees, through patches of brambles, and across puddles and streams. Finally we charged into a section of the battlefield we knew from which there was no escape but from the air, and we would see it then. A ravine blasted into the landscape... the place from which our parents' magic had left this plane."
Harry shakes his head from side to side in confusion. "So what was there?"
Luna just sits up and spreads her forehooves wide in the air while shrugging with a confused look. "Nothing."
For a moment, Harry simply blinks in confusion. "Nothing...?"
Luna nods. "Nothing. Nothing at all." Placing her hooves back on the ground she shakes her head. "The ground had been scorched by the fire to such a degree that we could see for yards around. In front of us, was a small cliff created by whatever final attacks mother and father as well as perhaps uncle had used. Nothing was flying, I know because I went up and looked." Looking down, Luna bites her lip for a moment. "Both me and Celly realized in that moment that the only tracks leading there had come from us and whatever we were chasing it didn't disturb anything in its passing."
The slight shiver going down Harry's spine has little to do with the fact that he's slightly cold. "You... were chasing a ghost...?"
Luna shakes her head and sighs. "That's the thing, even after all these years, I am still not sure what we were chasing." Snorting a little, she continues. "And that was when things turned weird."
Raising an eyebrow, Harry gives her a look. "'Weird'?"
Tilting her head as she rolls her eyes, Luna groans. "Okay, weirder. Better?" At his nod, she rolls her eyes before going on. "Anyways, at that point me and Celly were going to leave when we remembered it was time for the moon to rise and the sun to set." Luna slowly shakes her head with a bemused smile. "Maybe the ones raising the moon were a bit early. or maybe the ones setting the sun were late. Whatever the reason, they were both in the sky at once, illuminating the scene." She then looks Harry directly in the eye. "And, in that moment, me and Celly saw something glint. Something we were drawn too."
Now intrigued, Harry leans forwards. "So what was it?"
A smile on her face, the blue Alicorn smiles. "A clear spring. But it was what was at the bottom that caught our attention. For there, under its glass-like surface rested six perfect gemstones of different colors. All of them radiating magical power like you would not believe." Shaking her head, Luna sighs. "We were going to leave them there. Celly really wanted to leave right then and with the history of the place, we had good reason to. But then... the evening breeze carried past us a smell while ruffling out manes... a familiar smell of parchment and ink."
Feeling his jaw drop, Harry shakes his head in amazement. "Your mother!?"
Shrugging, Luna shakes her head. "To this very day, I don't know. But we both had this urge to take the gems and so we did. Strangest thing was that the spring's water was salty and a few days later there was an earthquake and when we returned there was no sign it, the spring, had ever been there." She then holds out a hoof and stares at it as if she was holding something. "Those six gems had been laying there, in a place where three powerful Alicorns had made perhaps the ultimate sacrifice for those they loved and cared for. Where the ground was positively saturated in their magic..." She shakes her head in amazement. "The amount of power that they had held was amazing. And as it turns out when we brought them back they were perfect for the use we had in mind at the time."
Shaking his head, Harry looks down in thought. "Sounds like they were already powerful as Hay. So... how would you use them? And what does this have to do with the Heart of Friendship?"
Luna grins a little. "The idea was to use the gems as a battery containing the magic from the Heart. See, once a year on the day that Equestria was Founded, Pansy, Smart Cookie, and Clover would meet and recreate the Heart of Friendship. Me and Celly would then hold the gems inside the Heart so that by using a spell cast on them, they would absorb as much power from the Heart as was possible. The rest of the time two would rest in the hooves of the leader of each Tribe. And in the decades to come, would absorb traits from them. From the Unicorns, famed for arcane might and their love of festivals, plays, and celebrations the two gems given to them would become the Elements of Laughter and Magic. From the Earth Ponies, who would give their neighbours a helping hoof without asking anything in return. As well as care given to those in their community, their gems became the Elements of Generosity and Kindness. And the Pegasi, known for being steadfast in defence of those they cared for and blunt truthfulness at times for both themselves and others came the Elements of Loyalty and Honesty. Year after year for the next three decades did they absorb the energies created from the Heart of Friendship. And then..." Hanging her head, she sadly sighs. "Then came the day when Pansy passed from this life. A year after that, Smart Cookie followed her winged friend leaving Clover the last of the 'Three Saviors' left alive. It tore her apart when it happened." She then shakes her head. "However, while the new nation was saddened, they were still comforted with the fact that the gems now gave off the same energy as the Heart. And while happy for that fact, it still didn't make up for the fact that she was now the last for Clover."
Seeing the look on Harry's face, Nightmare speaks up. "Over time she recovered of course. She would feel the loss, but the ache would dull with the years. And then, she met the filly who would become her student. A powerful Unicorn by the name of Lepidoptera." Looking at Harry, Nightmare continues. "Her magic was focused heavily on transformation magic as her butterfly Cutie Mark showed. Though granted she was no slouch in areas such as emotional and mental magics. Starswirl himself, though in his twilight years by that point, helped train her alongside Clover in the transformational magics he knew. By the time he passed just a few years later, she was one of the greatest Transfigurists known. A fact that would only become more true as time went on. And like Clover, she too was to be long lived."
Luna nods. “And during that period, me and Celly continued on as advisors. Not just to the leaders, but the common person as well. We fielded many questions regarding magic, law, and politics. Not to mention advising on such matters as agriculture, science, mathmatics We never asked for payment though we didn’t mind an odd gift or two. This went on for years.” Luna's expression then takes on one of distaste. "And then he arrived."
Gulping, Harry rubs his arms a little as frowns. "Discord."
Luna nods. "Yes." Looking up, she takes a breath and lets it out. "Neither me or Celly could ever figure out why, perhaps there was no reason why he targeted Equestria. My theory though was that he saw what harmony there was and how we were ordering things as an affront." Looking back at Harry, she frowns. "It started out with what was basically small stuff. Odd storms and happenings like pranks. An entire river was turned into chocolate milk for example. Then one day he pulled off a decapitation strike by showing up during a meeting of the leaders and declared himself the ruler of Equestria. They attacked of course." She then grimaces. "He didn't kill them, thought he might as well had. He transformed them into animals before teleporting them elsewhere. We never did find them and it's likely that either they died from their new lifespans running out or were eaten by something..."
Sitting in front of Luna once more, Harry slowly leans back against Nightmare. "So some more history now?" Luna nods with a slightly thoughtful look. "So we were at the point where Discord managed to take over Equestria..."
Luna sighs at this. "Yes." She then shakes her head. "Well, after he took over, he declared himself ruler of Equestria. Now, Celly and I did try to fight back along with a number of others, but we failed to do any lasting damage and the fighting died out within a week as the survivors needed to retreat and heal, though the Resistance would continue onwards until his defeat."
Nightmare then takes over. "At first, his 'Pranks' were not truly harmful. At the most he twisted personalities and made Ponies and others do things that they would never do otherwise. The worst, however, was to come." She then grimaces. "He slowly grew bored with what he was doing and turned to other avenues. For example, he would switch a Pony from one species to another for chuckles. Turning a Unicorn into a Earth Pony or Pegasi and so on." Nightmare's lips twitch some. "Ironically, this would promote harmony as Ponies of different types began to understand each other."
Harry raises an eyebrow. "Okay, that sounds pretty horrific right there. But... I'm guessing that he went far farther then that?"
Luna scowls. "Very much farther." She then rubs at her eyes. "As time went by his 'Jokes' became more and more vicious in nature. He became bored with the lighter ones. One of his nastier ones had to do with this one town in the Everfree Glade." Luna's expression slowly darkens. "He would make bad things happen there whenever a Pony gained a Cutie Mark or bad things would happen to Ponies who had one. He had cast a spell there that continued for more then three decades after his defeat that did the same thing. Eventually, the villagers there believed that Cutie Marks were cursed and so it became a village of... for lack of a better term, 'Blank Flanks'."
Harry raises an eyebrow at this. "Surely some Ponies there had to have gained Cutie Marks. Pretty much impossible for them not to have." He then frowns. "And was this the village where that disaster occurred with the Unicorn foal?"
Luna slowly shakes her head. "No, this village... Sunnyville I believe, was an Earth Pony only village. The Unicorn village was not too far away though, you could just see it from the tree tops outside of Sunnyville." She frowns a bit. "Though from what I remember the magical wave did pass by them, but they didn't want to leave..." She then shakes her head free. "As for what happened to those that got Cutie Marks, we were told that the villagers banished them. While Celly believed them, I always had this odd feeling that there was more going on. Never could prove it though as I had little time due to my duties and the Night Guard had other duties besides watching a single town to see what happened when one of the foals gained Cutie Marks."
Nightmare sighs. "Anyways, back to Discord's reign..."
Luna grumbles some. "Right." She then clears her throat. "Discord did far worse then that I'm afraid. For example, he twisted some trees around and created a creature known as a Timberwolf. A wolf like predator made out of living wood that mainly hunted at night. The bastard thought it great fun to have them stalk and chase unsuspecting Ponies through the wilds at night."
Nightmare nods a bit before tossing in her own bit. "And then there was that group of mares." Seeing Harry's questioning look, she shakes her head. "They were downright terrified of snakes. Discord found each one and slowly drove them towards one and other. Once they were altogether, they found several stallions."
Harry raises an eyebrow. "I'm... not getting a good feeling from this..."
Nightmare grimaces. "And you shouldn't." She then scowls. "See, once more Discord messed with their heads and had them fall in love with said stallions. Then, one morning after they all laid with their mates, they woke up to find that the stallions had reverted to their true forms... monstrous serpents." Seeing the sickened look on Harry's face, she shakes her head. "That wasn't the worst bit I'm afraid. See, the mares became pregnant and gave birth to half pony, half snake children that became known as Lamias."
Luna then takes over. "The Lamias eventually became vicious and cruel due to the treatment of their mothers, forced by Discord's spell to keep their children alive but not much else... all except one of them." Luna then shakes her head and looks at the sky. "Her daughter's name was Juniper. And while frightened and disgusted by what happened to her, Juniper's mother tried her best to take care of her and love her daughter... until one day..."
Harry closes his eyes and takes a breath. "Until one day the children snapped."
Luna nods. "Yes. They snapped and killed their mothers in a brutal bloodbath." Luna then sighs and looks down. "Except for Juniper. She came home with some flowers for her mother, only to be attacked by the Lamias. They were jealous of how she was treated by her mother and so sought to kill them both along with their own mothers." Seeing Harry open his mouth, Luna shakes her head. "I've met and knew Juniper for years Harry."
Harry simply nods and digests that for a moment. "So... she got away?"
Luna sighs and nods. "She did, but only because her mother saved her. I don't know the whole story, but her mother shielded her with her own body and flung them both into a nearby river." A tear slowly drips from Luna's eye. "Her mother would die of her wounds and Lamia venom in Juniper's embrace. After burying her, Juniper went on to find a cave nearby to live in." Luna scowls fiercely as she slams a hoof into the lunar dust. "And so it went." Luna then looks at Harry directly with tears in her eyes. "He never killed on purpose and went out of his way to prevent deaths. But that was only so that he could continue playing his games."
Nightmare nods. "What he did to Lepidoptera was the worst I think personally."
Raising an eyebrow, Harry turns to her. "How so?"
Nightmare grimaces before sighing as she answers. "Lepidoptera when she was young was a happy princess of one of the Unicorn Principalities. However, when Discord arrived she was caught off guard like the rest of us. But, while we managed to escape, she didn't. Now, Discord thought her wings were quite nice and so he transformed her into a horrifying amalgamation of pony and insect in order to, according to what she said, make her complete."
Harry turns slightly green at that. "I think I'm going to be sick..."
Nightmare simply shakes her head. "What was more horrific was that when she escaped during a rebel attack ten years on, we found that we could not reverse it. So, while me and Celestia worked to train and raise an army to defeat Discord, Clover and Lepidoptera worked to undo the magic. They did manage it just after we beat Discord, but..."
Harry closes his eyes. "More then twenty years as something like that would mess with anyone's mind."
Luna nods. "Yes, and when you consider that she had to deal with having both a insect's mind and a Pony's mind in the same body..." Luna shudders as the thought crosses her mind. "She was never the same afterwards."
Harry shudders himself before moving and wrapping his arms around the Lunar Princess. "You don't have to tell me anymore about what he did Luna..."
Luna just gives him a smile as she nuzzles him. "Thank you. I'd rather not remember everything he did..." She then sighs. "But there is a bit more to tell you." She then shifts a little. "At the time, Equestria was a small nation, very small."
Harry raises an eyebrow. "How small is small?"
Luna just chuckles a bit before answering. "Equestria was actually not much bigger then what I suppose Ireland is. To the east was Auroch, a country of cattle with their allies the country of DeBoar with several smaller countries of other beings clustered with them . To the west was the great wooded forests of Canis, inhabited by the Canids, a race of bipedal, intelligent dogs. And to the south... to the south was the desert kingdom of the Gryphon Empire, ruled over by their Pharaoh."
Harry blinks for a moment. "Didn't they help?"
Luna shakes her head sadly. "They didn't." She then scowls. "Me and Celly went to each country and requested help and aid for our people. All of them denied us. The Canids were generous among each other, but not to us ponies. The Aurochs, were a kingdom of artists and scholars and thought it best to lay low. The DeBoars? Obsessed with personal hygiene and fine foods wanted nothing to do with those who, in their words, would go to bed dirty from the fields. And the other countries around them would not do anything unless Auroch and DeBoars did. As for the Gryphons... Celly argued with me about going to them. She, like me was disgusted with how they treated their sibling race, the normal Griffins, as second class citizens at best. My argument was that we had to at least try."
Seeing her scowl, Harry sighs. "And considering what you've told me about them, that didn't turn out great."
Nightmare simply snorts in derision. "That would be putting it mildly." Glaring at nothing in particular, she continues. "The bastard stated that he would help as long as we became part of his empire, giving him 'Tribute' for his protection." Nightmare's lips then twitch. "But neither me or Celestia were going to have our little Ponies free from one enslaver, only for another to take their place."
Harry simply shakes his head. "Can't say that I blame you for that." He then frowns. "So then how did Equestria grow? Did you conquer the surrounding nations as payback for them not helping you?"
Nightmare snorts and shakes her head, an amused glint in her eyes. "As much as I wished that were the case, it was not." Ignoring Luna's scowl, she grins. "What did happen was what I do believe one would call karmic payback."
Harry raises an eyebrow at this. "Oh?"
Luna sighs a bit and shakes her head. "While I would not have put it in the same way as Nightmare, she is correct as the best term would be a 'Karmic backlash'." She then grimaces. "About five years before his defeat, Discord had a 'celebration' of sorts and so invited the rulers of the neighboring kingdoms to send representatives to it."
Harry groans and places his face in his palm. "They didn't..."
Luna shakes her head. "Not all of them." She then shrugs. "The Gryphon Pharaoh was no fool and used the excuse that he was putting down another rebellion. Auroch, DeBoars, and Canis as well as the smaller countries did so." She then gestures with a hoof as she continues. "The Auroch diplomat did not like his 'Art'. The DeBoar's one did not like the food or drink served, and the Canid one thought him a bit too greedy. None of this as you can imagine went down well."
Harry just groans. "No, I imagine not."
Nightmare grins a little. "As I said, they had brought it upon themselves when they decided to be arrogant." Her grin fades a little. "Though it was horrific for them."
Seeing Harry's raised eyebrow, Luna sighs. "For the next couple of years, those nations found that monsters from inside Equestria somehow appeared within their boarders. Of course, Discord disavowed any knowledge of where they had originated." Luna then shakes her head. "Me and Celly once we discovered this fact, tried stopping them from our side of the boarder while those military forces in the countries coming under attack did their best to limit the damage, but there was a lot of devastation nonetheless..." She then hangs her head and slowly shakes it. "Perhaps if we had not used so much power against Discord before we sealed him using the Elements then they might have had the power to undo all the evil he had done. But he was simply too powerful from feeding on the chaos he had generated over the years to undo all he had done."
Harry blinks a little. "Come again?"
Nightmare gives him a look before her eyes widen. "Ah, I see." Seeing him turn towards her, she continues. "You see Harry, Discord under normal circumstances is roughly as powerful as Celestia, the Little Princess, or myself. But, he feeds on chaos and uses it to boost his strength. When he had first taken over, the chaos he had created was just enough to allow him to overpower us. And by the time the events leading to his defeat occurred, he could have fought our Mother or Father in combat along with us and possibly have created a tie."
Luna then takes over. "Which was why it took so much power to undo what he had done in Equestria alone. We had managed to bring back many of the Ponies he had discorded and undo the worst of the damage to the environment in Equestria and the original monsters that he had created, but, sadly, that was all that we could do. Everything else..."
Harry then cocks his head to the side. "Couldn't you have used the Elements a second time then? And undone more?"
Luna slowly shakes her head. "By the time we had found out about all the other issues, it was too late. The monsters lurking in those countries went on a devastating orgy of destruction with the loss of Discord. And combined with what he had done personally just before being defeated..." Sighing, she closes her eyes. "Perhaps if we had used the Elements much sooner a second time we might have prevented those countries from falling. Maybe. And perhaps they could have rebuilt with less monster attacks with more of the original generation gone."
Nightmare also shakes her head. "And by that time, enough of the original generation of monsters were in those countries that they established breeding populations in the chaos that was created by the countries falling apart." She then sighs. "Perhaps with a second blast right after, we could have taken out enough of the originals that the countries could have had the time to get back on their feet."
Harry then nods as they slip into thoughtful silence for a few moments. "So how did you defeat him then?"
Both Luna and Nightmare gain identical pained expressions. "It was due to a combination of factors Harry. Part of it was that Auroch, DeBoar, and Canis all attacked at the same time. At the time me and Celly didn't know why, but later we figured it was to destroy the source of the monsters at their source. Discord turned and started fighting them, but took his sweet old time and so got weakened due to his arrogance though the devastation he caused was pretty much complete. The real danger was from the south though."
Harry is confused for a moment. "The Gryphons?"
Nightmare nods. "Yes. Their Pharaoh had his own ideas as to how to deal with him." She then wipes a hoof across her face. "Using their own weather controlling abilities, they caused a massive drought as far into Equestria as they could while Discord was busy. And using hot desert winds, dried out the land even farther."
Getting an inking of as to the reason, Harry takes a breath. "Why though?"
Luna grimaces. "All the others pursued the idea of taking out Discord himself, but the Pharaoh was different. He figured out that Discord had been feeding off the chaos he was generating. However, he also believed that Discord needed living beings in order to feed. And so he pursued a literal 'Scorched Earth' policy." Her expression starts darkening as she continues. "Once Discord returned from beating down the other countries, weakened but still powerful, the Pharaoh struck. In a single night he had hundreds of fires lit in the southern regions of Equestria and using their control over weather, rapidly spread it using the hot, desert winds." Luna slowly shakes her head, speaking around the lump in her throat. "Neither me or Celly knows how many died, but it was easily thousands of Ponies. Stallions, Mares, or foals, the Pharaoh just them all put to the sword. Those who tried to outrun the fires where slaughtered by attacks from above." She then shakes her head. "It didn't take long for Discord to arrive, angry that someone had been killing his playthings."
Nightmare then takes over. "Before we go farther, there's a few things that you have to understand about the Gryphon Pharaoh. One of which was that he was a sorcerer." Seeing Harry's eyes widen, she nods. "Royal Gryphons could in fact use magic much like a Unicorn could." She then narrows her eyes as she hisses. "However, they used black magics the like of which even I would not." She then closes her eyes. "They thought nothing of using magic to destroying the free will of a large segment of their slave population and using them as soldiers. And that's not counting their libral use of necromancy."
Harry starts going pale at that. "Necromancy..."
Luna nods. "Yes Harry, that despicable type of magic was used by the Royal Gryphons." She then snorts derisively. "In fact, that was how the Pharaoh created the illusions of being a living god." Seeing his confusion, she shakes her head. "Like the Pharaohs of your own world, the Gryphon ones were worshiped as gods."
Harry clears his throat a little. "So how did they manage it then?"
Nightmare shakes her head. "Like the ones in Ancient Egypt, the Gryphon Pharaohs were sorted into Dynasties. As you went through each successive generation, they would get more and more powerful. From our own research, how they did it was simple. Each time one reached the end of their life, their successor would perform a ritual allowing them to absorb the magic and whatever life-force was left into themselves. The Pharaoh at the time, Gakaotah the eighth, was very powerful being the last of the longest lasting dynasty." She then scowls. "Now that you have some background, it's time to continue." She waits for Harry to nod before doing so. "Now, when Discord fought back, he got a nasty surprise. The Gryphon Pharaoh was ready for him and raised a massive army of the living and the dead. The living portion was mostly normal Griffins who were brainwashed into sacrificing themselves for the Pharaoh or any Royal Gryphon nearby."
Luna then takes over. "The dead portion was the reanimated corpses of slaves filled to the brim with necromantic energies. He had to have been building that up over the previous quarter century by that point. They too, had a nasty surprise." Seeing the slightly sickened, slightly inquisitive look, she goes on. "When one was destroyed, it would detonate into an explosion of necromantic energy. Anything alive caught in it would be instantly killed. The undead caught in it would detonate themselves creating a more massive explosion and Discord would be caught in it be injured. It took him a while, but finally Discord managed to beat back the Pharaoh's army before confronting the ruler himself. After a long, and very brutal battle as the Pharaoh did not care who he killed accidentally, Discord finally stood triumphant over him... Only for him to pull one last attempt to kill the spirit of chaos."
Harry, who's been listening with wide eyes, gulps. "And what was that?"
Luna's expression and eyes darken considerably. "He unleashed one final spell that had used a ritual array hidden in the capital city's very streets to forcibly convert all the life force and magic of the inhabitants into necromantic energy, killing them all, tens of thousands of lives snuffed out in one final attempt by a mad being to kill something unkillable."
Nightmare nods. "Yes. And of course it didn't work." She waves with her hoof as she goes on. "Oh, sure, it badly hurt Discord. And the only good thing was that the backlash was enough that the surviving normal Griffins in Equestria were freed and took off for the northern mountains. And they would later round back and grab any others they could though Discord's revenge was massive." Nightmare slowly closes her eyes. "With his power he created a massive sandstorm and covered the remains of the capital city in sand as well as wiping out almost all life in the Gryphon Empire whether it was innocent or not." She then looks up at the orb overhead. "He then returned to Equestria and that was when the battle truly began."
Luna nods. "Yes." She then sighs and she leans into Harry. "While all this was going on, me and Celly were not idle. We gathered up our forces and began a push to the where the old capital of Equestria was. It took time, but we reached it just as Discord returned, badly weakened due to his recent battles." She then grimaces. "Then, while the army above did battle against him and numerous Ponies and other beings died to buy us time, me and Celly went to find the Elements deep below the city. It was our hope that perhaps being a being so similar to the Windigoes, that perhaps the energy from the Heart of Friendship might be able to perform a similar effect." Luna then closes her eyes as some tears leak from them. "We found them and returned to the surface as quickly as we could, only to find that the army had nearly been wiped out. And there, above it all, injured and yet still alive was Discord. We were stunned at the devastation that met us, that we didn't see his attack until Typhoon's mother, Thunderstrike, pushed us both out of the way. She... didn't survive the attack."
Watching as Harry wraps his arms around the distraught Alicorn, Nightmare closes her own eyes, seeing the memories from that day. "After that, I and Celestia took to the air and started fighting Discord there. The Elements, not yet activated, did not provide much more then a power boost." She sheds a tear as she goes on. "And while that battle was less devastating then the one our parents perished in, it still tore the heavens and earth asunder." Snarling, she hangs her head as she stomps the ground creating a cloud of dust. "And yet, that still was not enough as he was still beating us. In fact..."
She takes a shuddering breath Harry reaches over and strokes his fingers through her mane while doing the same to Luna on the other side. "I am so sorry... I shouldn't have asked..."
Luna just shakes her head against his shoulder before looking up at him. "No Harry, you have the right to know... and so few know the whole story behind it that..." She then looks down. "Do you know that most seem to think that me and Celly defeated him on our own? That we had no help from others to do so?"
Harry blinks for a moment and then looks down. "Really? But... I would have thought that you and Celestia would have told them otherwise."
Nightmare grimaces and leans into his embrace. "We have. But our subjects just wave it off as us being modest. And... that's the greatest disservice to those who died that could be done."
Luna nods slowly. "And that's why it's important for you to know the truth of what happened Harry." She then looks him right in the eye. "If even one person or pony knows what happened, and more then that believes that, then they will not be forgotten. Their sacrifice will be remembered by someone other then me, Celly, or Nightmare... all that pain, all that grief... the loss... it will be remembered for what it is. And it would not be swept under the rug as it's meaning would be known."
Seeing how important this is to the two of them, Harry simply nods for them to continue. "Okay."
Luna nods as she leans in again, drawing strength from her best friend. "It... was horrible. Even me and Celly working together could not beat him. Finally, we were both exhausted when he shot two blasts of pure chaos at us... only for Typhoon's draconic father to fly in the path and throw a spell at Discord, stunning him. I remember him looking at us as the spell blasts hit. His last words being 'Make it count' before his shattered body fell to Earth." Squeezing back tears, Luna takes a shuddering breath. "And at the same time, all the Unicorns, Pegasi, Earth Ponies, and others... all those citizens of Equestria threw all they had left at Discord. And it was at that moment, seeing that, that something awoke in me and Celly."
Harry sucks in a breath. "The Elements..."
Luna's lips twitch some. "Yes." She then looks at him. "Somehow, the emotions running through me and Celly awoke them fully and the feeling... to this day I can't fully describe it Harry. It was... electrifying... terrifying... comforting... there are no words that express what it truly felt like..."
Harry watches her for a moment before shaking his head in amazement. "Wish that I could feel what it was like..."
Luna looks at him for a moment in thought before becoming serious. "Harry... how much do you trust me?"
Harry just gives her a raised eyebrow. "Alot Luna, you know that." Seeing her shake her head causes him to blink. "What?"
She sighs and looks him right in the eye, pulling away from his hug enough to do so. "Harry, how much do you trust me...?"
Harry blinks for a moment and nods. "I trust you with my life."
Nightmare suddenly pipes up. "And me Harry?"
Still confused, he nods. "I trust you just as much."
Luna looks at her, only for Nightmare to return the stare. "I know what you are planning and you do not have enough power alone to do it. Together, however, we do."
Harry looks between them confused and a little frustrated at what's happening. "Okay, what the hay is going on?"
Luna sighs and looks back at him. "Harry, I know a spell that will allow you to experience a memory. There's a lesser version that lets you see it, but this one will immerse you into it will be as if its happening to you. It is an intensely... personal experience hence why I need to know how much you trust me as that is an important part. All parties involved need to trust each other immensely for it to work properly. And with Nightmare helping..."
Nightmare's eyes widen as she whips around as she realizes something. "Wait... you trust me?"
Luna nods. "Enough for this, yes. And apparently you trust me enough for this as you suggested it." Seeing Nightmare huff and look away, Luna cocks her head to the side as her lips twitch. A moment later, she turns back to Harry. "It's up to you if you wish to do this Harry. I warn you, it will be... intense."
Harry takes a breath and then nods. "If it's what you want to do Luna, I have no problem..."
Luna just nods with a small smile as her horn and Nightmare's lights up. "Any other questions?"
Harry gulps a little. "What do I need to do?"
Nightmare gives him a smile as her and Luna lay their horns on his forehead. "Just relax and open yourself..."
Taking a breath, Harry does so and his eyes slowly close. A moment later, they fly open and his pupils shrink to nearly nothing.
************ Flashback *********************
Opening his eyes, Harry glares at the mismatched being in front of him and his sister as his powerful wings keep him aloft. He grimaces as every part of his body feels like it's on fire from the various aches and pains throughout it. His legs hurt, his wings, his head, even the tips of his mane and tail ache. Though only Mother knows how. And his horn just plain throbs in agony from the amount of power having been pushed through it in one battle. He glances at his sister through one swollen eye, her bruised and battered body looking like he feels as she shouts at the monster before them. "DISCORD! Thine reign of tyranny ends here on this day!"
Discord gives a small grin, the various wounds on his body slowly closing as he opens his arms. "Aw, but I was just starting to have fun. Can't stop now you two." He then grins. "Hmm... I wonder what I should do first? Vanish those horns of your's or pluck your pretty little wings from your body..."
Harry just snarls as his glare intensifies, ignoring the pain flashing through his body not to mention how his magic is just about exhausted, the only respite coming from the three gemstones floating around him and lending him power. "Thou shalt not win this day fiend! For thou hast already lost!"
Discord snorts as the clouds and wind swirls around him. "'Lost' my dears? I think you have this completely backwards. Today is the last gasp of this... 'Resistance'." He finishes the word with finger quotes as he laughs. "All my foes came here all gift wrapped like little presents under a tree!"
Harry just smirks, slowly gathering what's left of his strength. "Thou does not understand what is happening! Thou hast united Equestria in a way it never has before! For today on this hour the beings of Equestria stand before thee and in say as one, that no! We shall not let thee win! We shall fight as one!"
Celestia laughs a little. "My sister art right Discord! All of Equestria is united against thee! We each fight for our neighbors, our friends, our family and loved ones! That spark, that spark of friendship and harmony that thee tried so hard to extinguish now burns brighter then it ever has before! It has become a blazing inferno that shalt consume you!"
And with those words the gems surround both Harry and his sister burst into light causing them to gasp as new strength flows into and through their battered forms, revitalizing them. Harry feels a pang of satisfaction as the being that has terrorized the land for so long shields his face, fear appearent across it. "Wha... WHAT IS THIS!"
Harry grins widely at the feeling flowing through him as he shouts at the spirit of disharmony. "THIS IS WHAT THOU CAN NEVER DESTROY! THE HOPES AND DREAMS OF EQUESTRIA ARE RIDING ON US AND WE SHANT NOT FAIL THEM!"
What follows is a resumption of the battle as with new strength Harry and Celestia fight Discord, the magical field around them shielding them against his strikes as if they were pebbles. All around the God of Chaos, massive rainbow colored explosions occur as his foes twist and weave at high speeds around him. Each hit sapping more and more of his strength. Finally, Harry and Celestia come to a stop in front of the hurt spirit as Celestia watches him. "Give up Discord. It is over and thou hast lost. Give up now and we shall show thee mercy that thou hast not shown others."
Discord just snarls, all humor gone from his face as he pants, the situation of just a few minutes ago completely reversed. "I SHALL NOT SURRENDER! I WILL NOT LOSE TO... PONIES!"
Celestia just sighs, a single tear dripping from her eye. "So be it Discord. Let thee remember that thou hast brought this upon thyself."
Harry and Celestia float there, his dark blue wing tips touching her white ones as the glowing orb of power brightens as a rainbow becomes visible wrapping around it. Eyes wide, Discord gathers the last of his power as he shakes his head, spittle flying from his mouth. "No... NO! IT WILL NOT END LIKE THIS! I REFUSE TO LET IT!" And at the same moment he fires it at the two, the two Alicorns fire a beam made of a rainbow at him. The two beams hit and fight dominance as both sides pour on the power. Discord grins as his beam of pure chaos starts to win out. "Yes... YES!" A moment later though, the orb around Celestia and Harry pulses and the rainbow beam gains in strength, overcoming and absorbing Discord's, and gaining power from it. "NO!"
He gives one last roar of defiance before the rainbow covers him. As it cocoons him , the orb blows outwards revealing two exhausted Alicorns as it starts covering Equestria and fixing the worst of the damage, the six gems giving off some light as they watch the rainbow dissipate. Swallowing heavily, Harry tries to see through it. "Is it done sister? Hast the beast been defeated?"
A moment later the rainbow fully disappears revealing a now petrified Discord who starts falling towards the ruined city below. Breathing a sigh of relief, Celestia turns to Harry. "Indeed it has Lulu... indeed it has."
Not reacting the name, Harry slowly nods. "That's... good..."
Suddenly, all strength leaves him as he, like Discord just had, begins to fall towards the ground far below. Above, Celestia's eyes widen as she dives. "LUNA!" Reaching Harry, she grabs him, only for her own exhaustion to catch up and sap her own strength. Soon, she's falling beside Harry who looks at her with hooded eyes from tiredness and pain as all the aches return. "It is done... and I am glad..."
Celestia just nods as she embraces Harry, the two spiraling in the air. "As am I dear sister. And now... at the end of it all... we can finally rest... knowing that we did our duty... and those we watch over are safe..." Spotting the ground coming close, Celestia manages one last flap of the wing placing her below Harry as she curls protectively around him. A moment later they hit the ground with a bone shattering impact causing Harry's vision to go black...
***************** Flashback end ************************
Eyes wide, Harry jerks breathing hard as his heart races a mile a minute in his chest while Luna and Nightmare pull away. Clutching at his chest, Harry jerkily looks behind him, only to confirm that he's back in his body and he has no wings. Blinking slowly, Luna gives him a worried look. "Are you okay Harry?"
Harry just nods, the adrenalin rushing through his veins slowly dying down. "Ye-yeah... I think that I am." Blinking rapidly, he shakes his head. "I know that you said that it would be intense but..." He looks at her with a stunned, amazed look in his eyes as tears run from them freely. "That... somehow saying it was incredable makes it seem... less..."
Nightmare just nods as she lets out a yawn, giving him a slight nuzzle. "I know..."
On his other side, Luna also nods as she looks at him sleepily. "Sorry Harry... seems that the spell made me more tired then I thought..."
Harry gives a nod as he too yawns as tiredness starts to overtake him. "Hey, Luna?" He lays back against a crater's rim as Luna leans into him on one side, Nightmare on the other. "Was that what it really was like... Both the Elements and being an Alicorn?"
She gives a chuckle before nodding, her eyes slowly closing "Mm-hm..." After a moment, she lets out a sigh. "Harry? Is it okay if we continue this tomorrow."
Harry smiles some. "Yeah... I don't think that I can keep... my eyes open for much longer..."
Luna sighs. "That's... good..." And together, the three drift off completely into the land of dreams...
Once again sitting in front of Luna and leaning back against Nightmare, Harry gets comfortable. "So... we were at the point where Discord was defeated, right?"
Luna slowly nods. "We were." She then crosses her forelegs with a sigh. "The first two weeks were hard Harry. Very much so." She then closes her eyes. "Celly and I were badly enough injured that even with our fast healing it took that long to be able to move around without the pain overcoming us." She then shakes her head with a single tear. "And then there was all those to be buried and the rebuilding yet to come."
Harry grimaces as he can guess how bad it was. "That bad, huh?"
Nightmare nods. "Yes." She then sighs and shakes her head. "Equestria at the time was pretty fractured as with Discord's decapitation strike, none of the original rulers were around. The Ponies needed someone to guide them."
Harry nods. "So you guys and Celestia stepped up."
He's slightly shocked as Luna shakes her head. "As a matter of fact, no." She then lifts up her hoof and tilts it from side to side. "While the two of us were recovering, we would, when we could manage it without passing out from the pain, go to the meetings. At those meetings all the highest remaining ranking members of the government from before Discord were there as well as the various leaders that rose up during his reign. All of them had their own ideas as to what to do. It was all me and Celly could do to keep Equestria from falling apart in the wake of Discord's defeat as in some cases old hatreds began to surface among the older members."
Harry facepalms as he shakes his head. "Idiots..."
Nightmare snorts before shaking her head. "Indeed Harry, that they were." She then chortles a bit. "But the older members did not expect what happened next."
Luna's lips twitch as she continues. "One of the younger leaders, having grown up with the two of us leading the Resistance against Discord as it were, suggested that we become the new rulers as we embodied all three tribes in a single pony." She then groans. "It would have likely been left at that, except for the other young leaders agreed as did those of the older generations who remembered how we advised the previous rulers and the common pony alike."
Harry blinks at this before raising an eyebrow. "And you never tried to stop them?"
Luna snorts and rolls her eyes. "We would have, except this was at a time when both Celly and I were confined to our beds as we were racked with pain from having strained our still healing wounds." She then scowls. "By the time we recovered enough to try to interfere, it was too late. The intermediary council had decided that we would lead them as their new leaders. And the news spread rapidly with great fanfare." She then sighs. "We just didn't have the heart to stop it by then as it gave hope and relief to our Little Ponies." Her frown then becomes a smirk. "Thankfully, we managed to have our ranks as Princesses. Not as Queens as they had originally wanted." She then shrugs. "We thought that it would make us more approachable for our Ponies."
Harry then winks at her, his next words causing her to blush. "Not to mention that Queens can't have tea parties, right?"
Luna grumbles a little as she turns away. "Well... there was that as well I guess..." Seeing his smirk, she clears her throat. "Anyways, neither of us were happy with this, but we went along with it. At the time, we also decided to create a new military to help protect our new subjects while they rebuilt. Her's was the Solar Guard and mine was the Night Guard. We chose them from those that had fought beside us for so many years for the most part. Myself, I went and found Typhoon and offered her a place."
Harry raises an eyebrow as he watches Luna laugh. "What's funny?"
Wiping a tear from her eye, Luna shakes her head. "Well, just the fact that she turned me down. Wanted to wander around by herself I guess." Luna then shrugs. "Kept an eye on her as she journeyed around though at one point I lost track of her as she and her companion Juniper traveled beyond our boarders and across the Gryphon Desert. I later found out that they had reached the boarders of Zebrecia becoming the first Equestrians to reach that strange land. They then just journeyed around and helped various groups solve their problems and became legends before returning to Equestria." She laughs a bit. "Though when we later contacted the Zebra tribes about 300 years later, Typhoon and Juniper had by that point became considered in the same veins as some of their native spirits."
Harry leans forwards a bit. "So what happened? And how did they meet?"
Blinking, Luna softly smiles. "While she was journeying around, Typhoon took what I suppose could be called jobs to support herself. Basically, she would hear a rumor about a monster and go to the source. She would then slay the monster if she had no choice and get bits for it. One day, she got heard the rumor of a monstrous serpent beast that was terrorizing a small village. She went there and investigated. The townsponies... were not happy to see a 'Half-breed' like her." Seeing Harry scowl, she nods. "Yes, when I got the report from the Pony I had watching her, I was quite angry myself."
Harry's scowl just grows. "And let me guess, they were lying about the 'Monster' terrorizing them."
Luna grimaces and nods. "They were." She then sighs. "Juniper had at that time settled in a nearby cave and stayed there. She was... very kind and soft spoken then to the point where she was very shy. She quite literally could not hurt a fly." She then closes her eyes in remembrance. "She was also a friend to the animals of the woods there and could calm them with a single glance. But, because she looked different, the Ponies wanted her dead or gone. And so when Typhoon arrived, they told her all sorts of lies." Luna then smirks as she opens one eye and winks. "They didn't count on Typhoon being smart and clever." Shaking her head in amusement, she continues. "Typhoon hid in the trees nearby and observed Juniper for several days and nights until she had seen enough." Luna then grins some as she pats the ground. "She went into Juniper's cave and had a discussion with her. I later found out from them that using Typhoon's sword, Juniper made a cut and smeared her blood onto it and gave it back. They then roughed up Typhoon's looks to make it seem like she had been in a great battle and was exhausted. Afterwards, Typhoon collapsed the entrance while Juniper used an underground stream to leave unseen. Once she was sure that Juniper was safe, Typhoon knocked the rest of it down."
Harry nods. "Smart. One way or the other there would be no checking the truth." He then frowns. "I'm guessing that the townsponies weren't happy though."
Luna gains a scowl as she shakes her head. "No, they weren't." She then glares at a small pebble between her forelegs. "They had been waiting for her to return to collect her payment and once she was there they surrounded her while wielding makeshift weapons." She then snorts. "Sadly for them, they didn't know two things. One, Typhoon was not exhausted and managed to fight her way out with little issue."
Harry raises an eyebrow. "And two?"
Luna gains a vicious smirk. "I was not nearly as kind as I am now back then." She then partially closes her eyes. "I made sure to spread the word of what they had done and focused on those communities that Typhoon had saved. After all, if they couldn't be trusted to keep their word when they had to be saved, how could they be trusted to keep their word when it came to something like trade? And without trade, the town died with it's ponies traveling to other communities."
Harry frowns a bit before shrugging it off as it was a different time and the Luna he knows is different from that one in a few ways. "So how did they meet up again?"
Luna softly smiles. "Actually, they met a few days later and that was when they traveled outside of Equestria. Once they came back, Juniper had learned a form of magic using potions to allow her to take on a normal, Earth Pony form. Of course, Typhoon had perfected her own special ability."
Harry's eyes widen as he smiles and leans forwards. "What was it?"
Luna chuckles a bit and shakes her head. "She referred to it as her 'Screaming Fireball' attack." She then holds out a hoof as she continues. "See Harry, dragon's fire is very powerful. It can burn just about anything. But luckily, dragons are slow fliers compared to most Pegasi. Pegasi are much faster then dragons, but they can't create an magical attack internally, just manipulate the environment around them to do so." She then leans forwards. "Typhoon was special in that she had the strength of both. Like her father, she could use dragon's fire. And like her mother, she was among the fastest of Pegasi." Luna then leans back. "She discovered one day that if she did a dive at high speed while holding her mouth open in preparation for using her flames, that it would cause the fireball to become even stronger and hotter while being more compact. And it was powerful enough that most monsters could only withstand one or two hits before either running, surrendering, or being killed."
Harry's jaw drops a bit. "Bloody hay!"
Luna nods. "Indeed. And Juniper had learned how to become a highly accomplished healer. While unable to use magic like a Unicorn, she was able to create potions and antidotes with ease. And unknown to most, she was an expert in poison. Together, the two were a team and traveled Equestria. They were... Hmm." Luna frowns thoughtfully before shrugging. "They were what I suppose humans might call 'Anti-heroes'." She then looks up thoughtfully. "But their biggest challenge was yet to come."
Harry raises an eyebrow at this. "Oh?"
Nodding, Luna sighs. "They were nearby when a mining town, in search of more metals, dug a new shaft. Problem being that the new shaft woke up a Draco Invictus."
Harry screws up his face a little. "A what now?"
Nightmare looks over at him. "A Draco Invictus." Seeing that he's still confused, she sighs. "As you know, dragons in Equestria age slowly, but grow larger and more powerful as they age, right?" Harry slowly nods. "The oldest and most powerful dragons that you'll usually see is the Wyrms and Great Wyrms. And they themselves are few and far between as not many reach such an old age, or at least did not while we were living in Equestria."
Harry raises an eyebrow. "So what is a 'Draco Invictus' then and how does it fit into dragon aging." He suddenly frowns. "Wait a second... doesn't that translate from Latin as 'Unconquered Dragon'?"
Smiling as he remembered some of the lessons she gave him, Nightmare nods. "It does translate as such. It is intriguing how similar some of the languages of Earth are to ones in Equestria. Such as how Latin is to the Equestrian language of the wise." She then shakes her head. "Anyways, Draco Invicti are even rarer then the Great Wyrms. They are extremely old and powerful dragons capable of matching a Alicorn in pure power. They hardly ever wake up and spend most of what's left of their lives sleeping. Over the centuries, their bodies are often covered by dirt and vegetation to the point where they look like a hill or a mountain if above ground. However, this is the final part of a dragon's lifespan. About 1,000 years after this the fires sustaining them die off and their bodies petrify. What was once their organs, veins, and arteries becoming gem lined caverns."
Harry then winces a bit. "Don't... dragons eat gems though?"
Luna sighs and nods. "They do, but not gems from such caverns as such beings are often the closest that dragons have to 'gods'. Caverns like that are often used by the dragon's descendents as a safe nesting ground for them as the ambient magic from Draco Invicti will protect the eggs from most forms of harm."
Frowning, Harry slips into thought. "Are the caves under Canterlot an example then?"
Blinking, Luna rubs her chin. "I... never considered that..." She then shakes her head. "Anyways, the only one that I've known was one named Spykroplis and he reached that age a few years before..." Looking at Nightmare, she clears her throat. "But I'll get to him in a bit."
Nightmare nods before looking at Harry. "Back to Typhoon and what happened." She then closes her eyes to gather her thoughts before opening them. "The town itself was on the edge of Everfree Glade as a matter of fact. However, with the digging of the shaft, the Draco Invictus awoke in a rage and started laying waste to the surrounding countryside. Typhoon and Juniper rushed to the town's aid. Juniper managed to shoot it with several of her poisoned arrows while Typhoon distracted it."
Harry blinks before raising an eyebrow. "So where were you and your sister then?"
The two Alicorns share a scowl before Luna shakes her head. "Let me finish Harry, then I'll tell you, okay?" At Harry's nod, she continues. "Now, I never did find out what Juniper's special poison was, but it was powerful enough to hurt a Draco Invictus. Finally, Typhoon managed to get it to follow her into the sky by using her Screaming Fireball against it. Once in the air, she flew up into the clouds and smoke with it following. And using the cover, she then began attacking it from various angles creating flashes of light in the clouds."
Nightmare nods her head at this. "Some of the Pegasus that were there likened it to a massive thunderstorm or some of the tales of the great Pegasi warriors of old." She then smirks. "By this time, and having fought and killed other dragons, Typhoon knew how to beat one. Using her own attack, she attacked the wings weakening them."
Luna then takes over. "The old dragon however was wily and almost got her when it began twirling in midair, spraying fire every which way in an effort to kill her." Luna then shakes her head. "Typhoon must have had some deity of luck smiling down on her because besides a scorched tail, she survived. It too her a minute to put it out, but then she noticed the dragon diving back towards the ground, right in the direction of where Juniper was. And so she started diving right after it, trying to put on as much speed as possible."
Nightmare then nods and continues. "She told us later that as she dove, the air seemed to get harder and harder to get through, almost like a cone formed around her. Meanwhile, Juniper had looked up from where she was gathering several foals to get them out of the ruined town to see the dragon with it's mouth wide open heading for them. But unknown to them both, Typhoon had caught up. Still gaining when..." Nightmare smacks her hooves together hard making Harry jump. "BOOM! Somehow she created an explosion of multicolored light that even Celestia and I saw from the other side of Equestria. She had already been gathering her own attack and continued to gather it until she couldn't hold it anymore which was just as she blew past the still stunned dragon. It then opened its mouth and started charging its own attack." Nightmare then shakes her head a bit. "From what she later told us, Typhoon was going so fast that when she twisted in the air to fire off her attack, she felt as if her neck, spine, and wings were about to snap."
Harry shakes his head in a bit of amazement. "Must have been a powerful one then."
Luna nods. "It was. When the fireball left her mouth, she had been gathering it for a bit. And as I said, some deity of luck must have been her patron because the fireball shot into the Draco Invictus' own mouth and collided with its gathering attack." Her lips twitch a bit as she continues in a dry tone. "Celly and I were told that the explosion generated was immense and tore apart the Draco Invictus, its burning corpse falling to the ground back into the hole it had come from and causing the mines to collapse. It was then that me and Celly returned."
Leaning back into Nightmare, Harry can't help but shake his head. "Typhoon sounds pretty amazing." He then frowns. "Her and Juniper did survive with the town being rebuilt, right?"
Luna grimaces with a sigh. "Typhoon and Juniper survived, yes. But the town wasn't rebuilt, but rather abandoned." Seeing the questioning look from Harry, Luna shakes her head. "One of the abilities of a Draco Invictus is if it is killed. If it has time, it lays a curse on it's killer in order to have its revenge through the slayer's death. If it doesn't, it lays a curse on the land. In this case, a few days later a nearby river burst it's banks and flooded what was left of the town as well as the mines and hole where the Draco Invictus lay. And it stayed flooded, though by the time that the... fight with Celly occurred more then 400 years later, the area was more of a swamp then a lake due to sedimentation..."
As Luna slips into her thoughts, Nightmare looks at Harry. "Once me and Celestia arrived and heard what had happened, I approached Typhoon and Juniper with the same offer as before. This time though, Typhoon accepted as did Juniper. Both were tired of wondering and so accepted."
Harry nods. "So you invited Typhoon for her fighting ability and Juniper for her potions?"
Shaking her head, Luna sighs. "Yes, though really, only my Guard would have accepted them."
Raising an eyebrow, Harry leans forwards. "Oh? How so?"
Luna just shakes her head. "Celly and I built our individual Guards different. Her Day Guard was composed almost entirely of Pegasi and Unicorns. What very few Earth Ponies there were in it were relegated to such duties as armorer and logistics. In the Night Guard, I accepted anypony whether they were Earth, unicorn, or Pegasus, who wished to fight to protect Equestria and were willing to lay down their lives to do so if need be. As time went on, I would find that I was accepting other species as well such as Minotaurs. Needless to say this caused more then a little friction between my Guards and Celly's."
Snorting, Nightmare catches their attention. "A 'little' friction Little Princess? Try a lot." Ignoring Luna's flushed face, Nightmare turns to Harry. "Not a month went by without the two groups getting into a fight. Usually, it was because one of the Day Guard would make a disparaging remark about a non-Pegasus or Non-Unicorn Night Guard. Which, considering how tight the comradery of our Night Guard was, would often end in a brawl."
Harry just facepalms. "And of course, both sides were punished, correct." Hearing silence, he glances at the two Alicorns to see them looking away. "Wait, they weren't?"
Luna shakes her head. "Well... not exactly, because it would be one group's word against another. And most of the time we could never prove who started it. And the few times that there were witnesses outside the Guards, they would side with the Day Guards due to my... lack of popularity thanks to being associated with the night in a time where there were many monsters roaming around. So the most Celly usually did was leave the Day Guards involved off with some words while asking that I punish my Night Guards for turning it physical. Most I would do is have them clean the barracks and such as well as some words to let the insults go." She then sighs. "When the two of us first formed the Guards, we decided that only the Princess in charge of that branch could punish them. And not the other." She then shakes her head. "It was one of the many sources of tension that slowly tore us apart."
Nightmare nods for a second before stopping and facehoofing as she turns to Harry. "Before I forget, you were wondering about where the two of us were at the time of the fight, correct?"
Blinking, Harry nods. "Oh, right. Nearly forgot, thanks!"
Lips twitching, Luna shakes her head. "Me too Harry." She then becomes saddened. "It had to do with Lepidoptera."
Grimacing, Nightmare shakes her head as well. "If Typhoon had the Lady Luck on her side, then Fate simply despised Lepidoptera." Seeing Harry's questioning, but slightly disturbed expression, she sighs. "For those twenty years me and Celestia rounded up the worst and most powerful monsters created by either Discord or his 'Father' and locked them in a prison we called Tarterus that went deep underground. Just outside the gate stood one of them which was a Cerberus, which Celestia had befriended that she called Cerey." Seeing Harry's incredulous look, she shrugs. "Naming for her was hit or miss."
Rolling her eyes, Luna clears her throat. "As I was saying..." Seeing that she has their attention, she continues. "We weren't around because we had an issue involving Lepidoptera to deal with." Luna then shakes her head. "Poor mare just had fate give her one hit after another."
Harry clears his throat. "Because of Discord...?"
Luna shakes her head. "Because of her family." Seeing Harry's raised eyebrow, she sighs. "After the reign of Discord, the only pony that she had that was even like family was Clover. And she died about five years after Discord's defeat." Seeing Harry nod, she continues. "That left her all alone in charge of her own principality and with everything that had happened to her along with Clover's death... she was not in a good place mentally."
Nightmare shakes her head. "That's putting it mildly. And what happened next was the final straw."
Harry raises an eyebrow as he shifts a little. "Oh?"
Luna nods. "Her Principality was quite rich as a matter of fact. However, next door there was another Principality. It was ruled over by Count Pernicious, a very talented potions maker. He was quite envious of her little kingdom and sought it. With Clover's death he saw his chance and invited her to his castle. Distraught, she didn't have her guard up when he gave her something to drink." Luna's eyes narrow as they darken. "He had created a very powerful love potion that would become known as 'Love Poison'. It quite literally made him the center of her world and within a few weeks they were married, the kingdoms having been combined."
Sneering, Nightmare snorts. "And while he may have been a great potions maker, he was a lousy ruler and began driving the Principality into the ground to feed his own tastes."
Luna nods. "Yeah, and he made another mistake that caused his discovery to come sooner." Seeing Harry look at her, she continues. "As it turned out, Lepidoptera was only step one. Pernicious was aiming for something much bigger." She narrows her eyes. "Rulership over Equestria..."
*********************** Last time ********************
Luna nods. "Yeah, and he made another mistake that caused his discovery to come sooner." Seeing Harry look at her, she continues. "As it turned out, Lepidoptera was only step one. Pernicious was aiming for something much bigger." She narrows her eyes. "Rulership over Equestria..."
*********************** Now ****************************
Harry tries to work his mouth for a little while before he manages to get something. "He... no one could be that stupid..."
Luna sighs as she runs a hoof down her face. "I wish that I could agree with that Harry, I really do. But the fact was that, that he truly did try to do that."
Nightmare snorts a bit. "In fact, he did not even wait as almost as soon as he was married to Lepidoptera before he started to try to romance Celestia."
Harry just blinks at this before looking at Nightmare in confusion. "Wait a second..." He then looks at Luna with the same confused expression. "I know that here it wasn't uncommon for a noble to take on a mistress or what have you way back in the middle ages and such but..." He then raises an eyebrow. "Wouldn't it cause a problem for both Celestia and Pernicious as he was trying to cheat openly on his wife?"
Luna blinks at this before facehoofing. "I keep forgetting that you wouldn't know these things." Pulling her hoof away, she folds her forelegs over each other. "Before we continue, it seems that I have to explain some things about Equestrian culture when it comes to such."
Raising an eyebrow, Harry simply blinks. "How so?"
Luna sighs as she shakes her head. "Harry, one thing that you should remember back then was that birthrates were skewered towards females. And the ratio got worse especially back then as you increase the age."
Harry becomes thoughtful for a moment before looking at Luna. "Does this have to do with that time you told me that stallions were usually at the front of battle?"
Luna slowly nods. "That is a very big part of it." Shaking her head, she continues. "Back then, most families were members of what I guess you could call 'Clans'." She then gestures with a forehoof. "These were groups of families who were inter-related with each other." She then holds her hoof above her head. "At the top, was the clan Matriarch. This was the oldest mare in the family. Below her, would be the oldest mare in each family and so on. Our society is very... matriarchal in nature. For example, family lines aren't traced through the male side, but rather the female side."
Harry rubs his forehead for a moment before shaking his head. "So... Stallions had less rights?"
Nightmare shakes her head. "No Harry, they has just as much rights as a mare did." Looking at him directly, she continues. "It was just that mares were more valued thanks to the fact that they could pass along the family name and titles. So most families would want a female foal, not a male to pass along their inheritance."
Nodding, Luna takes over. "Both genders had their roles and strengths. While here on Earth, jobs such as homemaker and such met with derision for many years, in Equestria it was a highly respected duty as you would be 'taking care of the herd' as some referred to it." She then waves her hoof in the other direction. "Stallions, however, are for the most part physically stronger then a mare and more tough. And so, when it came to defense and hard physical labor, they were the ones to do so." Sighing, she shakes her head. "We Ponies are herd animals while humans are pack or tribal based. Because of that, a Pony never had to worry about their position in the herd as it was secure and everyone theoretically worked together for the betterment of all. Unlike in a human tribe where you could easily lose your position over something very small."
Harry blinks for a moment before looking at the sky in thought. "So then you didn't have issues between males and females that humans had?"
Waving her hoof, Luna shakes her head. "Not I never said that Harry."
Now Harry starts getting confused. "But you said..."
Luna's lips twitch a bit before she chuckles. "I know what I said Harry." Humming thoughtfully for a moment, she nods. "Ponies are by their nature very conservative in many ways and change socially slowly. Another is that due to our... mentality I suppose we can call it, it is commonly believed that certain roles should go to certain Ponies." She then waves her hoof a little. "A perfect example of this is with mares and stallions. While mares could fight and in some cases as well as or even better then a stallion, it was far more common for a stallion to be a fighter because such was expected of them socially. And the same came to the mares being in charge of the household. I knew some stallions who did very well in such a role, but it was more common for a mare to have that particular role because, as before, it was expected of them."
Nightmare then looks at Harry directly. "Of course, placing stallions into the soldier position had issues. A stallion was physically capable of doing battle at an earlier age then a mare could have a foal. And with all the monsters around in those days..."
Harry simply nods as the pieces start falling into place. "And because of that, the numbers of stallions would decrease even farther as they got older and older."
Luna nods as she smiles. "Yes, so by the time mares would reach the age where they could have foals, there was often substantially smaller pool of stallions to mate." She then shifts a bit and sighs. "Now that you can understand the issues, we can get back to your original question: Why did no one have issue with Pernicious courting my sister while he was married." She then clears her throat a little and continues. "Now, back then the most common form of marriage by far was monogamy. That is, one mare and one stallion. After that, though less common, was bigamy and polygamy. In both cases though, a single mare would be in charge of the group as an 'Alpha' of sorts."
Snorting, Nightmare catches Harry's attention. "Of course, that's actual marriage. It was not uncommon even for monogamous couples for the stallion to be... hmm... how to put this..." Tapping her chin for a few moments, Nightmare finally shrugs. "For the stallion to be, for lack of better words, lent out to mate with an unattached mare who wished for a foal. These were of course almost always either relatives of the mare in the couple or very close friends. And the whole thing had detailed contracts written up and needed the agreement of all parties involved. If one said no, then it would be dropped."
Leaning back, Harry nods. "So there were no issues with him courting Celestia?"
Luna shrugs. "Besides Lepidoptera's principality not being that large or her being that highly ranked?" She shakes her head. "Not really, no." Chuckling, she grins a little. "That's not to say that she enjoyed his... shall we say... attentions..." Snorting, Luna's grin widens a little. "He was simply awful at romance or to quote Celly, 'He is the most vile, despicable, pitiable little annoyance that it is my misfortune to deal with.'"
Harry raises an eyebrow at this. "So he never tried to use a love potion on Celestia then?"Another thought strikes him at that moment. "And why didn’t you or your sister ever notice what he did to Lepidoptera?" Seeing her grin vanish and replaced by a guilty expression, he flinches. "Sorry I..."
He trails off as Luna holds up a hoof. "Don't be sorry Harry, it was just one of mine and Celestia's first failures as Diarchies." Sighing, she shakes her hoof. "The only excuse that I could give was that I and Celestia were busy trying to rebuild the government at the time. Myself, I was often buried in various forms, plans, checklists, and the like. Sister however was often busy working on the social side of things." Blinking, Luna looks up while mumbling. "That might have been where issues started popping up between me and our subjects now that I think about it..."
Harry leans forwards a bit. "Oh?"
Looking first at him, and then at Nightmare, Luna waits until the larger Alicorn nods her head before getting up and walking over to where Harry is. Sitting down next him, she sighs. "During those twenty years, I was hardly seen outside of my study where I was sorting out a lot of the paperwork." Seeing Harry about to say something, she taps him on the shoulder and shakes her head. "Harry, I enjoyed doing all the paperwork that went along with rebuilding the country. Plans, decrees, laws, checklists... it was like heaven to me..." She then chuckles seeing Harry's interested look before reaching over and laying her foreleg over his shoulder as she gestures with her hoof. "At the time, Celly and I were playing with our strengths. When it came to various fine details such as building codes and taxes, I was always the best at it. When it came to Celly, however, she was always more of a ponies... pony." She then frowns as her eyes cross. "Or a people's Pony." She then waves it off. "However you want to slice it, during those twenty years, Celly was seen far more then me by the public, so I suppose that around then was when they started seeing me as the mysterious younger sibling who hid in the shadows."
Harry grimaces a bit before laying his arm over her shoulders. "And Celestia?"
Nightmare rolls her eyes a bit. "She spent much of the time having parties and such."
Hearing that and seeing Harry about to say something, Luna scowls. "That's a half truth at the best and you know that." She then turns to Harry. "What balls, parties, and celebrations she held was to play to the nobles' egos and feed them. Add into the fact that we needed to keep the population focused on something other then all the problems relating to reconstruction..."
Harry frowns but nods. "It was smarter to keep them distracted by having them focus on something else and what better for that then various celebrations."
Nodding, Luna smiles. "Right." Her smile soon turns into a scowl though. "Sadly, that gave Pernicious the opportunity to bug... I mean, court Celly." She then frowns. "And while Celly visited the various Principalities and kingdoms that made up Equestria, she would usually give a week or so notice before arriving."
Harry facepalms at that. "Which would give Pernicious all the time he needed to cover-up the issues."
Luna sighs but shakes her head. "And when you add in that she could only visit so many..." Hearing Harry groan, she shrugs. "As it was, I suspect that he tried several times to use a love potion of sorts on Celly, only for it to fail." Seeing Harry's look, she explains. "An Alicorn's magic naturally rejects that which could be harmful to us. It takes something very strong to get through that as at most, poisons would give me or Celly a slightly unpleasant feeling at the most."
Blinking, Harry smiles. "Huh, so then the love potions didn't do anything?"
Luna frowns a bit before answering. "I wouldn't quite say that. Pernicious was smart enough not to slip them into Celly's food or drink anywhere but in his manor. And even then, all it really did was make the visit just slightly more bearable from Celly's perspective. And that effect wore off quickly enough..."
Seeing her fall into silence, Harry eventually squeezes her shoulder causing her to look at him. "So how did you and Celestia come to find out?"
Shaking her head, the lunar princess sighs. "It was a combination of factors and it wasn't for a while that we became suspicious as we were in fact quite busy." She then tilts her hoof. "From Celestia, it was partially the change in Lepidoptera's personality. While before she was interested in all things magic like Clover, now all she wanted to talk about was her husband and how great he was. At first, we both shrugged it off as them being newly in love, though the way that Pernicious acted towards her set off some alarm bells. And where before she could be quite calm, she was suddenly emotionally all over the place. One minute she could be sitting there staring off into space and the next bubbly and excitable. Or she could become snappish towards one of the servants for a little thing."
Harry just stares at her in disbelief. "And that didn't set off alarm bells?!"
Luna rubs her forehead. "It did, but at the same time since the only time Celly ever saw Lepidoptera was when she visited, she would not think about it for an hour or so after her last bite to eat or drink. For a while, she dismissed it as her imagination or stress on Lepidoptera's part, as I am sad to say I did as well." Seeing his look, she shakes her head. "It was a stressful time Harry, and such things were not uncommon and with all the tragedy in her life..." Trailing off for a moment, she soon snaps out of her thoughts. "Then as the years went on and they didn't have a foal, Celly and I thought that it might be a side effect of a potion or spell to increase Lepidoptera fertility. Such reactions were quite common to such after all."
Nodding, Harry looks down in thought. "And if she was barren, it would make sense that he would look elsewhere for a foal."
Grunting, Nightmare gives him a proud look. "Indeed Harry. In fact, that was an opinion that both Celestia and I shared." She then scowls. "Eventually, even that fell through as the fact he went after nopony else for a foal became apparent."
Luna nods before continuing. "On my side, eventually I started noticing small discrepancies in things that had to do with her Principality. One of them was that less revenue came out of it then before or should since it was two Principalities merged. Another was that our annual census showed that the populations of the surrounding kingdoms and Principalities rose while Lepidoptera's fell. So, eventually I gathered up enough evidence and presented it to Celly. She added what she observed there, though she would trail off at times in thought."
His eyes widening, Harry gulps. "It was affecting her, wasn't it?"
Luna slams her hoof down in anger before squeezing her eyes shut with a hiss. "It did." Sighing, she opens her eyes and looks at Harry. "Even with an Alicorn's resistance, being exposed to the strongest love potion ever created did have an effect, even if all it was, was to make a conversation with him slightly bearable."
Harry nods. "And your suspicion was aroused enough that you both decided to look into it."
Nodding, the lunar princess gains a far off look. "We did. Celly, as was traditional, gave him a week's notice that we were both going to come. And while Celly prepared, one night I snuck into the Principality and looked around in the places where normally me and Celly would avoid." Running her hoof down her snout, she sighs. "Celly never really toured a Principality and mainly just went to the capitals such as they were. And when I looked around... that was when I saw how poverty stricken it was. That set off alarm bells as Lepidoptera loved her subjects very much."
Frowning, Harry shakes his head. "And that was when you figured out the discrepancies."
Nodding, Luna scowls. "He had drained the small kingdom of almost all it's worth almost to the point of collapse." She then sighs. "And then came the day of the official visit." She slowly leans into Harry's shoulder. "It was near the end where after observing it all where I had enough." She slowly looks up and shudders. "Celly had been playing the good visitor and had drank and eaten some and seemed quite relaxed around him. I myself had barely had anything and he seemed disappointed in that, but shrugged it off. And then he brought out a large dinner and a bottle of what he said was the finest wine produced in the Principality." Luna takes a shuddering breath before continuing. "He poured both me and Celly a large glass and we were about to drink it when I noticed something about Lepidoptera. She seemed to be struggling with something and in the depths of her eyes. It was pure despair and horror. Then Pernicious saw where I was looking and laid a hoof on Lepidoptera's knee and it all vanished as she turned to gaze at him."
Harry's eyes widen as he gulps. "And that's when you knew..."
Luna grimaces as she closes her eyes. "I figured out that something was wrong." She then snorts. "Unlike Celly, I was more impulsive and I showed it as a moment later, he found himself hoisted into the air alongside Lepidoptera. Celly soon found herself in the air when she demanded to know what I was doing and why though she was highly confused. After that was done, I stomped up to him and... asked what he was done." Luna then opens her eyes some and snorts. "The foal then glanced at the food and drink, in particular the wine, in fear which told me everything. I cast a spell and it found and identified what type of potion as well as the potency of it." She then growls. "It was powerful enough that Celly would have likely succumbed to it somewhat."
Nightmare snarls. "He got what was coming to him though."
Glancing over at her, Harry forces down his own anger. "He got his, right?"
Smirking, Nightmare darkly chuckles. "Of course Harry." She then examines her hoof. "As Celestia did not want him executed, being soft hearted as she was, he was instead gelded and exiled." She then grins as her eyes become hooded, not seeing Harry wince and squeeze his legs together. "And then, one day, he just so happened to find a bottle of wine..."
Luna just shakes her head in mock surprise. "And being the swine he was, he gulped it down before turning to see a mirror..." She then sighs. "For some reason he couldn't stop gazing into it."
Clearing his throat, Harry winces a bit as he thinks it over. 'Ironic...' He then looks at Luna. "And Lepidoptera?"
Now it's Luna's turn to wince. "That..." She then rubs her face. "We had to clear both her and Celly out of any potions and that alone was not fun. While it was just the one for Celly, for Lepidoptera, it was a large number. He had used far more then just love poison on her." She then grimaces. "And so it took her longer to get cleared out, though there were remnants of them within her system for decades after." Luna then glances at Harry. "What happened next compounded the tragedy."
Blinking at her tone, Harry raises an eyebrow. "How so?"
Luna shakes her head. "While her system was being flushed of the potion, Celly had massive mood swings. One minute she could be crying, and the next raging with all the fury of a hurricane. During that time, I was handling affairs of state in her place, and I disliked it immensely." She then sighs. "During one of her darker moods, one of the nobles mentioned around her that she could restitution for herself from Pernicious' House for what he had done. And, not thinking clearly, she demanded such." Slamming her hoof into the moon, Luna growls. "In her mood, she forgot that since Pernicious had no family outside of Lepidoptera, it fell to her House to pay for it."
Harry's eyes widen. "Oh no..."
Scowling, Nightmare nods. "Indeed. In her mood she also forgot what restitution would be or possibly that she was no longer living a relatively minor station in life." Nightmare just shakes her head. "For what he did and the high crime of doing it against one of the High Sovereigns of Equestria, she forfeited all her lands to Celestia."
Nodding her head, Luna looks down. "And by the time I found out due to being swamped with work, it was too late to do anything." Closing her eyes, a single tear drips from her eye. "For actions that she had nothing to do with, Lepidoptera lost it all to Celestia. Her lands, her fortune, and her titles were all given to Celly."
Harry just stares at her in disbelief. "And she never tried to give it back?!"
Luna shakes her head. "She honestly tried Harry, but at the time, that law was so tied up with a number of others that would not be until Lepidoptera's death that we managed to figure out how, and by then..."
Nodding, Harry sighs. "It had no point."
Luna grimaces, but nods. "Yes." She then gazes into the sky above and sighs. "I think that was what finally broke Lepidoptera. All of the tragedy in her life lead up to that and she became a shell of who she once was. And then she hated and despised Celly for everything that happened."
Harry glances over at her. "Because of Celestia taking everything?"
Shaking her head, Nightmare grumbles. "That was merely the final straw." Seeing that she has Harry's attention, she continues. "While she was under the potions' effects, Pernicious would rant at her and brag about his plan." She starts scowling. "He saw her as a test bed for the Love Poison and more then that, she was merely a stepping stone for him to grab Celestia. He did not see either of them as thinking beings, just as ways to gather more power and 'trophies'." Nightmare then slowly shakes her head. "He told her that with her wealth and lands added to his own, he then had enough status to get the chance to grab Celestia in his little web."
Luna nods. "And so she came to despise Celestia for everything." She then shakes her head. "That's not to say that Celly did not try to at least be kind to her. Celestia let her keep living in her ancestral manor and instead used a nearby mountain upon whose side she built a small keep as well as a school..."
Harry's eyes widen. "Canterlot!?"
The blue Alicorn's smile is answer enough. "Yes." She frowns. "Celly had the school built and then invited Lepidoptera there to teach the subject she was most knowledgeable in... transformational magics."
Raising an eyebrow, Harry blinks. "She didn't act like Snape... did she?"
The lunar princess shakes her head in the negative. "Not at all actually." She then softly smiles. "No matter what problems she might have had with Celly, one of the things she learned from both Starswirl and Clover was how to be a professional when it came to teaching." She then looks towards Harry. "At the same time, other people settled around the school and the Keep. They were there mainly to supply both with various craft items and food. A few years later I joined in the building by opening a small manor that had labs for thurmatological research." She then chuckles. "It was during the construction that we found the caverns underneath and in the mountain."
Nightmare snorts a bit. "The sheer amount of magic down there was incredible and the crystals and gems were exquisite for usage in thurmatological research."
Luna nods. "And Lepidoptera used the caverns to conduct her research into transformational magics." Luna then lifts a hoof as she looks directly at Harry. "She recruited a number of fellow Unicorns interested in that particular school of magic and a number, like her, used the wing spell she created to show who they followed." Rolling her eyes, she sighs. "Of course, those ones also disliked Celestia. She also delved into spells having to do with the mind, in particular mind control, which worried both Celly and I. Of course, with how hers and Celly's relationship was, I was the only two who could talk to her without hatred coming into it." Frowning in remembrance, she shakes her head. "So many nights we spent discussing magical theories and gossip... we might well have become friends if we had, had more time."
Harry sighs as he leans back into Nightmare. "I kind of wish that I could have met her."
Smiling, Luna gives him a small nuzzle. "I wish that you could have too."
Harry suddenly frowns in thought. "You know, in regards to the research into mind control magic I just thought of something..." He then turns to Luna with a puzzled look. "One would think that after what happened with her, she would despise that subject and stay away from it."
Shaking her head, Luna sets him straight. "Actually Harry, that was the reason why she was so interested in it. She despised it completely and, from talks I had with her, thought that the more she understood it the better ways she could create to fight against such." Wincing, she shakes her head. "Granted, her 'Want it, Need it' spell was terrifying in a number of ways." Humming in thought, Luna blinks. "I did love that scanning spell she made though."
That catches the attention of the boy wizard beside her. "Scanning spell?"
Luna nods. "Yes, an ingenious work of one I must say." She then taps her chin. "With normal scanning spells, the caster examines the magic of an object or creature outside of them. Problem being that there would be leakage from both the scanning spell itself and what was being examined interfering with the spell. She came up with a way though to get around that." A smile slowly blooms on her face. "A trained Unicorn mage would be able to sense their internal magics as this was quite important. What Lepidoptera's spell did was take a sample of the magic being examined and draw it into the caster. Once inside, it would be held by a bubble of sorts and the caster could examine it as if it was their own magic. This allowed a far better and clearer picture of the magic involved."
Luna watches Harry scrunch his eyebrows together in thought before smiling as he asks the question she was expecting. "Luna, that sounds just like how you and Nightmare give me magic at times, or how I give it to you."
Clapping her hooves together, the blue Alicorn gives Harry a proud look. "I knew that you would figure that bit out Harry. And you're right. It is very similar and for good reason as Lepidoptera's spell is based on it." She then sobers. "Hers however can be dangerous to the caster."
Giving her a confused look, Harry frowns. "Wait, how...?"
Nightmare grunts and sighs. "With the spell we use, the caster gives the magic. With Lepidoptera's, the caster takes the magic. I trust that you can see what issues might arise from such."
Licking his now dry lips, Harry nods. "Yeah, you could drain someone entirely of magic." He blinks a moment later. "Though how that is dangerous to the caster outside of maybe overloading yourself..."
Luna nods. "That is one major issue with it." She then tilts a hoof. "Another being the fact that you have to hold the magic inside your system using a bubble of sorts. If the magic would have an effect, especially a deadly one, and should you lose concentration causing the bubble to pop..."
Shivering slightly, Harry rubs his arms. "Easy way to kill yourself."
Shaking her head as she sighs, Luna shrugs. "The final bit that makes it dangerous, is that the more magic you took in, the better the scan and understanding of how it works." She then looks directly at Harry. "And with how Lepidoptera was about gaining the knowledge, that led to a lot of magic to take in." Seeing a pebble, she kicks it away. "That led to a lot of fights between her and Celly as sister considered it too dangerous."
Grunting, Nightmare nods. "Yes, those were rather large." She then cocks her head to the side. "Of course she started out..." Chucking some, she continues. "Small by using it on insects such as ants, bees, and such."
Luna is quiet for a moment before sighing. "And that was how she created two spells from those experiments."
Now interested, Harry leans towards her. "What spells?"
Her lips twitching at how interested he is, Luna shakes her head. "One of them is a telepathic spell of sorts allowing for two minds to speak to each other. The second allows you to 'Link' in more then two together using the spell as long as you have a Pony acting as a central relay of sorts. This creates a method for fast information exchange between a group even faster then what speaking would allow." She then frowns. "Celly and I found that it's dangerous though later on as the longer they're used in combination, the more the other ponies thoughts will become 'in-sync' with the one being used as a central relay." Shifting a little, Luna shakes her head. "I don't know how far it would go as Celly and I stopped all usage of it once it became apparent that ponies were losing themselves in it."
Harry just shakes his head as he looks down at the ground. "Seems like she created a number of spells too dangerous for normal usage."
Nightmare rolls her eyes with a mock long suffering sigh. "Back then, we were still trying to understand magic Harry. There were many spells created that had dangerous side-effects." She then snorts. "There spells that I, Celestia, and Starswirl created that were too bucking dangerous for even us to use unless there was no other resort."
Luna nods as she glances at her darker self. "True." She then looks back at Harry. "She came up with many useful magics including methods to throw off mind control Harry. And then there were the mood effecting ones like the Unicorn version of the cheering charm. But she truly shone with transformational magics." She chuckles a bit, a smile of remembrance on her face. "There is an entire wing of full of transformation spells dedicated to her in Canterlot's school. Some are quite useful such as her scar removal spell that transforms scar tissue into normal skin and pelt. Back then, there were many who had disfiguring scars that were helped by her spell. And even 500 years or so after her disappearance and probable death, the knowledge she wrote down has been barely added to and some of it was only just starting to be confirmed through other sources when I came here." Shaking her head free, Luna continues the story. "Of course, after she created the telepathy spells, she dove head first into pure transformational magics."
Sneering, Nightmare snorts. "Which caused no end of arguments with Celestia as Lepidoptera tried her best to outshine my sister by finding out more and more about transformational magic." Closing her eyes, she softly sighs. "Her push however lead to her end."
Wincing, Harry hisses. "The accident."
Her lips a thin line, Luna nods. "Yes, the accident." Closing her eyes like Nightmare, she shakes her head. "Shortly before then, Lepidoptera managed to track down some carcasses of Shifters and had them brought to her lab deep within the caves." Opening her eyes, Luna tilts her head back to look at the stars as she continues softly. "When Celly found out, she was furious about it." Shaking her head, she sighs. "Eventually she calmed down though and let Lepidoptera continue. Of course, that doesn't mean that Lepidoptera didn't cut some corners." She takes a moment to look at Harry out of the corner of her eye. "While there was magic still in the corpses, there wasn't really enough left. So, Lepidoptera used a spell and fed magic from her and her followers into the carcasses and converted it into the magic the Shifters used. Eventually, she had enough to perform her experiment and draw the magic out using her spell. The plan was for each member of her group to draw out some and then examine it while sharing the info among themselves with the hopes to get as much done in as little time as possible."
Harry looks down as he knows what's going to happen. "And then the accident occurred."
Luna simply nods. "Yes." Closing her eyes, she shakes her head. "I told Celly that assigning one of the Guards that she did was the wrong decision. The foal came from a family that blamed Lepidoptera for what had happened to her kingdom. And so, on the day that the experiment occurred, he was late for the briefing and when he showed up and saw her and her group drawing off a large amount of magic..."
Harry facepalms. "He thought she was up to no good."
Scowling, the lunar princess nods. "Yes. He tried to interfere and instead caused the whole thing to go off at once. The crystalline matrices around the cavern she was working in amplified the magic and caused a chain reaction." Hanging her head, Luna sighs. "Celly and I felt the vibrations from the explosion from all the way on the surface and by the time we got there, that area of the caverns collapsed into itself, sealing Lepidoptera, her fifteen followers, and a number of Celestia's Guards in there. A tomb for them all." She then frowns. "With the amount of dark magic in that area and the instability created, that section of the caverns was sealed off from the rest and abandoned."
Nightmare snorts as she shakes her head. "Didn't take long for the rumors to start though."
Harry raises an eyebrow as he looks at her. "Rumors?"
Luna nods. "Yes." She then snorts in derision. "With her gone, her family's manor was abandoned and eventually fell into ruin." Smirking, she shakes her head. "Soon afterwards of course rumors that it was haunted and that Ponies were found dead in it, almost mummified spread." Snorting again, she chuckles. "Never found any evidence to substantiate them though."
Sitting down in the now reflexive state of Nightmare's body serving as a backrest for him, the three lapse into silence as they watch the rise of Equestria over the horizon of the moon. After hearing about Discord and Lepdioptera the day before, Harry knows why they're being silent and lets them stay that way for a while before turning to Nightmare and watches as she pushes her hoof through the moondust. He then turns to Luna and sees her looking up into the starry sky above as she sits next to him. Finally he sighs as he nods. "You guys don't have to tell me any more about what happened if you don't want to."
Sharing a look with her darker version, Luna shakes her head with a grimace. "No, you deserve this much." She then gets up and makes her way right next to Harry before sitting down and wrapping a wing around him. "Remember the old saying that hindsight is 20/20?"
Raising an eyebrow, the young wizard shakes his head. "It's always easier to see where we did wrong after time has passed."
Lips twitching a little, Luna nods. "It is." She then once more frowns. "But in my case, looking back on it, I can see where things started going wrong." She then turns to Harry. "I think it started back before Discord when I was an adviser like Celly."
Confused, Harry looks at her. "How?"
Sighing, the lunar princess shakes her head. "Back then, when Ponies came to advice, they really only came to me if Celly was unavailable." Seeing the frown on Harry's face, she holds up a hoof. "That's not to say that they didn't enjoy my advice or ignored it. But Celly was my older sister. And that meant that she was wiser and smarter then me, right?" Seeing the distaste on her friend's face, she laughs a bit. "Yes, it's quite silly I know. But things worked like that back then. The older you were, the wiser as you were supposed to be." Her soft smile soon turns into a frown as she continues. "However, that was only the beginning." Sighing, she continues. "Because they went to my sister, I was less well known. And after becoming a Princess, the fact that I spent more time alone working behind the scenes caused Ponies to see me as mysterious... and the incident with the Love Poison just made it worse."
Waving his arms, Harry shakes his head. "Wait, what? How did that make it worse?"
Nightmare scowls as she looks away. "Rumors started up that I had wanted Celestia under the influence of the potion for my own goals. After all, being her sister I would have had to recognize that signs that she was under the some kind of outside influence."
Harry's jaw just drops. "That's..." He then shakes his head before looking between the two of them. "And what did Celestia have to say?"
Going silent for a moment, Luna stares off into the distance. "She convinced me to let it go, that they would die away soon enough." She then shakes her head. "They didn't. Rather, the rumors spread." She then sadly chuckles. "And our attentions were drawn away by various issues that popped up."
Harry raises an eyebrow at this. "Issues?"
The blue Alicorn snorts. "Yes." Snorting again, her lips twitch into a small, bitter smile. "As it turned out, Discord had actually saved Equestria in a sense." Seeing the shocked look, she looks down and sighs. "After his defeat, the other countries around Equestria started falling apart. The first to go was Canis."
Interested, Harry cocks his head to the side. "Why?"
Shifting a little, Luna tilts her head to the side as she looks at him. "Canis was less of a country as it turned out and more of a giant pack. Like in the dogs you know, one Alpha ruled over the pack. In the case of Canis, this Alpha was the one who ruled over the strongest pack, which in turn ruled over the others. When Discord tore through, he wiped out most of the 'Alpha' packs and decimated the 'Beta' packs and the monsters he brought with him caused even more damage. The Omega packs, those considered to be the weakest pre-Discord, were now the strongest. However, there were so many, that the entire country soon descended into a civil war unlike any you've heard about."
Nightmare then grunts. "There had to be at least a hundred Omega Packs and now with those above them weakened, they tore into them and each other trying to claim a spot as an Alpha pack as the Beta packs did the same." She then shakes her head with a saddened look. "It... did not take long before it spilled over into the neighboring countries."
Knowing why she's saddened, Luna walks over and places a comforting hoof on Nightmare. "Some of the packs attacked the neighboring countries for resources and territory in order to fuel their fighting. Others were scattered bands broken off from fighting packs or were remnants of the defeated packs that had not been killed or absorbed." Looking up at the orb that is Equestria, Luna sighs. "The other countries stood no chance. They were already straining from internal and external conflicts such as a shifting of the power structure to monsters rampaging across the land. When the Canis Civil War spilled over into the neighboring countries, the waves of refugees from them swarmed into the other countries. Straining them past the breaking point and causing collapse."
Harry frowns at this. "Then why didn't you mention this happening to Equestria then?"
Luna and Nightmare share a look before the dark Alicorn answers. "Because Harry... it didn't." She then clears her throat a bit and clarifies. "And by that I mean Equestria was pretty much unaffected by it." Seeing his eyes widen, she shakes her head. "None of the raiding canids, though some started referring to them as Diamond Dogs for their strange obsession with gems which they used as a form of wealth and to show power, or any refugee had tried to enter Equestria for a long time." She then brings her head closer to his. "You see Harry, they all thought that Discord was still around and in charge of Equestria. And so we had the time to rebuild what we could without worry of the other countries."
Luna slowly nods. "Of course, we were pretty isolationist and the reputation of those countries were in tatters due to how they shrugged us off when we had asked for assistence. We simply thought that they were rebuilding like us and wanted nothing to do with Equestria... which, frankly, was just fine with us." She then holds out one foreleg with the hoof facing up before gesturing with it. "The first sign that we had was when a Canid pack ran into Equestria while escaping from another. They soon raided a village and found out that Discord was no more and due to that, they let the packs allied with them know and word spread."
Wincing, Harry shakes his head. "How soon did it take before one of them tried something?"
Grimacing, Luna shakes her head. "Not long at all. Some of them blamed us Ponies for what had occurred with Discord and so, one of the packs managed to raise a large army and attacked Equestria in the name of vengeance. It was truly the first test of the Equestrian Guard. But it took time to gather our forces, though thankfully we had help in delaying them." Seeing Harry cock his head to the side, Luna smiles. "Years before, I and Typhoon had went and gained an agreement with a old Great Wyrm known as Spykroplis and his mate, Amakirr. Of course, neither had a family and so had taken a small settlement of Ponies nearby as their own. And when the Canids had turned their attention to that village, they gained the rage of two very old, very powerful dragons."
Harry just blinks at that. "And they held off the Canids for Ponies?"
Nightmare nods. "Yes." She then sighs. "Spykroplis and Amakirr had never had children as when they had met, they were too old to lay eggs. Instead, during the reign of Discord, they took in a group of orphans and raised them as their own. This group became the village at the bottom of the mountain where they lived with their cave right above them. When the Canids showed up and attacked, the dragons were on them almost immediately and drove them off. It gave us the time we needed to gather our forces and go on the offense." Her eyes sparkle a little as she grins. "And, of course, Spykroplis and Amakirr were pissed off enough that they joined up with us."
Half sunk into remembrance, Luna looks upwards. "That began what some called the Century of War. For the next hundred years we fought various groups trying to tear apart Equestria for their own reasons. I was usually at the front with the troops while Celly was back at the Capital keeping support going among the nobility. Usually by flattering them with feasts and celebrations to keep the Ponies and the funds flowing from their personal domains and kingdoms."
Giving her an odd look, Harry raises an eyebrow. "So she was never there?"
Snorting, Luna shakes her head. "Oh, she was there alright from time to time. And trust me when I say that she could fight just as well as I could, she simply didn't like to." She then gives a soft smile of remembrance. "And Celly was always better at the social side of things then I was..."
Seeing her frown, Harry sighs as he realizes why. "And because of you always being at the forefront of battle, they thought that you were violent, right?" A slow nod is his only answer causing him to scowl. "Foals."
Giggling some, Luna soon becomes serious again as she lays a hoof on his hand. "Harry, I know how you feel. But as I have said it has been many, many years for me. But, in the end, i can partially understand where they might be coming from." She then leans downwards a bit and looks into Harry's eyes as she tilts her head. "Their parents and grandparents, having gone through Discord's reign, had given them everything that they themselves never had. And so... their children became, unseen to them, spoiled. Those who did not serve in the Guard could not understand what we went through and why."
Nightmare gives a snort as she smirks. "It was also around this time that issues between us and the nobility started occurring. We also cemented the loyalty of our Guards at this time."
Eyebrow raised, Harry turns towards her. "Oh? How so?"
Smirking, Nightmare tosses her head back some. "When we were fighting, I was always with the soldiers at the front. I slept, ate, and faught in the same conditions side by side. The nobles did not like this as they saw it as beneath me, beneath our rank."
Luna nods. "Celly always told me that we should act as we should for our station and behave as Princesses should. But..." Shaking her head slowly, she sighs. "I never could do that." Snorting, she looks at Harry. "I tried, I really did, but I always wound up once more in the same position as the normal ground soldier side by side with my personal Guard." Thoughtful, Luna looks up at the stars. "Celly and I approached our respective Commands in different manners." She then looks at Harry. "Part of that has to deal with what military we had spent the most time in. Celly was most used to how the old Unicorn Kingdom had done it. Whether I had the most experience with the Pegasi military and the old Earth Pony militias."
Looking between the two Alicorns, Harry blinks in curiosity. "What was the difference between the two?"
Nightmare hums to herself thoughtfully before answering. "As you can rightly guess, in the Unicorn Kingdom's military, Officers were without question from the nobility while the footsoldiers were mainly from the lower classes. Now, that's not to say that a footsoldier could not rise to a Officer rank, but the titles they would be given would, at best, be only for them and unable to be passed down. And usually done only in times of war when more officers were needed. Otherwise, the only rank that a lower class citizen could try for that was higher then a footsoldier would be Knighthood or a War Mage."
Nodding, Luna looks over at him. "And in the case of knighthood, like in your world, the Knight would normally take on a young colt or filly and train them in the ways of knighthood as a squire. That happened often with Celly and usually she joined the orders of Paladins, those Knights specializing in fighting monsters and healing the sick and injured with their magic."
Snorting, Nightmare shakes her head. "Though for great deeds of valor and bravery in service of the Kingdom, one could be knighted as well."
Clearing his throat, Harry catches their attention. "And... War Mages?"
Luna smiles before answering. "War Mages were a group that trained their magic for battle and battle alone. On the field of battle, they were completely terrifying to their foes as they used their spells to wipe out entire groups of troops or smash fortifications. Only the most powerful Unicorns could become a War Mage and the training was brutal as all their magical might was turned towards combat and combat alone."
Nodding, Nightmare sighs. "Which was one of the reasons for their rarity in troop formations. Usually an army would have, at the most, five or six. Which, really, was usually all that was needed." She then smirks evilly. "And you can guess what we usually were when we joined the Unicorn militaries."
Snorting, Harry gives her a knowing look. "That would be the epitome of a sucker's bet." Frowning, he continues. "And the Pegasi and Earth Ponies were different?"
Smiling, Luna gives him a nod. "They were." Frowning in thought, she furrows her eyebrows. "Earth Ponies didn't have what you might call a true army. Due to the taxation from both the Unicorns and Pegasi, they couldn't truly afford an army of their own. Instead, they had well trained militias. Groups of Ponies, usually colts and Stallions with some mares, who trained themselves in the art of combat alongside living normal lives."
Nightmare then gives Harry a hooded look. "But don't think that they were pushovers. They weren't." Shaking her head, she chuckles. "While not as disciplined as the Pegasi or as powerful magically as the Unicorns, Earth Pony militia were feared for their ability to ambush their enemies and then fade into the surrounding brush. Their woodspony skills second to none. And, if they had to fight in a standup battle, then they would use their physical strength and durability to the best of their abilities making close combat suicidal. And if you gave them time to dig in..."
Harry nods as she trails off. "It would take a lot more to dislodge them then would otherwise."
Nodding, Luna pats him on the shoulder. "Correct Harry." She then sighs. "Their chain of command, however, was very causal. What you might consider to be an officer would be just the most experienced among them and often times would treat their subordinates no different them they, themselves were treated. As Comrades in arms."Shaking her head, she continues. "Pegasi, on the other hoof, were much like your world's spartans in that they were born into the military." She then raises a hoof. "And the difference between them and the Unicorns was that the Officers would not be granted privileges much above the normal soldiers until well into the upper ranks. Their leaders were very hooves on and, like myself later, would often be right there beside their own troops, eating much the same food, if a little better, fighting and dying."
Harry slowly smiles. "So you and Celestia had very different leadership methods."
The grin on Nightmare's muzzle is enough. "Yes." Smiling in remembrance, she sighs. "My troops respected me greatly due to me going through the same things they did. There was no distance there."
Frowning, Harry leans forwards as he looks between the two. "So then... what happened?"
Sharing a look with Nightmare, Luna sighs. "After the wars settled down to skirmishes, Celly and I realized we had an issue." Making a grand, sweeping gesture with a hoof, she shakes her head. "In the aftermath, we had conquered a great swath of the area around what had been our Kingdom, expanding it's boarders greatly and now had groups of non-ponies there. One day, my army was near the boarders when we came across one of the old Canis forts It was miraculously intact... But inhabited."
Blinking, Harry stares at her. "By the Canids?"
Luna slowly nods. "It was." Frowning, she looks at the ground. "However, remember how I told you that dragons had also torn apart and created their own little fiefdoms?" Harry begins to nod before stopping as his eyes widen. "Yes, this pack had been led by a dragon, a particularly nasty specimen who was likely to kill one of his subordinates as he was anypony else." Luna's expression slowly darkens. "He had recently raided Equestria and we had tracked him back to there. I was so angry, I challenged him to fight me one on one." A bloodthirsty grin appearing on her face, Luna chuckles softly. "The foal accepted and I slew him with little hardship." Noticing Harry looking somewhat unnerved, her expression softens. "However, I was not prepared for what happened next."
Chuckling, Nightmare shakes her head. "What seemed like the entire pack, numbering a few hundred, came out with their captives and bowed before us. It was..." She trails off for a moment before shaking her head. "Needless to say I was surprised when they as one dropped all their weapons and bowed."
Drifting off into her memories, Luna sighs. "Even though they were defeated, I wanted nothing less than to either drive them from our lands or slay them where they stood for the crimes against my subjects." She goes silent for a moment and then sighs as she closes her eyes. "And then... at the height of my fury as I stood above them with all the signs of battle on my armor and my troops awaiting me command... I saw... him..."
Confused, Harry cocks his head to the side. "Him?"
Nodding the lunar Princess continued. "Yes. Him..." Opening her eyes, she goes back to that day. "He was a young pup. Barely weaned from his mother. And yet, there he was, with the rest of his pack with his head bowed and touching the ground..." Sighing, she bows her head. "His mother at first tried to shield him from my gaze, but the movement of Typhoon beside me stopped her. He then looked up at me. And..." Trailing off, she swallows heavily before continuing. "And then he looked at me. And it struck me." Turning her shining eyes to Harry, she blinks away some tears. "This little pup, who had not experienced life truly... thought with near certainty that I was going to kill him." Swallowing again, she licks her lips as she shudders. "I couldn't do it. I just could not sentence such a little one to death, no matter how much I tried to harden my heart. So... I asked them why they bowed to me. And what they thought I might do to them. And their answer... was simple. " Trying to say something for a few moments, she finally sighs as she looks at Harry. "They told me that since I defeated the dragon, that I was now their Alpha. And, like the dragon did when it conquered them so many years before, that I was going to kill all those I wished to show my power."
Staring at her for a moment, Harry says his next words softly. "And yet you didn't." Blinking, he drops his gaze and looks at the various rocks at his feet. "Because, unlike the dragon, you're not a monster."
Luna is still for a moment and then nods. "Correct." Clearing her throat and shifting a little, she sighs. "Since I was their new Alpha, I ordered them to swear their allegiance to me and Equestria as a whole. They would gain their penance by working to build their new home and protecting it." Smiling, she shakes her head. "They agreed of course. Almost immediately."
Harry snorts a bit. "I can imagine how that went down with the nobles."
Snorting herself, the blue Alicorn grimaces. "It went down as well as you might think." She then hangs her head. "It was one of Celly's and I's greatest arguments." She then looks at Harry. "She was of the thought that allowing them to be our subjects might be a bad idea. After all, they were not Ponies and they had been our enemies so shortly before." Blinking, she turns to the horizon. "I told her that if that was true then Equestria should have never come about. After all, the three tribes were different and even more so, they had been enemies for centuries before then. And if we did not give the canids the chance for such reasons... then we were hypocrites of the highest order." Sighing, Luna closes her eyes. "She told me that she would allow it with some reservations... but that I was responsible for them."
Frowning in thought, Nightmare nods her head. "They renamed themselves the Moon Clan in our honor. But... they gave us a key to stopping the other Canid packs." She then turns to Harry. "We went around for the next twenty years finding the various packs still roaming the areas we claimed as Equestria and challenging the Alpha's to leadership of their packs." Snorting, she shakes her head. "They always lost mind you, sometimes though we had to kill them, mostly, we left in them the place of our Beta. Ironically, the Canids were far more loyal then most of our Ponies."
Luna nods. "Odd and yet true." She then looks at Harry. "During that same time, we also allowed other non-pony species into our Guard. Minotaurs, dragons, and so on. The fact that I was allowing those who had once turned their backs on Ponykind into my Guard was another reason for the friction between Celly and I as well as between me and the nobility." Her eyes slowly harden into a glare. "Some of them whispered that I was a traitor to Equestria for doing so." Seeing Harry about to say something, her hoof comes up. "To give my sister some credit, she made damn sure that they would get the idea not to say such things around her. It just drove it underground though."
Leaning back in thought, Harry frowns. "So Equestria expanded during this time?"
Smiling with a nod, the blue Alicorn chuckles. "It did." She then frowns. "Before being sent here, it was known as 'The First Age of Expansion' since Equestria more then doubled in size." Still frowning in thought, she continues. "In fact, that would set the stage for the... Civil War between my sister and I."
Taken aback by the depression and self-loathing in her voice, Harry lays a hand on her shoulder. "How so?"
Hanging her head with a sigh, the lunar Princess is silent for a moment. "By that time, I had been away from Equestria as a whole for a few generations. Neither Celly or I had given it any thought since to us it was but a blink of an eye, but due to that, I was barely known and as the 'Other Princess' then anything else as I had barely been seen. Celly, however, had become more and more popular as she would pull off celebrations and such on holidays such as her 'Summer Sun Festival' meanwhile due to my absence, the holidays under my purview, such as the 'Winter Moon Festival' had interest fade in them." Blinking a bit, she looks at Harry. "I was so busy with helping to set up and develop the outer reaches of Equestria, that I had not noticed this."
The larger, black Alicorn then continues. "And it was a long, hard road as without a true government, I had to set everything up." She then frowns. "As such, I used the old Unicorn tradition of giving new lands to those who had proven themselves the crown. As such, the nobility saw a influx of new noble families. Some of them caused a stir such as Earth Ponies now being part of the nobility. Others..." She then grimaces. "Up to about fifty years in, the fort where we first became a Canid Alpha was part of our personal fiefdoms. We handed it over though to the same pup, now an old dog, who prevented us from driving them away. His name was Fangtooth and he had a long and decorated history in the Night Guard. We felt that giving it to him was the least that we could do." Nightmare then softly smiles as a slightly teary look appears in her eyes. "He would go on to rule it for five years before he died one winter's night. We gave him a funeral fit for one of his standing within our Guard... which a number did not like but abided by. Even Celestia showed up to mourn his passing."
Smiling in fond remembrance, Luna nods. "Yes, and as time passed, his family would turn their lands into one of the most productive areas of Equestria and become well known for their metal and gemwork." Suddenly, she frowns. "However, things were not that rosy in other areas as some members of Celestia's Court convinced her that some of the newly gained lands should belong to them. And so, some of them were given to family members who had no lands of their own." She then shakes her head. "And so the whole area became, like the interior regions of Equestria, a patchwork of small kingdoms." Growling some, she continues. "And that's not mentioning how those I made nobility had been ostracized as they were 'Newblood' and thus could not understand the 'Old Ways' to say little of those who were not Ponies to begin with."
Groaning, Harry lays his face in his hands and shakes it. "And so tensions rose."
Nightmare nods. "Yes. There was a lot of bad blood gathered that was not helped due to other issues." Holding out a hoof, she shakes her head. "And as time passed, those we rose to the nobility took us on as their main patron while the older families took on Celestia as theirs." Bitterly chuckling, she grimaces. "Thankfully, it eventually became less that some of the new nobility was non-Pony and more that they could not trace their ancestry with the nobility to before Discord."
Also, grimacing, the younger looking Alicorn groans. "And it was then that I returned to Everfree Castle to discover that in the time that I was gone that I had nearly been forgotten. I... was not happy with Celly. Not at all." Her expression softening, she sighs with a soft smile. "However, Celly helped me start a project that I had wanted to do for a while. A series of schools for our subjects to learn in. Celly worked on the great academies while I helped fund and start many a small school in the outer areas for all. Back then, even having your average citizen able to read to an extent and do simple math was an amazing accomplishment."
Harry blinks a bit. "Sounds like truly an amazing thing that you two did."
Luna nods. "It was. The only issue I had with it was that I felt that it did not go far enough as We're talking what you would consider a second grade education for many while the nobility was able to go farther." Frowning with a sigh, Luna continues. "And during this time Celly and I got into several arguments. Mainly over things that should be done." Laying a hoof in the sandy ground, Luna starts drawing a small map with several dots inside it. Taps it. "At the time, the various communities were connected by dirt roads. Some of them not much better then a trail in the woods."
Nightmare then starts drawing lines connecting them, some of the dots with multiple lines leading from them. "And so, we came forward with a major infrastructure project. Cobblestone roads, much like roman roads here in England, were to be built at first between the major settlements. Then they would be spread out to the smaller ones." Stopping her drawing, she frowns. Stopping her drawing, she frowns. "Everything seemed to be going well... at first anyways." Using her hoof, she rubs the outlying ones out. "However, we got word that the outer areas did not see any surveyors and worse, somehow the tax plan we had come up with had been modified so that the outer areas were paying more subjectively then the inner areas and for work that they were seeing none of."
Stunned, Harry soon shakes it off. "Wait, are you joking?"
Snarling, Luna nearly spits before recovering herself. "I wish that she was, but she's not." Looking at her map, she glares. "The older Nobility were paying less taxes under the excuse that they had so many issues which to cover with what monies they did have. As for why it was only in their domains that work on infrastructure was happening..." Snarling, she slams a hoof into the ground. "They felt that the work should be done all in the central regions and then spread out to the outlying regions."
Harry glances at the map before frowning. "But... did Celestia agree with this?"
Luna just slowly nods. "She did." Blinking, she looks at the sky and slowly closes her eyes. "She told me that she has spoken to her advisers and she had decided that it would be far more organized to start at the central regions and expand from there. I agree now that I was a bit too hasty and wanted too much done too fast." The blue Alicorn then grimaces. "However. she would not interfere in the other issues." She then turns to Harry. "See Harry, as the network grew, we had the nobles quibbling and quarreling with the various surveyors and with those we had placed in the position of planning. They wanted to wring out every bit of advantage and profit that they could. And in that Celestia did not want either of us to interfere for fear of starting a conflict with the nobles." She then grimaces. "And the sight of myself quarreling with the Princess that was so beloved as Celly hurt my reputation even farther. And when added to the fact that there were creatures that lurked in the night and attacked Ponies despite all our Guards tried..."
Grimacing, Harry closes his eyes. "And so you slowly sank more and more into the shadow of your sister." Luna's silence is enough of an answer for him. "So was the whole network ever completed in the time you were there?"
Shaking her head, Luna sighs. "No it wasn't." She then purses her lips. "Eventually it got to the point where I created a group to monitor taxes to make sure that they were being gathered correctly. Needless to say, the nobility did not like this, but the outer regions for the most part accepted it. After a few decades of this, and Celly and I butting heads, we got word of the Griffin raids on the settlements near the mountains. Celly suggested that perhaps I should go and negotiate with them. After all, my experience with the Canids, by then almost unanimously called 'Diamond Dogs', and dragons showed that I was the better choice for us to go when carnivores were involved." She then gives a scowl. "Not to mention that Celly thought it best to give us both a time to cool down a bit and let things subside a bit." Clearing her throat, Luna resumes the story. "Anyways... And so, I took with me my personal Guards, Typhoon having since been promoted to the head of the Night Guard with Juniper as her second, came with me. I would spend the next fifty years coming back and forth between Equestria. Mainly so that I could change out the Guards with new ones besides Typhoon. Eventually, I managed to hammer out a deal with them."
Seeing the thoughtful look on Luna's face, Harry's eyes rise. "What is it?"
Luna snaps out of it and looks at him with a smile. "During that time, I managed to come across some vastly different clans of Griffins. While many were obviously of the descent from the Gryphon's serfs, others had supposedly different origins." Holding out a hoof, bottom up, she shakes her head. "According to them, they had fled from a land from far over the sea." She then gives Harry a bit of an odd look. "Never did find out the truth behind that." She then sighs. "Then I was called to the eastern territories as a another bunch of Canid packs had decided to try for Equestria. I subdued them, but that took time." Shaking her head, the lunar Princess continues. "Of course, I eventually returned to Equestria, only to find that the group that I had created had for the most part been defanged. According to Celly, it was because some of the nobility had threatened some actions and she had done so to keep the peace. I can see that now, as the various alliances that were around at the time could theoretically cause disruptions if they chose to do so I know from how she acted that she hated doing so, but at the time, I felt like I had been backstabbed due to being away. It was compounded by the fact that it was at this time that I discovered that Ponies feared my night and locked themselves away from it and had done so for many years." Closing her eyes, a few tears leak from them. "Nights that I had done my best to make as lovely as possible."
Hugging her, Harry lets her lean into him. "And that was where it truly began, wasn't it?"
Sniffling, Luna nods as Nightmare leans her head on Harry's shoulder. "It was Harry. I turned to making my nights more and more beautiful... Only for them to ignore it." She then gulps a little. "And then I found out how, in my absence, various artists, inventors, and scientists had started not only rediscovering the knowledge from before Discord, but surpassing it... and so I thought that by becoming a patron of some, that I could help rebuild my image..."
Scowling, Nightmare growls. "But it did not turn out that way." Her scowls soon softens. "They either wanted nothing to do with us or those who chose to accept out patronage soon found themselves ostracized for their choice."
Luna grimaces a bit, but nods. "Yes, and so our only choice was to be an anonymous patron." She then sighs. "And around this time that 'Poltergeist' appeared." None of them notice the slight shiver run through Nightmare. "All of that combined to send me on a downward spiral. Not helped, in the least, by the fact that Celestia was so busy at this point that by the time she set the sun, she only wanted to sleep. I, on the other hoof, had barely anything besides my own plans." She then saddens even farther. "I tried to hold festivals, celebrations and parties... only for almost no one to show."
Blinking, Nightmare leans into Harry. "We felt abandoned by almost all. We had spent so much time away that many wondered as to why we were there." She then gulps a little. "I remembered one of our biggest fights with Celestia before the end..." Shifting a little, she looks at Harry directly over his shoulder. "We had a group come to the Night Court who wished for our help. They had come from a farming and craft producing community. Seems that the road they traveled to a nearby city passed through several fiefdoms who each had toll booths. As it was a many day journey, it combined with the taxes meant that they were not making as much as they should. And so, we decided that perhaps we should do something and promised them so." Looking at the small map, she slowly draws a line. "There was a stream that we ordered our surveyors to turn into a canal between this town and the trading cities. It took twenty years, but they did so..."
Seeing the narrowed look, Harry frowns. "What happened?"
Nightmare scowls a bit before stamping her hoof. "Celestia placed higher tolls on the canal then there were on the road. And so, she made us into liars."
Luna frowns a bit at her darker self. "I wouldn't go that far." She then looks at Harry. "According to Celestia at the time, she did so because the communities along the road now lost a source of income and trade. This was because, while stopped for the night, the farmers and craftsponies would pay for food an lodgings or trade some of their goods. I can see the wisdom now, mind you. But then..."
Harry sighs. "At the time and in the state that you were in, you didn't want to hear excuses."
Luna nods. "Quite." She then shakes her head. "I had not wanted to hear any of it, as now the community that I had tried to help, instead spread the news that, in the end, I could not help any pony, and at best I could only maintain the status quo." Looking into the distance, a far off look enters Luna's eyes. "It was at that point that I started pushing Celly away from me. I... I just..." Hanging her head with a sigh, Luna continues. "I felt that there were times that one should push while Celly felt a lighter touch all the time was better." Blinking away something, Luna disengages from the hug as she stands up. "That was about a hundred and twenty years before my... war."
Harry gets to his feet as Nightmare does as well. "I thought that you asked her if she could take over raising the sun for a day?"
Luna nods. "Yes." She starts walking as Harry follows on one side with Nightmare on his opposite. "I would, over the next twenty years, butt heads with the nobility of the central regions as around now they began using every trick they could to drain the outer regions of their riches." Shaking her head, she looks at a crater. "And then came that awful day. I had heard a noble speak that perhaps it was for the better if they did away with the night. That... I was no longer needed and more trouble then I was worth. I... was angry, frustrated, and most of all depressed." Turning to Harry, Luna gives him a saddened look. "I dread to think of how much trouble I might have caused my sister in those twenty years as no doubt she had to put out many of the small brushfires I started. And so, having seen how tired she had been, I offered to take over for a day. To raise the sun and hold the day court." Suddenly stopping, the Alicorn stares at the orb of the green and blue planet above them. "She laughed at me. Not, as I thought in a mocking way, but more as a older sister might when it comes younger sibling asks to do something that they are not yet old enough or strong enough to do."
Nightmare shakes her head as she, too, stares at the planet above them. "Afterwards, I heard that some thought that I was trying to usurp my sister's place." She then turns and lowers her head to look Harry in the eyes. "And so, I decided that I was going to prove to Celestia... prove to them all that I was strong enough! That I was good enough to be their princess!" She then frowns. "It didn't help matters though that around this time both Juniper and Typhoon took a break from the Night Guard."
That causes Harry to whip his head around in surprise. "Wait, what?"
Luna softly giggles some. "They seemed to have fallen in love with a Earth Pony stallion. He was blind curiously, but I think in that case it helped. They thought that I didn't know of course." Shaking her head slowly, the giggles come to a stop. "They settled together in one of Juniper's old hideouts. A house built into a hillside which was just outside Everfree Glade. They later had children. Juniper's was an Earth Pony while Typhoon's was a Pegasus." She then sighs sadly. "However, as with many things in their long lives, their children eventually grew up as their love died of old age."
Nodding, the larger black Alicorn sighs. "And once their children were grown they came back and rejoined the Guard." She then waves a hoof. "By which point I was already delving deep into various mystic arts." Shaking her head, Nightmare snorts. "And so things went as the next century passed. Slowly, but surely tensions between the outer and inner portions of Equestria raised. Mayhaps we might have been able to do something if we helped Celestia at this time, but we had wanted nothing to do with her at that point as she had seemed to disliked our ideas immensely."
Luna slowly nods. "We might have prevented the coming civil war." She then shakes her head. "About twenty years before, one of Fangtooth's descendents, Chrys, joined the Night Guard as was traditional. At around the same time, Typhoon found a Hippogriff who's parents had been killed due to monsters. His name was Talon and like Chrys, when the war finally came to pass, he was among my personal Guard." She then glances at the boy walking beside her. "As we have already told you of our transformation, we won't bore you any farther with that. However, our transformation occurred just as the civil war broke. It was on one of the last days of autumn that we arose in our new state."
Nightmare hangs her head. "We immediately took control of one of the three factions in the Civil War. Celestia took control of another with the neutrals, lead by the Mi Amore family trapped in the middle." She then closes her eyes as if in great pain. "The war lasted six months that winter and into spring. The whole time Celestia and Us were fighting magically for control over the heavens. It was... bloody, brutal, and many things that come with such a war. Our Night Guard, long angered over being dismissed as a lesser Guard, clashed in the sky and on the ground with the Day Guard. Many of the nobility in the outer reaches sided with us while those in the central regions sided with Celestia. Others, the neutrals, played both sides in many cases."
Turning, Luna regards Harry. "In the end, we tried one last gambit." She looks towards the horizon and stops. "We had been stymied long, but had constructed a large spell array and using it, teleported our armies to Everfree Glade. There, I met Celly one last time in combat. We each unleashed spells beyond count. Both of us drew heavily from our respective celestial objects for energies as we flung ever more powerful techniques at each other, tearing apart the land and sky. Finally... We saw her fall towards the castle far below, badly injured. Diving, we landed just as she hit the ground..."
Nightmare then sneers. "However, we weren't the only intelligent ones as at that time she sprung her trap." She then smirks. "She had set up a spell array designed to bind our power and body for a time. How she pleaded with us to turn away from our path..." Trailing off, Nightmare blinks away a tear. "We told her however that things had gone too far, that there was no where to go but the end..."
Harry's eyes widen. "And that was when she used the Elements... wasn't it?"
Luna nods. "Yes." She then closes her eyes. "And I could see how much it tore her apart on the inside to do it. At that moment Typhoon, Juniper, Talon, and Chrys all jumped in the way of the beam... only for it to do nothing." She then looks around. "I have searched long and hard for them to see if they are here... but they are not. They were our most loyal of servants and perhaps... if we had thought of it... they might have become our friends."
Speaking in an almost whisper, Nightmare continues. "I too have searched, only to find nothing." She then blinks. "At that moment, I could feel my power torn apart, with at least some sealed here in the moon. When we next awoke..." She doesn't have to say anything as Harry pulls her into a hug along side Luna...
Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling.
'Dearest Luna...' - Celestia's writing translated from Early Modern Equish ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
'It has been done. After six moons of fighting and war, I have finally defeated my sister... no, not my sister, but something that had possessed her for my Luna could have never have done what this, Nightmare Moon did. But, just the same, while I may have won our conflict and saved my little ponies from an era of darkness, I have also suffered my greatest loss.
That of my sister.
I was so sure that if I could entrap her that I could use the Elements of Harmony and through them, free my sister from the grip of the darkness upon her. And then things could have gone back to how they were between us before... before our falling out. We would cry, have a nuzzle and embrace, before we forgave each other like we always have before when we fought. But... it did not work out that way. I forced the Elements to work for me alone and used them on Nightmare Moon. Her Generals, always loyal to Luna, stepped in the way and were hit as well. And then, as the rainbow swirled around her, I saw my sister as the darkness was stripped away and felt joy in my heart.
But my dream was not to come true. It was to become a nightmare.
For in the next moment, I saw a expression of betrayal directed at me come across my beloved sister's face as well as anger and disbelief and then... then...
I am sorry my dear journal, it is most hard to write, but write it I shall.
For then, you see, the Elements' blaze closed in on her and then swirled upward, locking her into her beloved moon. I... I could not believe what had happened. I did not want to believe that I have sentenced my sister to such a fate. Even now, as those who followed me are still yet celebrating, I gaze up from my cot to my sister's moon and see her shadow upon it, mournfully looking down at me... or is it accusing me? I dare not consider it too deeply.
My only hope, though, comes from the Elements of Harmony themselves. Back when I was but a student under Starswirl, I remember one conversation between us and Clover, may her gentle soul rest in the endless plains. He believed that powerful magical objects could, over time, develop an... awareness about them. It would take time, but it would happen. And, when my sister disappeared, the Elements contacted me. They revealed, though not through words as much as... a feeling, I suppose the best word would be, that her punishment would be to stay upon the moon, so far away from those whose love she sought, for a thousand years. Or at the least, that is my personal interpretation.
A thousand years without my beloved little sister. How can I manage... But for her sake, I shall.
But that was not all... There are four stars around the moon guarding it, which, once more, I received the oddest feeling from the Elements which told me were Luna's loyal Generals. Their souls, guarding her prison silently for the next thousand years.
And then they turned to me. I have never felt such feelings of disappointment before coming from something. Once more, I have to state that from what I experienced, the Elements of Harmony do not speak as a being such as you or I, but communication using emotions... sensations. What they say is open to interpretation, though from my studies under Starswirl so long ago, I do not think myself wrong. In this case, I believe that they told me that while they would not send me away, like they had my sister as I was needed to protect and serve Equestria, they would punish me for my part in the loss of Harmony between us. I... I am at a loss my dear journal. Is my interpretation of what I had felt that horrible night correct? That I am at fault? As selfish as it is, I wish that it were not so.
But as to my possible punishment, I am at a loss. What is it? Is it not enough to be without my sister, she who has stood beside me throughout the past centuries, my unchanging anchor, for a thousand years? Is it not enough that I also have to live with the fact that I broke the promise I had made with my parents, to protect my sister? To love her? To always be there for her and to put her above myself?
Perhaps... perhaps it is that as well as the pain I suffered as they tore the connection that I had with them to shreds? A pain that tore at my very soul in that time? An agony beyond any that I have felt in all my thousands of years of life?
I know not...
And I cannot put into words how much that frightens me...'
A week of pain and relief. Of joy and grief. So much has happened that I do not know where to start. So, perhaps... I should start with something that may sound a little vain.
My mane has changed. It was once a soft sparkling pink, the color of the sunrise with the sparkles looking much like dew when the light of the dawn catches it. But now... now more colors, those of Harmony itself, makes up my mane.
I hate it.
Every time I see my reflection, my mind drifts back to when I used the Elements against my sister. When my little Luna was hit with magic the same color as my mane is now. I have tried to stop my mind from doing so, but it still does so despite this. Is this part of my punishment? To always have my mind drift back whenever I see my reflection?
And yet, that is but the tip of the iceberg. For I now have to raise the moon to bring on the night. But, whenever I do so, when my magic connects with it... I am struck by a unimaginable wave of sadness, grief, anger, hatred, and, worst of all, betrayal and loneliness. And I know that these are Luna's emotions and to feel them... It tears a hole in my heart that I fear may never heal though ages yet may pass.
Then there are the stars. I have been asked by those who followed me to change the night sky to commemorate my victory over my 'Evil sister' and my conquest of my new dominion. Such foals if they think that I will change one of the few things that I have of my sister. Why would they even think that I would do as such I wonder? No matter, eventually it shall settle down.
They also asked that I strip the noble titles of those who fought on my sister's side of the war and hand it over to those who fought with me as 'Payment'. I... do not understand this. In fact, they some seemed to be angry when I said that I would not. I wish to reconcile all the differences that caused this war. It may yet be a long and hard road, but I am certain that we can put this behind us.
There was also, unfortunately, a tragedy. As I lay recovering from my wounds, one of my own Generals of the Day Guard spoke of executing those of the Night Guard. Fortunately, I managed to prevent such and told them that while they may be punished, they would not be killed. That was not the last of it though as my Court, acting in my stead without my permission, had them forcibly disbanded. While most went back to their homes with anger in their hearts, my personal spymaster noted that a group of several hundred Pegasi fled before they could have their armor confiscated and the Royal Guard spells placed on them dispelled. Where they have gone, neither I nor anypony knows as they flew into a raging storm and were gone. Also, the locations and exact numbers of the rest of the Night Guard, who were not at that battle, are unknown as of now.
And then there are the dreams. I swear that I can hear me and Luna having conversations in them, but... they are not clear. Perhaps in time, I shall see them fully. And speaking of dreams, without my sister sheparding them as she has for centuries until recently, the realm they occur in has darkened. I fear for what this may mean...
And finally, I have decided against counsel to move the capital from the ruins to Canterlot. Most of my court has argued against it stating stability but... but I can not stay here. What happened with my sister was but the latest in the tragedies that have occurred here over the centuries. My parents and uncle's deaths... Discord's first appearance and the final battle against him... my sister's fall... So much. Too much.
I fear that if I stay here, where I can see ghosts from the edges of my sight of my sister crying, of my parents watching me in disapproval... I fear that what happened to Luna may yet happen to me...
Before I leave though, I shall make the journey to where Luna has hid her own notes and journals and have a look within for clues as to what may have happened with her. Perhaps, once she returns, I can use what may be within them to help her.'
A year... it has been a full year since my sister's banishment. Oh, looking back on it what a foal I was to think that everything would have gone back to how it was. The Harmony that once was now lays shattered upon the cobblestones of the old capital and old hatreds burn bright once more. Tensions have once again risen in the aftermath of the war and there have been... reprisals, against those who followed my sister. Just the other week, an entire household was killed when their water source was poisoned. There have been no signs as to whom may have been behind a heinous act, but with how some of my court has reacted, I fear that they may yet be involved.
And then there comes that I have begun to discover what happened with my sister's fall. There are her journals in which she speaks of the pressures that the nobility placed upon her as well as... what I had done. I almost do not wish to read more of them then what I already have, for if what I am suspecting is true... then I, myself, may in fact be responsible for what occurred. This is something that I hope is not true. But whether I continue reading them or not, I shall still find out as I have found out the last of my punishment.
My dreams.
For within my dreams I have been seeing various incidents from my younger sister's perspective. Feeling what she's feeling, hearing what she's hearing... And every morn I awake with wet cheeks from having cried over the night as I slept. I know that these are her memories that I am reliving. I have felt the pure loneliness she had when no one came to her Night Court. I have felt the anger she has had at members of the nobility... and myself. More then that, I have recently held a Night Court of my own.
And nopony ever appeared.
When I went back over the minutes from past Night Courts, something that I have never done to my ever lasting shame, I have found them almost empty with only a few visits within a year. I find myself at a loss that it was so bad. I never realized... No, I have no excuse here. And there is yet more. I was asked to disband the Night Court permanently and to either cut back on the amount of night time hours or abolish it entirely. I had to explain why there needed to be a night, and how it was for balance.
And yet they were still angered. Oh, dearest Luna, I am sorry that I never truly understood what you had meant...'
Three years... three years of loneliness... I have also been most busy dealing with the duties that both me and Luna handled separately. I never had an idea that dealing with the Kingdom's finances was so difficult. The mathematics are highly complicated and hard, so much so that I sometimes wonder if dear Luna had used a spell to do the work for her. And the costs of rebuilding are especially hard to include...
As well, the stress is currently getting to me. I am still sometimes catching sight of her, curled up and weeping from being alone, in the corner of my eye. And when I turn, she is gone as if she was never there. Sometimes I also hear mother's and father's voices when I am alone. Both are angry with me for having broken my promise to them and verbally rip me apart. I know that it's not them, that they would never have said some of the things that I have heard, but there are times now when I am alone within the darkness of the nighttime hours, that I wonder...
And then there how I have been feeling ill for the last week. It is most particular as I have been rarely sick, especially to this extent. But for some mornings now I have felt the need to get up in order to empty my stomach. My head has also been aching to the point where I have trouble thinking at times through the pain. Though my body has also hurt with my joints feeling at times as if they were on fire. It is most particular, though I believe that it is due to the great guilt that I must now live with. For I have heard that those with broken hearts suffer outwardly. And it does indeed feel as if my heart has been torn beating from my chest at times, especially during the night when I catch my reflection and that of the stars or moon.
The nobility has also been acting most strange. There are members of my court who have become more and more concerned as the time has worn on and my current illness has stayed. I am warmed by their worry and concern of course, what... monarch, and I use that term with derision, would not feel the same? But there is something... something that does not quite fit. I do not know what it is, for the feeling that generates such is in the back of my mind like a rodent, slowly chewing on a wall, but something about them does not fit. It is as if they are concerned for me while at the same time, they are not.
They have also been asking for more powers and responsibilities beyond those that they have already been given. This began in the wake of my current illness. The arguments that I have heard for them to be given more powers range from giving me time to rest and recuperate to my current state having an effect upon the nation. I have however not given in and granted them more ranging powers. I am not yet so ill and weak as to need to do such as they're asking. I have however become most angry about the attempts for them to have me to teach the spells to move the sun and the moon across the sky. The sheer nerve of such!
I shall never allow them to handle my sister's moon! No, there is none other then myself who I can trust with this duty. It is my burden and my burden alone to move my sister's most precious object...
To move her prison...
Luna... my dear sister...
By the everlasting sky above do I miss her. I once heard a poem wherein the speaker said that 'One never knows what they truly have until they lose it all'. And with Luna's fall and imprisonment, I cannot but feel that that is true for me, that I have lost all that is of worth. I have now realized, with each passing day and night, what she was to me. She was more then just my sister. She was also my closest companion, my very best friend and confidant. I remember how she would always listen to my worries and sooth them. Much like I used to for her... until I forgot to do so. Until I let her worries stew... And now... now there is no pony to which I can speak to. None except for you, dearest journal for dear Philomena has not yet returned from the millennial phoenix flocking. And if the other times that she has gone one them is anything to base an estimate on, then she shall be gone for at least a decade, possibly two. But even she is not and could never be a replacement for the companionship I had with Luna...
I have never felt so alone in my long centuries and it is but three years into a thousand...
Such a small word to denote such a horrendous act.
I have found out the source of my illness and it is that. I am ashamed that I had never considered the possibility that one would try such on me. Oddly, I can almost hear Luna's voice in my head, chastising me for my lapse.
As to how I found out, it was... something that I am almost too embarrassed to admit to even here, in writing. I was laying upon my bed as I mentally reviewed the day's events with my balcony doors open, hoping for some relief from being cooled by the gentle night breezes. I was feeling most unwell at the time, so I was hoping that the night would strip away the stifling heat of the daytime hours and cool me. As I laid there though, a large biting insect flew in and had alighted upon my leg. So exhausted was I, that I could not be bothered enough to knock it away. It then bit me and drank my blood...
And then it fell over, dead.
Shocked by this, I cast a spell and found that it had died from poison. I then used the same spell on myself and found that I, too, had been poisoned. In fact, to my growing horror, if I had been anything but an alicorn, I would have succumbed long ago. As it was, I was growing progressively weaker over time and might well have become so weak before I had realized that I could not have put up a fight against an assassin. Thankfully, I know a spell to help speed up the filtering of a poison, though it shall take a while for me to recover my original strength.
The question now though, is whom was it that has poisoned me? Though there may be more then one conspirator as there are more then one poison within my blood. It shall be weeks before they are all cleared out I fear.
Was it perhaps renegades that still follow my sister and now seek revenge for her defeat and banishment? I do remember reports from my spy masters as to how members of the Night Guard have vanished into thin air these past few years, though that could be due to attacks upon them.
Or, as much as it may pain me, are there those who stood beside me during those dark days in the fight against my sister that may now be prepared to slide a blade between my ribs? With their movements to obtain more power, I must wonder and cannot dismiss the possibility.
To catch them shall take cunning and the all my ability to act...
And so I have managed to catch some of those responsible. How? I acted as if I was getting weaker and weaker while in fact I was slowly recovering. Some illusion spells and they thought that I was still eating and drinking the food that I was given, not knowing that at night I would simply bring individual leaves and blades of grass from the palace gardens as well as magically gathering small clouds to drink from. I kept an eye out and was not disappointed as just last night, an assassin entered into my room
I must admit that I took no small amount of pleasure in how surprised he was that I was not quite as weak as they had thought, though I was far from fully recovered. After a short fight, I subdued him and got the information that I needed as to whom he was obeying. It appeared that a group of nobles within my court sought to depose me. I only wish though that I could have had them tried for high treason, but what happened next rendered that wish null and void.
For a spell had been placed upon the assassin that activated at exactly that moment and slew him, though I suppose that it was but a mercy for him. His death then activated yet another spell, one that I recognized as having been used originally by the Royal Gryphons. I was a fool not to have checked for such before hoof. The spell itself was designed to slay dragons by paralyzing them and disrupting their natural magics enough to allow them to be more easily killed. Such a spell is a sickening thing as it uses a sacrifice to work. For a normal unicorn, it would have been a death sentence while for myself, at my normal strength it would have only staggered me.
In my current, weakened state, the effects were much closer to how it would have effected a dragon as it left me paralyzed and weakened. And to my horror, the disruption of my magic was enough to prevent myself from casting any spells. It was then that the door to my chambers opened and two of my own Generals and their personal Guard entered as they escorted four nobles.
The very same ones whose images I tore from the assassin's mind before it broke entirely.
As I laid there, unable to move, their leader, Solanaceae, walked up to where I lay with the most vile expression on his face. Unlike in some of the stories that I have read, there was no great reveal, no bragging about his plan coming to fruition. He simply, and slowly, raised his sword's blade which dripped with some form of poison above his head and told me that the reign of the alicorns had entered and that it was now time for the true nobility to take their place as the ruler of the masses as was their destiny.
A moment later the thud of a blade meeting flesh echoed through the air and the sword fell to the flagstones as the magic that held it vanished. Solanaceae then toppled over dead, the dagger that was buried hilt deep in the back of his head revealing what had killed him. It was then that my shock started to ebb and I heard the sounds of fighting around me, just out of sight, through the sprays of blood and gargles let me know that one side was losing. All of a sudden, everything went silent at once as the fight ended as quickly as it had begun. Yet still unable to move or even speak, I simply laid there as I cursed the world, wondering which enemy may have arrived to take advantage of my current state.
I waited and steeled myself as I heard the soft sound of unshod hooves as they stepped toward me. They slowly circled my body just out of view, and I know that it was a group because I counted no less then four different individual ponies from the sounds of their hooves. Finally, one of my rescuers came into view...
It was, to my surprise, one of my sister's own Guard! I could not tell whom it was thanks to the black fabric that stretched across where their muzzle was while the rest of the head was underneath a helm, though the armor identified them as a member of the Night Guard. I must have had an expression of surprise and shock on my face, even through my paralysis, because he chuckled as he ripped his dagger out of Solanaceae's head.
He then leaned down and quietly explained to me, my sister's last standing orders to them, her troops, if she had happened to fall in battle. If my sister was to have fallen in battle, then they were to continue to serve and protect Equestria and myself from within the shadows and night. He did not tell me much more then that though. which I could understand due to the sometimes tumultuous relationship that my own personal Guard had with them at times. The Guardspony did tell me that I could, if ever needed, get in contact with them via the Moon Clan Diamond Dogs. Something that I suppose should have been expected.
I will admit, that while part of me was touched by this gesture from my sister that showed a part of her still yet cared for me and our subjects, there was also shame and guilt. Shame for the fact that I, myself, had issued no similar orders. Guilt that she not only thought that I would exile her or worse, but that I had actually proven her right without meaning to.
The Night Guard waited and stood there throughout the coming hours, silent and yet comforting in a way for I somehow knew that they would give their lives for me if needed. Not surprising as during the war, they would stand their ground and die in situations when other forces except for my elites would have broken and ran. It was a few hours before the dawn when found myself slowly able to move. They waited until I could once more defend myself and before my startled eyes, they seemed to fade into the darkness and vanish like the mists do upon the dawn.
It was soon after that the next rotation for my Guard arrived to find me barely standing amongst several bodies including that of the assassin. I was most... displeased with them. Due to that, I have called a Grand Assembly, the first since just before the war. For with this, my patience has now worn down to but a thread...
It is always and always has been such an ugly word. No matter the cause or meaning nor the reasoning behind it's conception. For the past seven years, since that attack so long ago, tensions have mounted between I and a group a nobility. A faction that refers to themselves as the "Loyalists".
I cannot help but sneer at the word being as the only thing that they are loyal to is their power and what they consider to be the old ways. And now, almost a decade after, the festering wounds from the Civil War have once more been brutally torn open. For years I have found myself in a political tug of war with these Loyalists as I have tried to limit and take back the powers that they had taken during the war thanks to Emergency Measures. If it had stayed that way, within the court, I could well have dealt with it.
However, there have been murmurings from my spymasters, those whom I know that I can trust after a fashion. Various small kingdoms have been mobilizing small militias in order to deal with "Bandits". There is also how there has been several cases wherein nobles have been... hard... on their subjects while blaming me for it. Rumors that have been painting me as a tyrant. I know for a fact that I have never ordered such crackdowns, and that most have been performed by the Loyalists, who I know would never do such if I had ordered it as they have told their citizenry.
But even all that has not brought about this newest conflict. No...
Two days ago, they issued an ultimatum for me to step down and prevent bloodshed after which, they would create a a hierarchy of nobles to rule. In reply, I told them that if they were to take up arms against me, I would see them and their descendants broken before me, all power having been taken back by the crown. While some of them were nervous, they told me that any farther bloodshed would be upon my crown.
And then they left.
So now I sit within my castle, my eyes wet as I contemplate the coming months and possible years of bloodshed. Beside me are reports from the scouts, claiming that there are armies already on the move... I feel as if I have failed everything and everypony that I have ever known in my life with what is about to happen.
And I ask for forgiveness that I know shall never be mine...
Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling.
'Dearest Luna...' - Celestia's writing translated from Early Modern Equish "<Ah, my grandson...>" - Maredarin _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Celestia slowly made her way down the streets of Canterlot, her two Guards beside her as the light of her sun glinted off the armor of the three. Finally, she reached her destination on the outskirts before a walled estate and entered. Once inside, she stopped and turned to her Guards. "Thou shalt await for Us here. We shall be here for a while."
After they bowed, she journeyed inside and eventually made her way to an open area in the garden where her target sat. Calmly, Celestia walked up beside her and sat down beside the strange creature. It looked like a curious mixture of one of the longer species of dragon, a deer, and a unicorn with a deer's antler rising from it's head. She was also obviously old with her scales now greyed with age while her silver mane smoked, just a sign of how it was often aflame when younger. The kirin then turned and bowed to her. "Your Majesty, what brings thyself to see my lowly self?"
Celestia's lips twitched before she began speaking in the native tongue of her old time friend. "<We are most sure that you already know why, Lady Huǒhuā Huánghūn.>"
With a wave of her hoof, one of the servants brought forth a tea set. The elderly Kirin began to set up the tea as she spoke. "<Once more, the embers of conflict are being fanned into the fires of war.>" She then looked at Celestia and showed no emotion on her face or within her voice. "<You wish to know if I shall use the knowledge of my ancestors from before I fled my homeland to help you, yes? And if Clan Huǒhuā shall support you in the coming war?>" Celestia gave a short nod as she watched Huánghūn as she gracefully went through the motions of her making tea. It was not until the tea was done, that the kirin answered. "<Long ago, more then a century by your counting, did your sister come across me and what remained of my family in the Zebra lands were we fled after the tides back home turned against us. We were but a family of scholars then, do you remember?>"
The alicorn gave a nod. "<Yes.>" Her eyes gained a far off look. "<We, Ourself and Our sister, was most surprised that you all made such a journey, following an old trading map. Guided in a rickity ship across the stormy seas from a far off, legendary land...>" She then frowned. "<We gave you and yours sanctuary here within our domain, a decision that We have never regretted...>"
Huánghūn smiled softly and nodded. "<We hold honor above many things your Highness.>" She then chuckled as she sipped at her tea. "<Know that my family stands with you and shall bring forth weapons of war from my homeland. We shall let you look into our manuscrips as to the art that is warfare and use such in this conflict.>" She noticed the surprise and laughed a small bit, her voice raspy from age. "<You are surprised at this, yes?>"
Celestia furrowed her eyebrows before she answered. "<Well, We must admit that We are surprised and more then a small bit confused.>" She then looked the Kirin in the eye. "<After all, you would not take a side in the conflict that We had with our sister.>"
Lady Huǒhuā nodded. "<Yes, because we could not due to our honor. For if we were to turn against either of you, who had given us so much, it would be a black mark upon it. But now?>" Some slight wisps of flame escaped her mane as she chuckled darkly, the alicorn beside her remembering how she could cause it to burst into flame. "<Now, our honor allows us to stand with you, my old friend.>" She gestured at something and Celestia looked to see a unicorn mare with her horn similar to her grandmother's along with the pinkish stripe in her mane, a signature of her family. "<There is also that those against you would do harm to my grandchildren if they were to win. A fact that I cannot, and will not allow to stand.>"
As she sipped her own tea, Celestia noticed something. "<You seem saddened Our friend...>"
The Kirin nodded before she looked at the tea leaves in her cup. "<I am old, your Majesty. Old and nearing the end. One that I know shall not be peaceful from the signs.>" She held up a hoof which stalled Celestia's response. "<I have made my peace. And so has my family.>" The alicorn's eyes widened. "<And so I shall use the time that I am given to make sure that my family and the wonderful nation that shall be built in time shall survive and thrive.>"
Celestia gave a snort. "<Oh? We suppose that you have seen into the future once more, old one?>"
Her response though, was in all seriousness. "<I have.>" As the Princess straightened and watched her, she smirked. "<With the many methods that I have learned, I have peered into what many cannot and I have seen many things that shall come. I can see that your sister shall return, but face the Star and her companions of Harmony. How Sombra will once more try to spread his shadow, but be defeated by the Love of the Shield of my blood. The road shall not be easy and full of sadness and heartbreak, but once you reach the end of this journey, you shall find that Equestria shall be as of like a dream of today.>"
For a few moments, the Sun Princess was quiet before she softly spoke, her voice full of pain. "<Can you at least tell Us when and how Our sister shall return? Or any other details?>"
Huánghūn was quiet as her eyes gained a far off look, and then she spoke. "<It shall occur upon the thousandth year of her banishment upon the night before the longest day which shall be the Summer Sun Celebration. The Stars shall aid in her escape and she shall return to Equestria with a goal in mind...>"
The alicorn beside her frowned in sadness. "<For revenge and to bring Nighttime Eternal...>"
A snort caught her attention as she turned to the kirin. "<Perhaps, perhaps not. The future is oftentimes murky and can mean many things. Especially when the time frame is not in just years, but in centuries as this shall be.>" She then calmly sipped her tea. "<Though from your reaction, I suspect you already knew this...>"
Celestia smirked before she took another sip of her tea. "<We will admit that We did.>" She then looked down at the bottom of the cup and the thin layer of the drink that remained. "<We already heard as much for Our sister's return from Festivus Pie.>"
After a moment, Huánghūn snorted in wry amusement. "<Ah. Festivus was always good at reading various signs.>" She then finished her tea. "<Quite a shame that it seems that his talent has gone dorment within his family once more.>" Her eyes then twinkled. "<Is he still the crazy celebratory pony that I remember, or has he calmed some since the years when he was your court jester?>"
The Princess chuckled some. "<No, not really. Still the same stallion who likes to make ponies laugh and smile.>" After a few moments, she sighed. "<We shall miss his crazy antics, especially in a time like this. But We hope that he shall find peace on his family's farm in these, his twilight years.>"
Huánghūn just nodded. "<Laughter shall be in short supply with the coming times, but one must persever for the time that it shall return.>" With a grunt, she slowly got to her hooves as she pulled over a stave that she used to slowly move. "<Come. I shall show you some of the secrets that my family has kept... especially those regarding stormpowder...>"
Somewhat intregued, Celestia raised an eyebrow as she kept her pace slow. "<Oh? But We thought it was only useful in those wonderful fireworks that your brother makes?>"
As she chuckled, the kirin just shook her head as they continued to walk through the small estate. "<Oh, no. There are many uses for stormpowder, just a few of which you know of.>" She then noticed what looked like a pony with a bunch of scrolls before it as it rushed through the halls. "<Once more not listening...>"
Celestia watched as the pony tripped on a uneven board and the scrolls went flying. She did nothing to stop them as beside her, Huánghūn's stave blurred. A few seconds later, the kirin stood there with the pile of scrolls balanced upon the end of her walking stick as the now revealed unicorn noticed her and bowed. "Your Highness, Honored Grandmother."
Huánghūn just shook her head as she held out the scrolls before her grandson's magic took them. "<Be careful young one. I have explained to you many times that you should watch your surroundings. Be as the watchful deer as it folics within the glade claimed by groundhogs.>"
He just looked at her confused before he bowed once more and said goodbye as he left. As they continued their journey, Celestia looked at the old mare beside her with clear amusement. "<You do realize that he is unlikely to realize what nonesense that was, correct?>"
The kirin tried to keep a straight face before she suddenly chuckled. "<I am an old kirin. And being mysterious and confusing is one of the few amusements that I still have...>" Celestia soon joined her in mirth, various servants and family members that they passed confused... __________________________________________________________________________________
After my visit to, and having gained the aid of, my old friend Huánghūn, I returned to the castle. It was now time to prepare for war. Ever since that horrible night where two of my Generals had attempted to kill me along with the other nobles, I had weeded out the non-trustworthy members of my personal Guard. Many of those who I decided could not have trusted proved this beyond a doubt when they joined with the rebellious nobility.
And so I found myself holding a Council of War with far less soldiers then I had hoped for. Indeed, at first the news that I had recieved was quite bleak. Soon however, the knowledge of what Huánghūn and her family were to contribute began to turn things around. Along with this, of major interest of my council and I was the state of the treasury, our supplies, and and how might we defend.
Once we looked into the matter, we were quite surprised at what we had found. The treasury was in quite good shape as was our supplies and provisions. It was then that one of my remaining Generals, Oldblood, pointed out that we could defend against incursions for now. When I asked him about that, he mentioned that my lands, as well as those of several nobles upon my side, had extremely good roads that lead from one part to another. They were much better then those availiable to many of our opponents and would allow us to quickly shift forces to where we needed them then might otherwise be possible.
For but a moment I had wondered at this, and then hit hit me. For you see, dear journal...
All of this was due to my sister's work.
Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with what my sister had done. Luna before her... fall... had been the one who had administered both the taxes and infrastructure. She was the one who put into place how taxes would be distributed, which meant that the war chest for my allies and I was quite full. She was also the one who rushed forward with the idea to store away food such as grain and other vegetables away in case of a famine. Such was stored in caves where pegasi weather techniques as well as unicorn magic would keep them cool and dry. The roads were yet another idea of hers. Good roads to allow the movement of goods and our subjects throughout the kingdom.
While I had never supported her openly in the way that she had wished, I nonetheless had proceeded to use her suggestions in my own lands much as I knew that several nobles under her had done as well. At the time, I thought that this was enough, but after everything, I must wonder if she even knew...
And now, the fact that I had followed through on her ideas was what was going to help improve my chances of staying upon the throne. It... took every ounce of willpower that had been available to me as of that moment not to break down and burst into tears. Even though I expect that she hates me still, even though I know that she never expected such as what has happened to occur, a small part of me felt as if she was still helping me and protecting me in this way, impossible as it was.
As the meeting continued, it soon became apparent that this war, at least at the beginning, must be fought defensively. We had not the troops raised and several of the lands under our control would need many to defend for us to go on the offensive. In order to truly have a chance of winning and for the knowledge from Huánghūn to bear fruit, we needed to only hold out until the first snow, after which most of the fighting possible would die down. Winter would give us the time sorely needed to dig in our defences as we were outnumbered. it was a good thing that it is already the end of summer.
It will not be the first, nor shall it be the last, time that I wish that Luna was once more by my side I fear... _________________________________________________________________________________
Today, I witnessed one of the new weapons based off the scrolls that Huánghūn brought to Equestria from her homeland. Having heard of the test, my Generals and I had come down to the testing range, which was normally used to test combat spells in training. When I first caught sight of them, I was rather unimpressed. They seemed to be metal balls with a candlewick that stuck out of them. Then Huánghūn's grandson gave me the oddest smile as I am sure that he noticed the disbelieving expression on my face before he lit the wick and waited for a few moments before he tossed it into a group of strawponies.
The sight of those strawponies reduced to so much burning straw and kindling was most impressive to both my Generals and I. After a moment, I asked him what it was. He explained that the texts refered to it as a "Lei qiú" or "Thunder Ball". A most apt name considering how there was a sound like far off thunder when it exploded. He went on to explain that it was a hollow metal ball filled with a form of stormpowder with the wick providing the ignition much like the fireworks his family is known for making. After the wick is lit, the user has mere moments to throw it before it explodes. He even mentioned that they might be able to make a version that flung caltrops or small pellets of metal.
Needless to say, we were impressed. In fact, one of my Generals mentioned that it such weapon would be a "Grand aid" for our side in the war. And even though they were meant to be thrown or tossed using telekinesis, I had an inkling of an idea upon which I might work on... _____________________________________________________________
It has been three weeks since the tests of the first tests of the new weapons, these thunder balls. In that time, much work on them has been done in such manners as lengthening the time before it explodes as well as the power. However, we have yet to build up a stockpile of these weapons as of yet. Meanwhile, there has been small battles and skirmishes that have erupted on the boarders of my allies and myself with the traitors. We have been holding, but in some cases just barely. And with each passing day, I find myself missing Luna a little bit more. I have heard it said that one never appreciates what they truly have until it's gone.
And in this case, I have begun to see just how much I relied upon my sister when it came to our duties. For the past hundred years, I have taken on more and more of her duties, but nothing could have prepared me for taking them all on. Her duties such as those dealing with taxation where tiring enough I had thought. But now, however, I am feeling the weight of dealing with both our responsiblities. Back when she was still with me, during times of war one of us would be on the front lines while the other was back at the capital, taking care of things.
But... she is not here. And so I must split my attention between both the battles and running the kingdom. While I know that doing so decreases me effectiveness at either, I dare not trust anypony but myself after what has occurred. And so, I find myself getting tired...
Tired of everything...
However, I shall not give up all hope. For if I was to, what would happen to all the ponies and others that rely upon myself to protect them? Would I leave them to the likely cruel hooves of the rebelling nobility? And what of my sister, Luna? I know that the day shall come in the future wherein she shall return. Do I leave her to possibly suffer the depredations of these scoundrels?
No, I think not.
I believe that the Luna, the real Luna and not that malicious monster that has taken her form, would agree with me when I say that I shall fight for my subjects as long as I draw breath. I cannot show any weakness in this trying time as my little ponies look to me for strength. I will not fail my subjects as I had failed her... I will not fail my sister for yet a second time... __________________________________________________________________
Dearest Journal, it has been some weeks since I had that thought. The one that involved the thunder balls Which, oddly enough, some have taken to calling them what that General did, "Grand Aids". As to my idea, I have begun to put it into practice.
As far back as the now ancient and half-remembered times when the ponies of Equestria were separated into tribes based upon each type, there were duties for those pegasi in the military who were not as strong as most. If they were fast enough and agile enough, they would find use as scouts and skirmishers. To this day, the practice has lasted when even others fell to the wayside. Now, those pegasi are not useful for much more then harrassing the enemy, where they would come from nowhere, unleash attacks upon their foes, and then vanish. A death from a thousand cuts some might call it.
And I now aim to make it a death by a thousand gashes.
For you see, I have taken that and combined it with the possible capabilities as shown by the thunder balls. To that end, I have gathered the fastest and most agile amonst them into one group. They shall be trained to be even faster and more agile then what they are now so that they may strike our foes like wonderous bolts of lightning from the sky. While they would not be effective against armies unlike most pegasi who might take time to build up storms, they would can sweep in and drop thunder balls upon small groups and garrisons. Perhaps even campsites if they have the element of surprise. In so doing, they shall draw off more of the noble's forces in order to reinforce their positions. With any luck, they might drop one or two on one of the rebel leaders heads... _________________________________________________________________________________
A pegasus General once said that the worst parts of a war was always the waiting before. After an entire winter of preparation, I have found that there is much truth in this. While I feel that we are as ready as we can be given the time we have had, part of me is yet worried. They outnumber us in troops greatly and even with all the preparation we could do, many of my subjects shall die in the coming war. A war that I can only hope will be short, but fear that it shall not be.
As for the preparations, I have ordered the construction over the winter of fortifications at the major intersections of the major roads within my domain. While for now they're wooden, those shall be replaced by stone and earthworks in time. They should help slow any incursions by a major force since any armies would have to leave some of their troops behind to lay siege and with smaller forces they can sally forth and defeat them. I have also made sure to stockpile as many materials for the coming war as was possible, especially materials used as ingredients for stormpowder.
And even now, if I was to go out upon my balcony, I might hear the distant sounds of a blacksmith as they made weapons and armor for my soldiers. No longer is the night peaceful and quiet, but the sounds of armor as the ponies that wear them clank in the nighttime air. And I am saddened for it.
Dearest journal, I do not know when next I will get a chance to write in you. In a few short hours I shall have to lower the Moon and raise the Sun and, in doing so, signal Winter Wrap Up. And once the snow is gone, the armies will rouse from their resting places and once more roam the land. Please, if there is somepony out there listening to me, please make this conflict a short one...
Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling.
'Dearest Luna...' - Celestia's writing translated from Early Modern Equish ________________________________________________________________________
Five years... it has been five years since the war with the rebelling nobles has started and four since I last wrote in you, yet it seems as if the end is not even remotely in sight. Dearest journal, I do not know about my foes, though I suspect that in this case they shared a similar viewpoint, but I had expected this war to last but a year, maybe two, before it ended one way or the other. However...
That is not what has happened. Instead, it has dragged on for the past five years with the borders between the lines having become something of a nopony's land with near continual skirmishes between the two sides. I am only thankful that the nobles could not trust each other enough to raise one of their own to the leadership of the rebels. Instead, they sometimes backbite and fight amongst themselves as they do with me! But if they had united behind a single leader, I do not believe that I would still be here writing, or if I was it would be as either a puppet or a prisoner in some tower.
You may remember, journal, about my idea? Where in groups of pegasi would drop the thunder balls, now nearly universally known as "Grand Aids" among my troops? They have met with some success. A few of the pegasi met with unfortunate ends when they did not release the Grand Aids in time and they exploded nearby, but for the most part they have worked as was expected. They have caused my enemies to expend much more ponies in attempts to prevent such raids. They have also done damage to the enemy's storehouses and fortifications, especially when one pegasi of a pair drops vials filled with flammable oils and alcohols so that with the Grand Aids, fires can start. Also, Huánghūn's family has introduced a new invention to even the odds some more. They call it a Hwacha or "Fire Arrow". A name most apt as it uses arrows propelled by fire much like fireworks. These have extremely long ranges akin to what only the best long bow archers can achieve, but in numbers far beyond what should be possible. I personally saw a test where one shot out a hundred arrows far enough away that only a pegasus could identify who the ponies might be by their face. There is some debate as to how we might use them though. Some think that we should bring them up to the front line to increase the damage that we can do to opposing forces during battle, possibly using them to target the enemy's pegasi. Others believe that they would be most effective in being used on our fortifications, freeing up archers for use elsewhere. I believe that I shall use them for the second for now, as we may have problems producing them in the numbers that we need for the front lines for a while, as well as training the crews for them...
I... I cannot believe that I am writing these words but... my friend, Huánghūn... She's... dead. Huánghūn is dead.
And as I sit here and write these words through my grief, I realize that she had truly foretold how she would die. For you see, I was away at a battle just past the border when Canterlot had been attacked. It seems that for the past few weeks that one of the nobles had small groups of their troops sneak across the border all along it's length. Eventually, a few thousand gathered close to the bottom of the mountain. From there, they made their way up to what they believed to be a nearly undefended fortress. You may be thinking that she died when they took Canterlot or perhaps in the fighting to retake it, but no. Seeing the danger, she ordered her House to gather up as many scattered troops, even those yet still in training and others to hold Canterlot after sealing the gate and while one of the commanders sent one of his fastest pegasi to where I was to warn me. Meanwhile, her and her remaining siblings left to meet the coming troops on the narrow mountain pass. I can almost imagine the reactions of the troops as they came around the bend to see eight elderly looking beings who were facing them. They most likely would have been amused at the thought that such old ones thought that they could stop them... Right up until Huánghūn and her siblings attacked.
While old, they were powerful and had the experience behind them to use it. I heard the tales of how they held back the entire army for a time, just enough for Canterlot to prepare and not be overtaken. In the open, they might well have been quickly killed after they were surrounded. On a narrow, winding mountain road with one side being a sheer cliff? They left behind a mountain of dead soldiers and a demoralized army. Even as they fell, they took many with them. And from what I have been told, Huánghūn was the last to fall, having fought through the soldiers until she reached the one who lead them, blood streaming from her many wounds. Then she grasped him in an embrace before she used her magic to pull as many of the troops to her as she could... And then flung herself off the mountain and carried them with her to their doom. The army was then stalled for a time before they restarted their march and came to the walls. There they were met by the stalwart defenders, with many of their number decimated by the hwacha as they approached. Three times they tried to mount the walls and three times they were repelled. They retreated leaving behind mounds of the dead and dying.
It was then that soldiers from the bottom of the mountain under the command of Oldblood's son, Blueblood, slammed into their rear. The attackers now found themselves trapped between two forces and fighting to escape, when the gates of Canterlot opened and the Guard inside charged out to meet them. The attackers asked for no quarter...
And none was given. By the time I arrived at the head of the reinforcements, fully expecting to find that the city had fallen, the battle had reached it's forgone conclusion. Almost all the attacking force had died. Once I found out about Huánghūn, I went looking for her... I found her broken body at the very bottom of the mountain, the bodies of those she took with her around it. I then saw the expression on her face... It was one of peace and triumph. it was the expression of one who knew that she had given it all and in doing so, cleared all debts that she had held.
It was hours later that they found me as I cradled her head to my chest and cried...
Four days... four days since Huánghūn died. We lost one of the undisputed genii of our times that day, possibly one whom will always be considered up there with Clover and Starswirl And I lost one of my best friends. I have cried until my tears have stopped as I looked out over my balcony. Every time, my thoughts always turned back to the same thing:
How had I failed my little ponies so badly? How had I failed my friend so badly that she lost her life because of it...? All I can think is that I had grown overconfident in my power and my recent victories against the rebels. I had not foreseen the possibility of one doing what he had done. it was so far outside my experience for one to think so far outside the box. Yes, I know that my advisors and Generals have all told me that I could never have expected this, but that does not help the twisting feeling of failure that lies within my gut. I must never let myself fall into such a thought trap again, lest that time becomes my last. The cost of such would be simply too high to contemplate. As my newest item in my quarters will show me each day when I see it. For Huánghūn in her will bequeathed me the tea set over which her and I had so many of our conversations over. It now sits upon my desk and even now, I wish that she was still here to provide much needed advice and conversation.
I shall, however, make sure to keep an eye on her family as I promised her. Over my lifetime, I have learned to trust my instincts and what they have told me. In this case, they tell me that her family will play a role in events to come. How and in which way, I don't know yet. I am also reminded of how Huánghūn had told me that one of her blood would be instrumental to defeating a returned Sombra. Yes, I believe that I shall keep a closer eye on her family in the years ahead.
Though I am glad to say that her and her siblings sacrifice will not be in either vain nor forgotten for a long time. Indeed, even as I sit here and write in you, journal, the stories surrounding their last stand are only growing with each retelling. They are also spreading throughout my lands. And then, at their funeral, many hundreds turned up to show their thanks for their sacrifice. It... brought a tear to my eye that. I feel as if this will help bring even more acceptance of those who we share this land with whom may not be ponies, but only time will tell.
Yes, I know that I am rambling and that I really shouldn't be but... I... I'm sorry, journal. I just can't help myself...
It has been several months since the "Battle of Canterlot" as some are calling it, and I do believe that the noble who planned it has struck again. And in this case, he has copied my idea for the "Bolts of Wonder", the pegasi who have been using the Grand Aids. In this case though, the pegasi drop vials filled with a potion that produces the most foul oder imaginable. So foul it is, that one if too close will choke on the fumes and be disorientated from them.
I have directed my spymasters to work to find out whom this noble is. Once they do, they're to do whatever they can to stop him. Since one so clever is a threat and could turn the tide of the war in the rebel's favors. I must find him or her and put an end to them...
You may remember, dear journal, how I had spoken about one of the nobles? One whom was quite clever and thought outside the box on a matter of issues? And who I had ordered my spymasters to find and silence? As it turned out, that order was unneeded as someone has beaten me to the hoof!
It was one of the more junior nobles as it has turned out who was responsible. But during a dinner, he drank himself to death... or so they say. I have my suspicions that it was not as it seemed and he was killed. Perhaps one of the other nobles thought him too dangerous to them and a threat? Or maybe they were envious of him? In either case, I no longer have to worry about him as now the bones of his principality are being picked clean by those scavengers that he had called "Allies".
Once more, the nobles prove that they are an enemy to themselves greater then I could ever be. And they also prove that if they were to win, things would turn very badly in a short time for the common pony. No, if I was not sure before this war, I am now. The nobles cannot be trusted, wrapped up in their games they are.
Speaking of the nobility, I have received word from those in the outer portions of the nation that they are gearing up to fight. Apparently the nobles have focused in on my to the near exclusion of the outer portions of Equestria. Actually... I should be honest to you at least, my journal...
They have attacked the outer portions of the nation, but they have mostly used what I believe are their worst troops to do so. Ones whom have barely made a dent in said territories due to their size along with the various... issues of the nobles' troops. It being the place where they sent those who had fallen out of favor for incompetence and so forth.
But back to the word they have sent me. From what they have written my it seems that they have used the time given to fortify themselves and prepare their forces. Even now, they're getting ready to punch through the rebel's forces until they can meet up with mine. We only need a spot to do so. I shall have to give great thought as to how we might accomplish this for it shall take cunning and misdirection to do so.
Part of me wonders however as to why they might ally with me in this? Surely they have not forgotten the war in which my Sister, their main patron, had fought and been defeated in. Or the reprisals they had suffered from those who had claimed to be under my flag...
Perhaps that is it? Since those same ponies are now rebelling against me they see a way for revenge? Or is there something deeper going on here? I remember a report from one of my spymasters as to how there were rumors to the effect that my sister's former Guard has fled into the wilderness of the outer reaches. At the time I had scoffed and dismissed them as just that, rumors. After all, what position would they possibly have been in even if they had? But now that I know that they still operate... even within the shadows, I must wonder is they have a hoof in it?
After all, I suspect that the Night Guard see the nobles as a threat to both them and Luna. They of all know what might happen if the nobles should win and rule when their patron returns. There is also the fact that I believe that they blame those same nobles for their Princess' fall into darkness, though I think that I myself am at greater fault.
Or is their purpose something baser?
If I was to lose to the nobles, they would turn toward the outer regions after a time. By themselves, they might well hold for a time, but they would fall in the end to the larger forces of the nobles. And with their personal views on non-ponies, it is highly likely that those regions with a high non-pony population would suffer the most under the tender mercies of the nobility. But as long as I am here on the throne, they know that I can offer then protections from the ravages of the nobles through the power of my own troops.
In either case, I cannot complain. If this works out well, then it should give me much breathing room. I doubt that I shall be able to put down the rebellion, even with their help. But a break would be very much welcome. And while I will wonder as to their motives, curse those backbiting traitors who even now make me wonder about everypony, I shall not allow myself to look a gift dragon in the mouth, lest doing so causes it to be angered at my disrespect and breath it's fire onto me...
Winter... the snow covers every thing in view though it is blackened by soot near the blacksmiths as they continue their work to build weapons and armor.
You know, journal, I had overheard one of my younger soldiers asking why the fighting stops in the winter since us ponies can control the weather. Ah, to be young and not know the answers to such things. While it is true that we can control the weather, it is only over a small area. A team of pegasi can control the weather for many miles, but the amount needed as the area enlarges grows exponentially. For while some need to control the clouds and the wind, others are needed to create the clouds or to collect the broken up remains to be transported elsewhere. When my sister and I warred over that winter, it was extremely harsh and hard to do so. Even full flights of pegasi could only calm the weather enough for battle for just a few hours before it settled back into normal winter.
And doing so left our pegasi both exhausted and unfit for battle. Something that neither I nor the nobles, for all our hatred toward one another, would contemplate for what could be a minor advantage at best. The winter months also allow us to regather our strength when possible.
Though that is not all that I am to write about! You may remember, dear journal, about how after her... defeat... I had gathered up my sister's notes. After I began raising the moon, I have found that I have had trouble sleeping. I had been up many a night just wandering the halls caught up in what might have been. Eventually though, I turned to my sister's notes in an attempt to understand what may have caused her transformation into the being known as "Nightmare Moon".
Most of her notes were well ordered as expected of her. She was always a bit fussy about how things were sorted. But as I looked through them, I found them to have become more and more disorganized as time went on. I believe that this was a sign of her declining mental condition, with another sign shown by her writing about a mysterious voice who she considered a muse. I must admit that I am rather... disturbed by some of what I read. But, to my amazement, there were spells in there that I have never known about. She must have delved deep into the arcane for some of them.
Of current interest to me is what she called a "Splitting" spell. During the war between us, I had heard reports as to how she could split herself into multiple ponies, of any of the three tribes. Usually just one if she needed to order her troops elsewhere. I had, of course, dismissed such a spell as a rumor. It went well against much that I have learned of magic. Creating a living thing for a short time from an inanimate object is one thing, splitting off a portion of yourself though?
Impossible!
Or so I had thought. She had seemingly found an ancient pool deep underneath Everfree Glade which had the power of creating clones of a pony, as long as they said an spell. The pony did not even need to be a unicorn! Such a artifact I shall investigate myself once I have the time to. But as to the spell, Luna had created it after much study of this "Mirror Pool". The effects of the spell means it can split off a portion of a alicorn's power from one of the three types that we use, and create a pony of that type. The pony in question would have all of the alicorn's memories and mindset, while the alicorn can control it if needed though usually it acts on it's own with some imput from a subconscious link. And if it dies, it's body turns back into magic and returns to the alicorn in a flash of light.
Before her fall, it seems that Luna had used it extensively to study, often splitting herself into three ponies: An Earth Pony, a Unicorn, and a Pegasus. By doing so, she was able to cover much more then she could have otherwise.
There is a drawback though. By splitting oneself, what is left is weakened. If I was to split my pegasus portion from myself, I would keep my wings, but it would be much harder to fly. I would also find myself having issues with standing on clouds or even manipulating the weather. There is also the fact that the longer the split goes on and more splits created, the more likely that the ponies created by the spell will diverge from the original. But while there is the danger that her mind having been split so often could have had something to do with her fall, the spell is much too useful to me right now to ignore.
I know of ways to get around issues with a lack of magic, mainly the crystals on my peytral and shoes as well as crown. Most do not know but I store quite a bit of magic within them which I can call upon when needed. With that, creating a unicorn split would help much. I can send her in my place to the front to lead while I stay in Canterlot... Yes, that will do nicely. And I don't need to explain why as I have many principalities under my control. I can easily come up with something and none would question my.
All I need is a name...
Hmm... For some odd reason, "Sunny Day Skies" tickles my fancy greatly... perhaps as a Captain...
In any case, it will take me much of the winter to both master the spell to the level that I need and to get things in order for the "Captain" to make her appearance...
It is now high summer and three months since "Captain Sunny Day Skies" appeared. There was some grumbling as to her appearing seemingly out of nowhere, but I explained that she had my complete trust. As for where she was supposed to come from, I used the excuse that she had been on a mission in the badlands to the south. As they had no reason to doubt me, they swallowed it. As to her, I gave her a group of ponies who I veted over the winter. Each one is best at what they do and completely loyal. Especially as they were all orphans who grew up in the Guard who had no connections to the nobles.
This spell truly is a masterful piece of work and I cannot state how proud I am of Luna for having created it. Even now, if I close my eyes and focus, I can see out of my split's eyes and use her senses. I can even communicate with her mentally. Right now though, she is asleep in a tent near the front lines. When she is asleep, the amount of energy that she uses is low enough that most flows back to me. Even when she eats, the excess energy not needed to keep her going flows back to me.
However, the spell did have some odd bits that I had not expected. For example, the Captain, knowing that she cannot die, has a habit so far of rushing into situations where a normal pony would hesitate to do so. She has also taken on some aspects of my dear sister somehow. Mainly in how she treats her fellow troops. However, she does give me exactly what I needed which was eyes on the battlefields on the borders.
Be that as it may, I also look forward to studying this spell much deeper. I am currently taking many notes on the spell and how it works. Perhaps... Journal, I have not admitted this but I have plans for after this war. Once things calm down, I wish to speak with my sister, but the only way that I might have is to go to the moon and meet her there. However, to do so means leaving Equestria for a time. I could not do so before, but if I can figure out a way to do so with this clone spell... Perhaps creating a perfect split so that I can make a double to take my place for the needed time...
Finally, the time has come to break the nobility. They are starting to break apart under the strain of the war to the point where they are dealing with small rebellions within their lands as some of the ponies under them go hungry. As saddened as I am that such is happening, part of me is glad. For this shall make the next series of battles easier since more of their troops will be drawn off by the rebellions.
I have already positioned several troops of my own in various places to draw off many more while my spymasters have managed to "Leak" information telling them where I'm going to strike... Sadly for them, it's in exactly the wrong spot.
If all goes well, then three weeks from today, the armies from the outer regions will attack and the main force will manage to pierce the rebel's positions in the north-west. Those areas have been truly weakened over the past few years and the nobles there are on their last legs. I shall meet up with them and together we will split their forces in half.
That is the plan anyways. And to make sure that it works, I shall be heading to the front myself. If need be, I will be the one to make the needed hole. Afterwards, with the reinforcements from the outer regions, we will launch attacks upon the weaker of the nobles.
This should be the blow that breaks the rebel's backs and end this war, once and for all. Or that is the hope, anyways. I can only hope that all goes well...
Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling.
'Dearest Luna...' - Celestia's writing translated from Early Modern Equish ________________________________________________________________________
Dearest Journal, it has been nearly a decade since that day when victory against the rebellious nobles seemed within our grasp. The plan we had used worked perfectly. By the time the rebels had realized what had happened, my armies had joined with those from the outer portions of Equestria. And together with our combined might, we swept the rebel armies before us as so much detritus before a flash flood. Upon the field of battle, there was none that could match us. We captured more and more land as we went. Village after village... town after town... all recaptured from the rebels.
And it was at that point that it all started to go wrong.
Due to not being able to fight us, the nobles in our paths withdrew into their towers, their castles, and their forts. And so we had to leave portions of our troops behind to lay siege to them. That weakened us as we became more and more spread out until finally we were unable to keep the advance up. Finally, it settled into another stalemate, one that has lasted for nearly a decade now as the fighting has calmed down except for the odd skirmish in the no-pony's land between us.
Meanwhile, despite all our efforts, the sieges of the rebels in the captured areas kept up for months at a time. You see, dearest Journal, the rebels had somehow created magical shields. Powerful ones that resisted even my own attacks for a time before they could be brought down. Attacks which would have reduced the fortifications to so much burning ruin if they had been struck directly. Indeed, it took me having seen a few examples with both my own eyes and those of 'Captain Sunny Days Skies' in order to make sense of what I had been seeing.
Long ago, before Equestria was founded, I often hid myself as a Unicorn to study and observe within Unicornia. It was there that I saw a similar shield spell used by the nobles of that time to protect their residences not just from other nobles, but also from the Pegasi's weather magic and the siege weapons of the Earth Ponies in their frequent wars. However, it took much power to use those shields and they would need a dozen or more strong Unicorns powering them for even a short time. I had thought that such magic was lost though in the time of Discord's short, disastrous reign.
Apparently though, I was much mistaken.
What interested me most though, I suppose, was how they managed to keep up the shields for so long. The length of time, weeks on end, that they could keep them up spoke of them having far more Unicorns of a certain level of strength within their fortresses. Too many to have possibly supported. At first, I had thought that perhaps they had used tunnels and great underground works to hide the numbers and supplies, so I sought them out since if I could destroy them, I could end the sieges much quicker. That was when I gained my first major surprise.
You see, the spell I used was originally created to sense smuggling tunnels and hidden, illegal mines. A spell that with my power was able to sense weak spots in the foundations of even the ancient and shielded Unicornia castles and forts. So it was to my surprise when I discovered that there was no underground works. In fact, there was only what I could think was a ritual room deep within the fortified positions and it was from there that I believe that the shields originated seeing as similar rooms have shown up at other shielded fortifications.
Somehow, they must have modified the original shield spells to be much more efficient then the originals. With just such an increase, they could lower the amount of Unicorns that they would need for such a shield. Sadly, it seems that they trapped the spell arrays to destroy themselves and kill the Unicorn powering it in the process if the fortification should fall. Still, through my own spies and what little I have recovered, I think that given a few decades that I can create my own version. It will be hard, but I can use it to protect Canterlot when I am not there.
And who knows? Perhaps I can get it to the point where all it needs is a singularly powerful Unicorn to power it...
I will admit though that the Outer Regions had impressed me with their ingenuity. I had heard of their armored wagons of course, with which they travelled the wilds between Equestria proper and their homes in groups. But not once had I considered what that might mean for warfare. Indeed! They were able to use the wagons to create small, fortified camps and after emplacing the wagons, chained them together and dropped one side to make a ramp. And so, they became walls that could be patrolled upon. Quite impressive indeed... ________________________________________________________________________________
I have sad news, Journal. It seems that a field of magic which my dearest sister had created and pioneered is now all but dead. One may ask of what I speak, to which I would say tourmaline enchantment ships. Such a beautiful piece of magic that my sister had invented so many years ago in Unicornia unknown to many and she had continued it's development. You see, it uses a complex spell matrix anchored to an array of specially grown crystals known as a 'Tourmaline Levitator'. The crystals would then create a magical field much like how the surface of the water has a layer which allows insects to skim across it. So, too, would the ship use this field to skim through the skies. With it, a ship the size of a large fishing vessel can glide through the air as if it was upon a calm sea.
However, the complexity has worked against it as it takes many years, decades even, for one to gain enough to master what is needed to create such wondrous things. Something that the recent warfare does not lend itself to very well. Indeed, many have turned to quicker learned schools of magic and with the attrition rates as there are those on both sides who would deny the other their use...
Be it that it was only that though! No, many practitioners of this craft have gone missing in recent years. It was... concerning to me. Now I know what had happened to them. It seems that some of the nobles had gathered those who would work with them and kidnapped those who would not. They were forced to work on a project. A project that once it reached my ears caused me to nearly dismiss it.
A tourmaline warship.
Such a ship could have mounted heavy siege weapons as well as groups of powerful spell casters and then used them to rain attacks against my own fortifications from above with great amounts of power. Even Canterlot would be threatened by such works of war. Thankfully, and yet sadly, the place that the nobles had gathered the enchanters at as well as build their weapon was wiped out by a marauding Dragon. It destroyed the area apparently searching for gems and treasure and killed most there. Most would leave it at that...
I, however, will not.
Perhaps it is my sense of paranoia speaking, but I suspect that the Night Guard has once more removed a threat. Not least because they counted a number of young Dragons among their number. Dragons who today would be powerful enough to do the damage. More then that though, the area where the tourmaline mages had been quartered was razed, but from what my spies have revealed, very little remains have been found. Indeed! More were found where the nobles had stationed Guards to watch over what they were attempting. No, I suspect that my sister's former Guard used the attack as a diversion to spirit away the mages. Though to where is a mystery to myself.
Or, at least I hope so. For otherwise one of my sister's greatest achievements will fade into history... __________________________________________________________________
Peace... is fleeting as the candle in the wind these years it seems. You may wonder, dear Journal, why I say that? One may remember that I have mentioned that there has been skirmishes this past decade between the rebels and those under my flag. Now it seems that the nobles may be gathering, organizing.
And it is all due to a previously minor noble, Glyptapanteles. Somehow, he has brought a good deal of the nobles under his heel. How, nopony seems to understand though at least one of my spies has reported that he has something compelling about his magic, which has evidence lent as his eyes are supposed to glow a dull red. From the rest of the descriptions, he's a relatively large Unicorn who is never seen without the strangest amulet that I have ever heard of. It appears to be a black Alicorn in flight with a red jewel in the center. Such an odd thing for a noble who wishes to end my rule to have.
Still, he is dangerous and under his leadership the nobles have begun to move once more. It is only a matter of time before they strike, though the question remains as to where he will make his move and when. If that was all though, I would not be as troubled as I am feeling. No... there's more. His troops have been armed with a deadly device known as the 'Hoof-Kanna', which is from a pre-Equish language used by the Pegasus Empire which translates as 'Hoof-Reed'.
An odd name for an odd weapon. It resembles nothing more then a metal barrel with a long, wooden haft which is used by the Pony to raise it. From there, stormpowder is dropped in as well as pebbles from the ground or a stone ball. They then insert a smouldering stick into the back to light the stormpowder and expel what is in the 'barrel' out the open end. I am perplexed as to how well it would do on the field of battle. However, my spies as well as who I assume, former Night Guard infiltrators who have slipped reports to me stating it seems to be a devastating weapon against those unprepared for it.
Thankfully though, they are not the only ones who have worked on new means of warfare, much to my sadness. How I wish for the days of peace once more... instead, all I see is death and destruction... Sorry, it seems that I have been slipping more and more in melancholy recently.
I miss her... I miss my little sister who shone brightly and could lift my spirits with one of her Sun-forsaken bad jokes or taking me out to play. Luna, oh Luna, how I wish that I could tell you how sorry I am... ____________________________________________________________________
I... am sorry for last week, dear Journal. It was the anniversary of that terrible day when I truly lost the one Pony that mattered the most to me to her inner darkness. A night of nightmares... A week that leaves me in such a state that I do not wish to have much to do with anything...
Anyways, I do suppose that I should continue what I was speaking of before...
During this last decade, while the nobles have been working on their own weapons, so, too, have I as well as the outer regions. Out of all of them, the Outer Regions are in a way the most simplistic. They took what was just the normal crossbow bolt and enhanced it. They insert a small vial filled with an alchemical substance of various types. So far, there are in fact two that have appeared. One is Dragon's bile, a substance that normally lies within the bellies of Dragons which they use to help dissolve their food such as gems for their fires to burn easier. Said Dragons can expel it much as a Pony can their own bile through vomit, which I suppose helps in this case as then one does not need to kill a Dragon for it. However, it is a most horrid thing to have something be touched by, for even metal will be eaten away by it.
The other is simply referred to as 'Alchemists Fire' and, as with the Dragon's Bile, it truly is a horrible substance. It appears as a slime of some kind that can stick to objects, much like the mucus from one's nose. Or like mud from a swamp when you step in some. However, what makes it worse is that upon contact with the air, it bursts into flames. Horrid burning flames that water cannot put out. Indeed, pouring water onto it seems to only increase their intensity. The stickiness should help it cling to stone and help burn down the fortresses and siege works of the rebels. Together, these should help make those who use crossbows much more effective in battle.
On the other hoof, I have not been idle myself. After having seen how effective the Hwacha was in battle I have worked on making it more portable. An issue that after many tries I have solved I believe most effectively indeed. Using hollowed out tree trunks, I have figured out how a singular Pony can carry a number of Hwacha into battle. It is only a small number per 'Barrel', but added together, they do seem to be effective enough. Then either the barrels can be reloaded, or one can just drop them to leave the extra weight behind. One of Huánghūn's sons has even come up with a version for skirmishers. It appears to be a hollow stave with a single Hwacha inside which can be aimed and fired in places where a longbow could not be due to size. It is mainly to have a chance at slaying enemy commanders.
Hmm... a thought did strike me as I re-read what I have written in you, dearest Journal. If I could take a ballista bolt and modify it much like the alchemical crossbow bolts... Yes, it might just increase the capability of the ballistas to cause more damage during sieges, as horrible as the methods may be.
That is a thought to pursue another time though.
Other then the weapons, both the lands under my control as well as those in the Outer Regions of Equestria have been hard at work. Having seen just how well good roads work for warfare in transport purposes, we have been hard at work at extending the more durable roadways as envisaged by my sister, Luna. We have also been hard at work making canals and extending the networks that we already had. Verily! It has also helped increase trade between the various cities, towns, and villages as one can trek their products much quicker.
It makes my heart heavy though that the idea was originally my sister's more then a century ago when she had planned it out, and yet here I sit with the credit for it placed upon my withers. I wish that I could scream to the heavens that my sister was the one who had this brilliant idea, that the credit should go to her. And yet, I must still my lips because if I did as I wished, I would see many turn against it. The shadows that my sister's fall still cast across the minds and hearts of our subjects, despite how many decades it has been. The fact that them not continuing the construction of the roads and canals could harm any future campaigns and cause our nation to fall to the hooves of the rebels makes it even worse.
The whole thing just feels as if it was just one more betrayal of my dearest Luna. Yet another that though I may get forgiveness for, I feel that I shall never deserve it. Every compliment for the roads and canals, every bit of news as to how they are improving trade and filling our coffers. Talk of how business is only increasing... Each time adds yet another wound to my soul. A wound that not only will never heal, but that I wish never to heal. For they will serve as a reminder of how I failed my sister... ___________________________________________________________________________
I have never been so enraged in my life! One of my spymasters had come to me with a report of a rabble rouser attempting to stir up rebellious feelings against me in a few nearby villages. It took me several weeks, but I managed to arrive in one such village as he was making his speech and listened in disguise. A good deal of it was of the usual sort since they've started migrating from the rebellious territories. Such as calling me the 'Solar Tyrant' and claiming that I burned Ponies to death for my own amusement. Another being that instead of wine, I drink the blood of innocents.
However, he then began to speak out against my sister. Such lies about her I have never heard! That she would seduce stallions and mares away from their loved ones in order to feast upon their lifeblood and laugh at their misfortune! And the stories he cast about her and foals! The least horrific one being that she devoured foals alive or had them baked in pies to be brought to her in order to feed both herself and her minions! Dear Journal, it took every ounce of will power that I had not to attack him there!
If there was any bright side though, it was that my subjects reacted harshly to his criticism of myself. They pelted him with rotten produce and several threatened him and his life. Sadly, I could tell it was only in regards to myself that they were doing it for, not my sister. And... that hurt. It hurt me deeply that it seems that only I care for how dearest Luna was before her fall. She was right, she was never appreciated enough and it took me losing her to realize this fact. To open these eyes once blinded by compliments and selfishness. If only I had realized this before...
As to the rabble rouser, he is no longer an issue. After all, even with my Guard patrolling the roads and skies, there are still rogues and brigands in the shadows... ___________________________________________________________________________
And so, it once more begins. What was thought to have been nothing more then one of the usual raids on a border fort instead turned into a full out battle two weeks ago. Once more I watch as so many young mares and stallions march to their deaths on both sides. Sometimes... sometimes I wonder if it is worth all the death and destruction of this senseless war, dearest Journal. But then, I hear of things that the 'Nobles' do in the territories that they control. Some of what they do are to myself, quite vile though they claim that I do worse. An example is a young, hungry colt who picked up an apple from the ground after it had been dropped from a cart that came from a noble's orchard. In my lands, such would be left alone...
Said colt was grabbed by the noble's guards for stealing from him. What he went through I do not know as he never speaks of it. How do I know? One of my spies who was caught broke out of jail and took the colt, an orphan, with him. He has since become one of my Guards.
As to the attack, it was lead by none other then Glyptapanteles. I remember him from his youth when he was not very impressive I must admit. Many a mare he tried to woo instead passed his sickly body over and his magic was similarly weak. But, if the reports are to believed, all that had now changed.
What was once a sickly colt who tired out easily from the simplest magic, has become a powerful stallion able to throw the best mages of my army aside as they would an average Unicorn. Truly, I cannot comprehend how he may have done so as this is too great a change. And then there is how the other nobles, the backbiters that they are, for reasons unknown follow him most slavishly. Even to the point of sacrificing themselves!
I suspect that he is somehow using magic most foul for this... _____________________________________________________________________
It is now confirmed, Glyptapanteles is using some form of dark magic. I observed as such through Captain Sunny Days Skies own eyes as he used it. There was a foul taint on the air whenever he used his magic and his eyes did indeed glow with an evil fire. While it explains how he may have gotten such loyalty from the other rebels, it does not explain how he got so powerful. As it was, "Sunny" barely held her own against him and she was nearly slain with her Guards.
However if there is any silver lining to whatever method he has used to boost his strength and control the other rebelling nobles, it is simply the fact only he has shown it. No other rebel has shown signs that they have used any method that he has. All of which means that while he is powerful enough to turn battles, he, much like myself, am limited in exactly how much he can affect. He cannot be at every battle after all.
A fact that considering his brutality on the battlefield, I am only too glad for as it places a limit on the damage that he can possibly do.
As it stands though, this conflict may stretch on for years yet as both sides have slowly prepared during the years of tense peace. I weep for the lives that have been lost in this needless conflict, whether on the field of battle or in the villages due to hunger and sickness. Part of me can't help but think about how if Luna was here, this war would have come to a conclusion far sooner. I also fear for those under the nobles lead by Glyptapanteles... ____________________________________________________________________
Ten years... it has been ten years since the war reignited with the rebelling nobles united under Glyptapanteles. The reports that I received during those ten years confirmed my worst fears as he descended further and further into evil, to the point where I believe we could compare him with Sombra. My little ponies suffered greatly under him as he was able to convince anypony he wished to take up arms and fight for him. Some of my Guard reported young fillies and colts, barely having gotten their Cutie Marks, fighting under the fiend.
A fiend who is now thankfully dead, though at a great cost indeed... Both the aging Oldblood and his son, Blueblood, died fighting him before both myself and Sunny Days Skies struck him down, though there was not much left of him from our spells. I, myself, pulled what remained of his lower body from the river it was knocked into by the blasts. I asked that the rest of the river be searched as during the battle the amulet he wore worried me. It gave off a feeling of darkness that I have only felt from items left behind by Sombra himself.
As for his soldiers, they became ineffective after his death and milled around in confusion. From my vantage point it became chaos as some were attacking each other or us while others tried to run. Some even threw down their armor and weapons and cried in relief as they surrendered. I will admit, dear Journal, that I was quite confused by what was occurring so I cast a diagnostic spell.
What I found sickened me to my very soul.
Their minds showed every sign of having become ensnared with dark mental magics. Though there was not enough left to be sure and it dispersed rapidly, I can make a few theories based on what I saw and heard from some of the interrogations of captured officers and minor nobles. From what we could gather, he disappeared one day and reappeared months later with that amulet of his. Where as before he was a scrawny colt, he was now able to put many an Earth Pony to shame while wielding magic far beyond what he could before. More then that though, they said that when he looked them in the eye, they could hear a buzzing inside of their minds.
This and more makes me worried for the possibility that the amulet is not destroyed and possibly resurfaces. I will have to keep an eye out for such I suppose...
Meanwhile reports are streaming in that the nobles have become disorganized and I have sent back messengers with orders to pursue them. We must strike while the iron is hot and hammer the rebels whenever possible. if we can drive them to the point of complete collapse... and if we can do it soon before they organize... then we have the chance that we have been looking for.
However, I am confident that those whom I placed in command can handle such things along with Sunny. I am heading back to Canterlot posthaste as fast as I can for I have business there... __________________________________________________________________________
Dear Journal, you may be wonder why I was in such a rush to return to Canterlot. Much of that has to do with Oldblood's last, dying wish. Oldblood and, indeed, his entire family going back to the start of Luna's and I's rule have served me faithfully within my Court. When even others have been swayed back and forth, they have stood firm in support for myself. What makes this truly incredible is that Oldblood's family are in fact from the Cadet branch of the old ruling family of defunct Unicornia, descended from Princess Platinum's youngest sibling. In fact, this makes us something of extremely distant cousins. With such an ancestry, one would expect that they would try to gain more power. There is also the fact that despite the dissolution of Unicornia when it fully merged with Equestria, they still held much power among the nobility.
Power that they could have used to harm my rule or harm my sister. Yet... and yet, they did neither of these things. They even supported my sister alongside myself, as much as we did, before her fall and the creation of Nightmare Moon. Such faithfulness could not go unrewarded.
And so, when with his dying breaths, Oldblood asked that I look after his grandson, who is all alone since his mother died in childbirth, I told him it would be my honor to do so. The poor foal is still young and even now, I can look over at the bed I had placed in my chambers and see him sleeping restlessly. How I wish that Luna was here now to calm his dreams! She would have loved him...
Ah, you must be wondering what is going on then? The answer is rather simple as it may be.
As Youngblood does not have any close, living relatives, and to prevent others from taking over his house only for the foal to meet an end, I have decided to circumvent this. Earlier this day, I took him within my Household and claimed him as my nephew in all but blood. Yes, you heard right, I have adopted him into my House, the House of the Unconquered Sun and named him a Prince. I believe this to be the greatest reward that I could give Oldblood and Blueblood for their and their family's long and loyal service.
Oddly, as I sit here on this evening, I can't help but think of other bits of this that I had not thought of when I did so. For one thing, he could be considered my heir apparent which will cut down on marriage proposals. And being as he's descended from the Royal Family of Unicornia, there should be even less fuss about this, what little there will be as most are too distracted by the war to speak up against it.
I do feel for the poor foal, he's lost the last of his blood family and I can only hope that I can help him adjust. He is... nervous... around me. While I cannot hold his fear of myself against him, it does break my heart anew each time I see his eyes look at me... Eyes that hold the deepest of grief, sadness, and fears. I gave my word though that I would look after Oldblood's grandchild, and so I shall, even if it was not in the way that he had expected... __________________________________________________________________________
It's been five years since the death of Glyptapanteles. In that time, we've pushed back the rebelling nobles more and more as the years have gone by. Apparently the long drawn out campaigns they performed were only possible due to Glyptapanteles' control over them and now they're exhausted and lacking in ponypower. A tactical and strategic genius Glyptapanteles most certainly was not.
As it is, the rebelling nobles are now contained to a few small, shrinking areas. And within the next few years those should be gone. Part of it is that they have been continually reeling from hit after hit these past few years. I suspect that the Night Guard may in fact be striking from the shadows as often the nobles have gotten ambushed. Indeed, there was one time when some scouts of mine watched a noble and his guards set up a campsite for the night. They saw nothing except the normal activity until they went to bed.
Then came the light of morning and they saw no signs of life in the camp. Once the sun reached it's noon position, they made their way down and found that the reason there was no signs of life in the camp is because they had all been killed in the darkness. While the scouts may not realize it, that was one of the methods that Luna had taught her Guards to weaken enemies by sneaking into their camps in the dark of night... and then ending them.
In regards to the rebel nobles, I have been I believe reasonable. Those who have surrendered to my forces have their families and themselves spared, but are stripped of their titles and lands. I'm not a foal though as I have those alive imprisoned. Those who do not surrender find only death awaiting them. I do not harm the young ones though, I am not some kind of monster despite what the rebels have said.
The only issues are in regards to their conquered lands. One such issue is how to split them among my troops. For example, each of 'Captain Sunny Days Skies' own personal Guard have been given lands and titles for their service. The Captain herself has pushed aside any attempt to give her titles or lands. She has claimed that she needs no such things and lives only to serve under me. A truth I suppose, though a needed one as there are those who would wonder why she does not take a stallion and have foals to pass her lands and titles on to. It would rather defeat the purpose of having her if it became known that myself and her are one in the same mare, just separated due to a spell.
Another issue is those Ponies who had been ruled over by the rebelling nobles. Some of them have grown to greatly dislike the nobility and, by extension, myself. Others are yet still loyal to the rebels and more then once have caused issues for my forces. Some are as simple as hiding signs for roads or hiding the fleeing rebellious nobles. Others have risen up and attacked those forces of mine who enter their towns. The worst though are spies who slip information to the remaining rebel forces.
And, as saddened and disgusted with myself as I am, there can only be one response and punishment for such traitorous actions... ____________________________________________________________________________
It never stops, does it dearest Journal? Just a few years after the final rebellious nobles had been defeated it seemed that we would be at peace once more. Such an opinion was soon proven false. For now large groups of the peasantry have risen up in rebellions of their own across the kingdom.
Thankfully though, they are not all united under the same cause and sometimes fight each other as much as they fight my forces. Some have risen up in an attempt to force myself and the nobles to make changes to laws and the ways of governance. Others simply want to cast down both the nobles and me. Then there are those who bought into the idea that I am "The Solar Tyrant" and so wish me gone to go back to the old ways. And more then a few are backed by either the families of nobles that I stripped of their titles and lands or nobles who believe me weakened enough to bow to the will of their servants.
I will not however bow... to anypony. If my subjects have concerns, then they should come to me and voice them. I will then listen and attempt to do what I can. But I will not listen to use of force.
Sadly though, I do not believe that these will be the last uprisings as there has been much unrest after the nobles have fallen. And, if I am to be truthful, before they fell as well. While the war may have been necessary, it was harsh on my subjects, those under me and those under the rebelling nobles... _________________________________________________________________________
When it rains, it pours it would seem. For the past twenty years I have dealt with uprisings from the peasantry. One incident that stands out is when an uprising occurred due to myself stepping in during a 'Nightmare Night' ritual when they burned an effigy of my sister to prevent her from coming back. I... did not react well as I saw said incident with my own eyes.
Besides that, just a few months ago an necromancer along with his apprentice attempted to carve out a small kingdom of his own. He had amassed an army of the dead from the war, I presume, within the Everfree and then marched out. I do believe that I can now suspect the final fate of dear, Sir Marigold of the Pegasus village of Cloudsdale. He was one of the last Equestrian knights who served both myself and my sister and had marched into the forest after rumors of a necromancer. For a while, I had missed how he disappeared, but the war with the rebels had taken most of my attention and nothing had ever turned up.
As it is, it is likely that he had been killed and quite possible added to the necromancer's army. A foul fate for such a noble stallion. However, I dare not tell his brother what might have happened as he has placed it behind him once he married his wife, Prisma. I can do nothing less then let my old Guard Captain enjoy his last few years with his children, who have inherited his wife's multiple colored mane.
As to the necromancer, he did not last long. Captain Sunny Days Skies was nearby and mustered up a force to meet his on the field of battle to stall until reinforcements arrived. A force which held his off until the Unicorn met the necromancer in a pitched battle which saw him killed and his apprentice mortally wounded from all appearances. Though with that battle, it may be best to let Sunny 'Retire' as it were until I need her next.
I hear knocking at the door and I must leave you for now, dear Journal. The issue is likely another uprising, though things have begun to calm down most thankfully...
Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling.
With a smile, the young lavender filly pranced around on her hooves as she looked around at all the different exhibits in the museum before she turned. "Oh, wow... this place is amazing Princess!"
A soft chuckle escaped Celestia as she smiled down at the unicorn. "I do say that it is myself, Twilight Sparkle." Slowly, she tilted her head some in thought and hummed. "Though I do say that I did not quite expect you to choose the museum on one of your free days..."
If anything, Twilight blushed as she scuffed the tip of her hoof against the tiled floor. "Well... its an exhibit on the Century of Strife. It's really interesting Princess, especially as... um..."
Having noticed that Twilight glanced at one of the exhibits, Celestia gave her a slightly saddened smile. "Ah, yes. I had forgotten that you were descended from Huǒhuā Huánghūn through the main branch of her family." In reality, she had not forgotten that fact. Not that Celestia would ever tell her student that. "She's one of your personal heroes, is she not?"
Twilight nodded as she walked over to the exhibit which had various personal paraphernalia used by Huánghūn as well as a painting which was entitled "Last Stand of the Dragon Mare". For a moment, Twilight observed it before she started to talk. "It's been tradition for the first mare to be born in each generation of my family to be given either one of her names... And I was named after her and carry her whole name..."
Even though her heart ached at the sight of the exhibit and the memories it brought to the surface, Celestia stepped forward and laid her wing on Twilight's shoulder. "Is that why she's one of your heroes, my faithful student? Because you're named after her?"
Her eyebrows furrowed, Twilight shook her head. "Er... no? Yes? Um... kind of?" The unicorn could not see the smile of amusement on Celestia's face as she continued. "Huánghūn is also a hero of mine because she's so cool... She was a powerful mage and fighter as well as scholar you know!"
A smile of fond remembrance spread across the face of the Princess of the Day. "Hmm, yes, I do know of that..." Her smile slowly fell though. "It was a sad and dark day when she was taken from us."
That comment caused Twilight to frown as she stared at the floor. "I thought that she was known as a hero because of that though, Princess? Because her siblings and herself sacrificed themselves to protect those they cared for..."
Having realized how her comment could have been taken by a young filly, Celestia decided to correct that. "Do not mistake me, Twilight Sparkle. Huánghūn was and is a hero for what she did. Many lives were saved by her on that day through her and her siblings' actions and for that she was honored. However, it was still a sad day to her friends and family due to her no longer being there."
Her mouth open in a round shape, Twilight nodded. "Oh! I get it now."
While Celestia nodded, her eyes became saddened as she looked at the starburst on her student's flank. 'I can only hope that you never know what I have gone through... or that your friends and family experience it themselves...' She shook her head to clear it of the words of Huánghūn in regards to Luna's return. "In fact, so big of a hero she was, when she was buried beside her siblings, almost all of Canterlot turned up at the funeral as well as ponies from nearby towns."
There was a surprised expression on Twilight's face. "Really?" At Celestia's nod, she turned back to the exhibit. "Wow..." It was then that she really looked at the painting. "I wonder if that was how she really looked like..."
Celestia glanced at it and barely held back a snort as she imagined how her old friend would have reacted to it. "Hmm... well, they did manage to get some of her colors correct I suppose... though she certainly did not have a flaming sword nor was her battle clothing that colorful or fancy..." Barely able to hold back a snicker as she could hear Huánghūn's old voice spit insults about the artist in her mind, Celestia's lips twitched upwards. "But it's a decent enough portrait for when it was made..."
Uncertain of why it looked like the Princess wanted to laugh, Twilight shrugged it off as a trick of the light before she looked at a book. "Um, Princess?"
After she shook off the need to laugh, Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Twilight?"
The unicorn gestured at the book before she pawed at the ground. "Um... does the library at the castle have books she may have written? I heard that they have really old books."
At the question, Celestia nodded. "They do, though they might be a bit advanced for you seeing as Huánghūn's notes usually were rather complicated... she was a polyhistor of her day after all and one usually needs a grounded background in many subjects to understand what she's writing." When she saw the serious expression on Twilight's face, Celestia had to hold back a giggle. 'She's so much like you, I think that you might have been rather proud and have liked this one my old friend...'
They spent several more minutes there just talking about Twilight's ancestor before they moved on. They passed several other exhibits which showed artifacts associated with the Century of Strife before they stopped in front of another one. This one caused Celestia to chuckle before she shook her head. Confused, Twilight tilted her head. "Is there something funny, Princess?"
A smile bloomed on Celestia's face as she looked at the exhibit. "Ah, just remembering about dear, old Captain Sunny Days Skies... first of her name and lineage. Quite the mad mare she was in fact."
Still with a frown, Twilight shook her head as she gazed at the beaten and dented armor which had a portrait of the famous (or infamous) unicorn behind it. Also included were her surviving weapons and other items of interest. "Um... I know that is what the history books say most described her as..." Her eyebrows furrowed some. "Same with the rest of her family..."
For some odd reason, Twilight could not help but wonder if there was an inside joke as Celestia's eyes twinkled as she examined the exhibit. "And with very good reason, Twilight Sparkle..." She seemed to be considering something before she nodded. "Perhaps an example would help... I know of one short story during a attack on a rebel held fort which showed exactly how she was... Would you like to hear it?"
Excited, the young unicorn nodded as she held back from jumping. "Yes, please!"
As she chuckled, Celestia smiled as she closed her eyes. "Well, it was during the second phase of the war..."
With a grin, the pink maned Unicorn known only as "Captain Sunny Days Skies" was outrunning the Day Guards that had been assigned to her. As she licked her lips, a small orange ball of light the size of a cherry came into being just above her horn. Then the Captain whipped it forward with a yell. "FIREBALL!" It shot straight for a charging group of Earth Ponies under the command of the rebelling Nobles and detonated, sending their bodies flying through the air. "HUZZAH! ANOTHER GROUP DONE FOR!"
While he sighed, the largest of her group, a massive Earth Pony nearly the size of Princess Celestia sighed and shook his head as he rolled his eyes. Then he looked around and frowned at how far they were from the rest of the Royalist army. "Ma'am, we're far ahead of the rest of the army."
All that happened was the Captain shooting a grin over her shoulder as she continued to gallop, her armor clanking with every movement. "Of course we are! How else are we to lead the charge unless we are at the front?" Another small ball of orange light came into being above her horn before she stopped and whipped it slightly to the side. "FIREBALL!"
A sigh escaped the Earth Pony as he held back a groan as he watched the small stone hut that contained some enemy troops explode into shards of burning stone which trailed smoke as they flew through the air. "Yes, how else are we to lead the charge except being several trots out ahead of anypony else..." He then muttered under his breath. "Tis' a Mad Mare indeed..."
While she smirked, having heard the comment, Sunny Days galloped up onto a rocky outcrop and flung another one, this time at a wooden scaffold for a siege engine which flung enemy soldiers everywhere as it exploded into flaming splinters. "FIREBALL!" Jumping off, they continued to gallop across the battlefield until she suddenly stopped and turned and with a flare of magic, created what looked like a rabbit made from some black liquid and let it sit in her hoof as she showed it to the Ponies that followed her. With a smile, she gestured at it. "Magic..."
Her personal Guard for the most part looked on with either eye rolls or sighs due to having become used to their commanding officer's... eccentrics. Though the newest recruit, who had been just about to light a 'Grand Aid', dropped his jaw as he stared, stunned, at his commanding officer while the rabbit-thing bowed to them. "Wha..."
Then the Captain dropped it and grabbed it by the ears before she flung it at the main fortification, a stream of what looked like smoke trailing from it. "FIIIIIIIRRRRRRRREEEEEEEE-" It struck the inside of the fort and exploded, destroying the central tower. "BALL! HUZZAH!"
And with a leap, she was off as the soldiers behind and around them cheered. For a moment, the leader of Sunny Days Skies personal Guard patted the still stunned recruit. "As you can well see, she is quite the mad mare." And with a pat to get the recruit going, the two followed their captain toward the smoking ruin of the fort...
All was silent as Twilight just stared at her teacher while she tried to say something. Celestia just looked on as her student attempted to reply. Finally, she managed it. "That... I... that didn't actually happen like that, did it?"
With a chuckle, the alicorn nodded. "It actually had happened like that. Dear old Sunny was quite mad and it was perfectly fitting for her to do something of that sort." She then paused for a moment as if thoughtful. "Not that her... descendants are much better in that case..." A grimace then crossed her face as they continued on. "Which is something that I can never figure out why..." Suddenly, she stopped as she noticed another exhibit. "... They visited there, I see..."
As she walked up, Twilight glanced at what looked like blackened glass that contained small flecks of metal. With a frown, she looked up at the description for the exhibit which showed an area of black glass which formed a path of sorts which caused her to suck in a breath. "The Obsidian Road..."
Grimacing, Celestia looked at the picture and then at the shard of glass before she turned to her student. "Some may call that day one of my finest hours, Twilight Sparkle my faithful student. However, I do not consider it as such."
Twilight looked up at her in confusion. "You don't? But wasn't that the battle that ended the war with the rebelling nobles?"
Slowly, Celestia nodded. "It did indeed end the war... but I lost a number of good friends to that foul Glyptapanteles." Her eyes wide, Twilight was shocked at the amount of venom in her teacher's voice. "Too many were lost against him... Who I was unable to save..." The young unicorn's expression was unnoticed as Celestia thought back to that last clash...
Where she walked, death followed. All around Celestia the very ground burned and blackened under her hooves. The grass itself set aflame by her enraged aura. A unicorn teleported close to her and attempted to slay her, only to be cleaved in half as her great sword, Dawnbringer, flashed out. His blood boiled and hissed as it struck the Princess of the Day's superheated orachalcum armor while his body itself burst into flames and became dust upon the wind.
Behind her, Celestia's army carefully followed in her wake as she continued to make her way toward where the bulk of the rebel army waited as did Glyptapanteles. From behind a group of boulders, a squad of heavily armored earth ponies charged at her, not a piece of skin able to be seen between the metal plates... Armor that became their tombs as moments later, Celestia unleashed her magic against them. The metal of the armor flowed like melted wax over the dying rebel soldiers and entombed them as their lances became nothing more then puddles. A few moments later, a flight of pegasi attempted to dive bomb her.
Not even a minute later after a burst of magic, their charred and burning bodies fell from the sky as the Solar Diarch continued her march.
Boulders tossed her way from catapults where thrown back with far more force and they hit, shattering wood, metal, and bone alike. With a bored look, Celestia stopped a ballista bolt mere inches from her muzzle and raised an eyebrow as she looked at the source. The bolt itself, gripped in her magic, started glowing first a dull red before it became white hot. It could only keep it's form due to the magic holding it in place.
Then she flung the white-hot molten metal the way it had come and ignored the deaths and destruction it caused. If anything, as she caught sight of Glyptapanteles and felt his foul magic, her aura grew from rage as the ground no longer burned... the rock itself blistered and melted beneath her as molten rock stuck to her armorshod hooves. Where she walked, nothing was left but glass. Above, the sky darkened as massive amounts of arrows were shot at her, only for them to turn to so much ash and dust with just a glance.
In an attempt to quell the fires left in her wake, as well as weaken her fiery magic, storm clouds rolled in and unleashed a downpour that would have turned the dirt to mud. Instead, the rain instantly vaporized into superheated steam before it even got a chance to touch her. Clouds of steam which she sent rolling into the enemy ranks using a combination of unicorn and pegasus magics she had long ago mastered. It had been said that the sun was kind, gentle, and mothering as it shone down and gifted life bringing energies. But it could also be merciless and cruel as it beat down, scorching what it touched.
And, in many ways, Celestia proved how much of a reflection she was of the object she guided on the battlefield as the opposing rebel army charged. As they reached her position, her sword flashed out again and again. Dawnbringer's blade, nearly as long as it's owner and as wide as her hoof, sliced through the air with an ease that belied it's size and weight.
Any that got too close had their armor, flesh, and bone cleaved apart by Dawnbringer with no difference between them as their bodies were turned to ash. Superheated blood sloughed off Celestia's golden armor and sword as it flashed into steam. She was an alicorn, the Princess of the Day, bringer of the dawn and setter of the sun. One of the two alicorns who had fought Discord and the one who had banished Nightmare Moon despite the wound it left upon her heart.
She was Solis Invicta, the Unconquered Sun, and where she strode in wrath, only death and destruction was left as a path of molten glass formed behind her.
Suddenly, Celestia shook herself from unpleasant memories and looked down at Twilight. "How about we head to another exhibit, hmm?" They walked a bit before they stopped before another, this one held paintings of three different, though obviously related unicorns. "Now this brings up some memories..."
For a moment, Twilight frowned as she read the description and then blinked. "Oldblood? Blueblood and Youngblood? Aren't they related to..."
With a sad smile, Celestia slowly nodded. "Prince Blueblood the VI? Yes, they're related to my nephew." Bringing up a hoof, she laid it against the glass. "He is related to me in all actuality you know, even if he's not my really my nephew."
That caused Twilight to blink. "How so?"
As she hummed in thought, Celestia looked toward the ceiling. "He's rather distantly descended from an uncle of mine. For how he is part of my household." She turned back to the exhibit. "After Oldblood and Blueblood died in my name, attempting to defeat an enemy of mine, I took in Youngblood into my household where I adopted him as my nephew. And so, him and his line became Princes, though in reality they're more like Dukes." A slight smile grew on Celestia's lips as she looked at the portrait of Youngblood. "While Youngblood may not have had the military acumen of his sire and grandsire, his mind was as sharp in the political ring as theirs had been on the field of battle."
It was then that Twilight realized who he was. "Wait... Youngblood was the pony responsible for how we now have a parliament, right?"
With a pleased expression, the Princess of the Day nodded. "After the war with the nobles, there had been many smaller rebellions and uprisings. Most of those were from the non-noble subjects who had become tired of the nobles and myself." She pointedly ignored how Twilight looked shocked at that. "Said feelings had only festered due to the years of war. At the time, however, I had very little idea as to how to solve the issue. After all, it looked more and more likely that the country would tear itself apart in yet another massive civil war."
Having searched her memory, Twilight frowned and then looked at the portrait of Youngblood. "He created the first parliament... though it wasn't called that at the time, instead it was a 'Grand Council'." Her eyes closed as she continued. "Youngblood the First did not call just the nobles though... he called, from each area of Equestria a mare and stallion chosen by the non-nobles in the old earth pony tradition. Said ponies were known as 'Knights of the Soil' and were to speak for the common pony and held as much power as the nobles at the meetings."
The smile that was on Celestia's face only grew warmer as she nodded. "That is correct, Twilight Sparkle." A sigh escaped her as she gazed upon the vestige of a pony long since dead. "I had asked and told him to come up with a solution as I could not besides bloodshed. His work laid the groundwork for the modern day Equestrian political system. Youngblood himself served as the... Mediator, making sure that all got their chance to speak during the debates. That role has since become one with the Speaker of the House in our modern system." Celestia then leaned down to Twilight. "But back then, it seemed he gave up power. However, his methods bore fruit and tensions settled down as all got their say at what was yearly meetings. Twenty years on, I increased the number to twice a year, which decreased tensions even further."
A smile that was on Twilight's face slowly widened as the implications hit. "Then they would become four meetings a year, one for each season. After some time, the number of times would increase until we get our current nearly year round parliament."
With a nod, the alicorn let her student know that she was correct. "That is indeed how it happened, my faithful student..." She seemed to consider something before she frowned. "As horrible as it may be to think it, there was some good that came out of the Century of Strife, Twilight. Before it, our nation was not united. But after, it was all one nation at last. The backs of the nobility were finally broken and the common pony allowed a voice in their own governance for the first time. While other uprisings happened, none were ever so large as the ones in the Century of Strife. Over the next few centuries, the power of the nobility was slowly chipped away in a effort to prevent another Century of Strife.
Frowning in thought, Twilight looked up at her teacher. "Did it work?"
As her eyes twinkled, Celestia chuckled. "Well, there has not been another civil war on par with the Century of Strife, so I suppose that it must have..." Thoughtful, Celestia decided to grant a little bit of wisdom to her student. 'If I am right about her destiny, then she should know.' Having coughed to catch the young filly's attention, the alicorn let out a sigh. "It's all rather strange you know, Twilight Sparkle. If one was to read the history books, they would say that it was me who ended the war with the nobles. And that I was the one who also ended the Century of Strife... both views are wrong, however."
That caused Twilight's eyes to widen. "They-they are? But that's what all the books say!"
While her eyes closed, Celestia centered her thoughts. "While I may have had a hoof in it, I was not the one to end those two things." She then opened her eyes and turned toward the portraits again which she gestured at them. "Oldblood and Blueblood, along with the thousands of nameless ponies... pegasi, earth pony, unicorn... and the other species who fought in my name and died. They are the ones who brought an end to the war with the nobles through their blood, sweat, and tears. Youngblood and those who participated in the early Grand Councils where grievances were aired and solutions hammered out... they are the ones who brought an end to the Century of Strife... There is a reason that I am telling you this, Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student."
Her head cocked to the side in confusion, Twilight frowned. "A reason, Princess Celestia?"
Celestia nodded a bit. "A reason, and a good one for one to learn." Getting down on her belly so that she was at eyelevel with Twilight had been a bit uncomfortable, but one that Celestia had not minded in the least. "As my student, some time in the future you will have ponies who will look toward you to lead them. And the lesson that I am about to impart remains the same no matter if you are the head of a family, a leader of a research team, a Captain in the Royal Guard, or even a Princess. It remains the same no matter what... do you want to hear it?"
With nods that seemed like they could have caused her head to have fly off her shoulders, Twilight grinned at the thought of new knowledge, not knowing that it would shape her in the years to come. "Oh, yes please your highness!"
A smile broke out on Celestia's face for a brief moment before her expression turned serious. "It is simply this... No matter what or whom a pony might be... Nopony can be a leader alone. They will always need others to lend them advice and support. Something that an old, dear friend of mine once said paraphrased is perfect for this: No pony is an island. Trust in those around you my faithful student, listen to what they say and allow them to do what they can do best. As a leader, your job will be to guide and help others work together in harmony. This is a lesson that I have learned myself over and over again, so I now impart it to you."
While she thought it over, Twilight just nodded as Celestia smiled, content in knowing that the knowledge had been listened to. Then she stood back up and looked around before she leaned down to speak with her student. "Now then, there is much here in the exhibits left to examine and I can tell you a bit about each one." And together, the two ponies walked off toward the next one, together.
Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling.
'Dearest Luna...' - Celestia's writing translated from Early Modern Equish "HAVE AT THEE!" -Traditional Royal Canterlot Speaking Voice.
As she stood at the windows of her quarters in Canterlot, Celestia sighed as she looked up at the moon, far above as she raised it. Part of her could feel the anger, hate, regret, despair and so many other emotions of the prisoner on it. One tear slowly dripped down her cheek though she did not bother to attempt to wipe it away. Another soon joined it on the other side. For here, in her sanctuary, there was no need to hide.
No need to close herself off from the world behind a mask.
Her face wet, Celestia did not take her eyes from where there was the image of a mare imprinted upon the lunar surface. "Sister... dearest sister, We are most sorry for what We did... and while We do not believe Ourselves to be worthy of such, We still wish for thy forgiveness."
Several minutes passed before she kissed a hoof and placed it against the window in her nightly ritual as she began to sing a lullaby...
Dearest Journal, it has been a century and a half since I have banished my sister to the moon. I dare not think of what her exile must feel like, for I feel much the same. Why, you must ask? Because even though I see ponies around myself, I feel alone. I know each and every one of them by name that work in the castle. I have seen ponies born, grow into adults, have foals of their own, grow old, and, finally... die and journey to the Summerlands. All the while I live almost immobile in the sea of time...
And that is why I feel so alone.
I will see each and every one of them taken to the grave while I am still vigorous with youth. None of them could possibly understand just how alone one with a lifespan such as my own can feel. Only dragons and two others could understand how it feels. And for the dragons, even they know that they live but a few thousand years. Of the other two though, only my sister could truly understand as the other would not care about beings he considered "Toys".
My sister... which brings me to what I have to say next.
I have created my own version of the clone spell that I have used to create Sunny Days Skies. This spell uses some of the water from the "Mirror Pool" as a reagent of sorts which is consumed in the spell's casting. In return, it creates a perfect clone of myself which has my abilities and knowledge. A clone which later I can dismiss and, in doing so, gain whatever memories it may have created during it's existence as it's magic returns to me. I do not know the length of time that the clone can last, it may be but a few days or weeks, or possibly into years and decades. Mayhap it would be even permanent.
But that is but one part of my plan. For you see, dearest journal, it gives me the ability to leave with none the wiser. I shall create a clone and leave it in my place as I go on a journey. Once I leave the castle, I shall head for my sister's prison and speak with her after so long. My heart truly aches to hear her voice, even if the words from it are spoken of in hate and anger. I shall let her know how sorry I am and give what comfort that I can in telling her that I shall visit her time and again.
Perhaps, I shall in time break through her anger and darkness to the beloved Princess that I know lay within...
Placing the flask in front of her, Celestia uncorked it and created a small cut on her fetlock that she allowed to drip blood into it. After a moment, she healed the cut and pulled away before her horn started to glow. Inside, the liquid began to glow before it flowed from the flask and formed a puddle which laid there.
Then there was a gasp and a dimple formed. Slowly, the dimple formed into a open muzzle that rose from the liquid as what could be recognized as two long forelegs grew from the edge of the puddle. The strange, pony-like being pulled itself from the puddle that shrank as it formed into it's body. Finally, a version of Celestia made of reddish water stood in front of Celestia before it seemed to solidify. A flash of light nearly blinked the Princess of the Day and when it dissipated, she smiled as she saw an exact copy of herself there. "Ah, so it worked!"
For a moment, the other Celestia watched her as it looked around. It then smiled as it looked at it's creator. "So it seems to have indeed. We are most impressed!"
Her eyebrows climbing, the original Celestia could only nod. "Thy voice seems correct.." With an intrigued look, she circled around the false mare. "And thy body seems indistinguishable from Our own... Speak! Sing! And move so that We can observe thee and make sure that thou shalt pass for Our ownselves!"
Several minutes passed as Celestia made sure that her copy could in fact and did copy everything about her. Finally, with a mental command, the clone stopped and turned to it's creator. "Have We passed all the tests?"
Slowly, Celestia nodded as she spread her wings. "Verily! Thou hast passed each one with flying colors!" She then looked toward the sky nearby. "Now... Thou shalt stand in Our stead for Our little ponies. We shall however begin our journey." After she received a nod, her horn lit up and she teleported. Moments later, she arrived above where a pegasus could safely fly and looked toward the moon. 'We are coming for thee, sister dearest! Please, hold on!'
Her large wings beat at the now no longer there atmosphere as she rose above where she could see the curvature of the planet below her. All that sustained the majestic alicorn was the magic from the star that she was connected to. However, Celestia did not let the view distract her as she headed toward her goal with a single-mindedness. Eventually she was stopped though as the four stars that was always around the moon moved and came to a stop in front of her.
Then they pulsed and in a moment, she was facing with four different and yet familiar beings. One had the form of an creature that had the upper body of a earth pony, but from the waist was a massive snake. The next one took the form of a wolfish diamond dog, massive in his armor and with a war hammer at his side. Beside him, a giant hippogriff observed the alicorn with his eagle eyes. And in front of the three stood a half-dragon mare who had smoke that leaked from her nostrils before she spoke with a cold tone. "Your majesty."
Surprised, it took a few minutes for words to form for Celestia before she shook it off. "Typhoon? Juniper? Chrys? Talon? What are thou here? We had believed thee to be dead!" A thought then occurred to her as she remembered what she had seen. "The stars! Thou are the stars!"
With a sigh, Juniper nodded. "Yes, it is our punishment for having failed our Princess. For we shalt watch over and guard her prison until the day that she returns, never aging nor dying. We need no water or food to sustain us any longer, though we may wish for such but be unable to have any."
Saddened, Celestia nodded at the four. "We are most sorry to hear of such, thou were the most loyal of Our sister's followers and do not deserve such." She then turned toward the moon and frowned. "But while We wish that We could converse more with thee, We must continue on our journey." The alicorn made to move forward, but suddenly found a spear point touching her peytral. Celestia then looked up with anger as she noted the four former Generals moving into attack stances. "And what is this!?"
A pained look crossed Typhoon's face before she answered. "As we said, our duty is to guard the prison of our Princess... even from those wishing to just to visit, your Highness. Such is what the Elements of Harmony force upon us..." There was a regretful expression on all their faces. "Just as it is thy punishment."
That caused Celestia to start and speak in the Traditional Royal Canterlot Speaking Voice in her anger. "WHAT?! WHAT IS THIS THAT THOU SPEAKS OF?!"
Now it was Talon's turn to speak. "Your Highness, our Princess' imprisonment is not just her punishment, but thine as well. The Elements wish to keep thou both separated from each other. Thou shalt feel a similar loneliness to thy sister as thou shalt be unable to contact our Princess. A bond was shattered and thou shalt feel it until the day thy sister returns to thee." His spear now pointed toward her. "Do not force us, your Highness for the Elements will not allow thee to defeat us."
However, all Celestia could see was red as white hot anger filled her veins before she charged. "WE SHALL SEE ABOUT THAT!"
Pain... dearest journal, all that my body can feel right now is pure, unending agony. It feels as if my body was not some giant bruise, but rather one giant welt. But even worse then that, is the feelings of failure and shame. I had failed in my mission to see my sister in her prison upon the moon. There has never been a time when I felt so defeated...
Currently, I lay in what had been my sister's old lab within our former castle in what is now called the Everfree recovering from my ordeal. It's out of the way and still stocked due to my own studies with food and drink. And I had summoned you from my quarters as I am unable to move from this spot... though the agony that each small movement puts me though rather points that out.
Still... the pain does not beat out my shame, defeat, grief, and hate... among other emotions. Part of me feels that way toward Luna's former Generals, but a greater degree is toward the Elements themselves. They wish to punish me by stopping my from seeing my dearly beloved sister. To leave her to her loneliness upon what must be the desolate surface of the moon. It was them that empowered and forced the duty of the Generals and allowed them to defeat me...
That may be where most of the shame of defeat comes from. I was defeated... I, the Unconquered Sun. I, who have faced the likes of Discord, Sombra, Nightmare Moon, and so many others... Who have always come out victorious have been laid low. And not just laid low, no... It was the way it happened. To them, it was easy as taking down a angry foal for myself. When I awoke, it was in a smoking crater upon the ground.
And that hurts.
It seems that my pride has been laid low by such. But I will not give up, no! I shall continue to fight until I can go no more. There must be a way... there must!
It has been a century since I first attempted to leave this world for the moon in order to talk with my sister. But despite all my attempts, each has ended in failure. Each time, it has taken me longer and longer to recover from such attempts due to each time becoming more injured. Finally, Typhoon came to me as I recovered in what I can only describe as a being in a ghost form. She asked that I stop because not only did they dislike having to prevent me from reaching my sister, but it could also make Equestria suffer if something was to happen to me.
I am saddened to admit that she may have had a point... But that shall not stop me.
Though I shall no longer attempt to get past them via just flying, I noted that whenever I teleported, that it took time for them to arrive where I went to. But I was simply unable to make enough distance to get away. I am sure though that if I was to use some way of teleporting from the surface to the moon, I should have time to speak with Luna and tell her all that I feel before they arrive. Such a spell might well exhaust me to the point that I could not speak. To that end, I shall have to do much research into teleportation. Both to increase the distance and make it so that it would not be as exhausting.
This will take time and effort, but then... time is something that I have much of at the moment. And I am no stranger to effort. I will see my sister, no matter what...
Dearest Journal, as I noted before, I have been working on a project for long range teleportation which should carry me to the moon, where Luna is. I have been working on it for more then thirty years. However, I am sad to report that other things have grabbed my attention. It is a situation that I am all to familiar with, where I wish that Luna was still here at my side. We... are are currently at war with the griffins to the northeast.
And it is all my fault.
You see, I had been had been in negotiations with several of their clan chiefs when they held a banquet during them. A banquet which had meat as dishes. While I can stomach and even enjoy fish, I cannot do so with the flesh of another animal. Even some of the smells made me nauseous. So I ate only the more vegetarian dishes and avoided the meat ones...
That was my mistake.
Griffins are proud creatures and me having turned down their non-herbivorian delicacies angered and insulted them. When I explained that I am unable to eat meat besides fish, it only made matters worse. To that end, they told us that they would wait until we were outside of their territories plus a few hours and then they would attack. As I said, it was all my fault and I dismissed some items that Luna had told me regarding the griffins. After all, who would believe that one could go to war over a pony not wishing to eat some dishes that their patrons know the pony would find unappetizing?
Well, apparently the griffins would...
The war has ended, though inconclusively, between our nations. While Equestria still stands with all of its territories, so too, do the griffins. I have no doubt that relations between us and them shall be strained as there are bitter feelings on both sides. When the peace treaty was signed, I had to force myself to eat meat at the banquet as it was obvious that the griffins would have used such as another excuse to go back into war. Most infuriating was their expressions as they could see how I did not enjoy eating such.
It is times such as this that I wish Luna was here. They still know of her and respect her you know. The griffins that is. While most of Equestria has forgotten as many records from that time were lost in the Century of Strife, with others locked away until her return, the griffins have told tales. They call her the 'Lonely Princess', an apt title considering her last few years before her... before the Nightmare took her from me. My little ponies were surprised at tales and legends around another princess. I told them that it was a subject which I did not truly wish to speak of and they stopped asking.
However, since the war is now over, I can return to my previous studies and research to find a way to teleport to my sister...
Taking a step back, Celestia wiped her brow as she looked over her work. On top of what had been one of the guard towers of the old castle, the Princess of the Day had worked to inscribe a massive and highly complicated array into the very stone. At various points of the array, she had placed crystals like those of her peytral. Each one having had become highly energized with her magic.
Celestia stood there with a smile upon her face. Part of her was nervous with what she had been doing. 'Nearly three hundred years...' The alicorn tilted her head back to observe the orb far above her that had the image of a mare's shadow upon it. 'Nearly three hundred years without you, sister... First the Nightmare took you from me and then the Elements did.'
For a moment, she considered the thought to tap into the sun, to use it's energies to fuel the spell needed. Then, Celestia dismissed it. 'No... much too noticeable...' However, she did spare a look around the castle to where she could see the storm clouds gathered in the area around. But a clear spot of sky had been kept above the array. That, plus the other spells and arrays would keep leakage down and prevent ponies from wondering what had happened.
Just as she had been about to start, the spell, there was a flash of movement nearby and she looked. Only silence met her as her eyes scanned the area. 'I wish that I had your senses, sister...' Having dismissed it, her horn lit up as Celestia began to cast the highly complicated spell. "I'm coming Luna! Please, wait for me!"
Beneath her, the array glowed brighter and brighter until with a flash, she vanished. To Celestia's perspective, everything seemed to glow as she shot upwards at a tremendous speed. It was like how the world seemed to tunnel when she flew at high speeds. 'Hmm... so this is how the channel created by teleporting looks from the inside... interesting. Must be due to staying so long in the channel that my mind can observe it...'
Only a part of her mind was focused on her observations thought. The far greater portion was focused on how she was getting closer and closer to the moon as the orb loomed every larger. If she had not been wrapped in her magic and as near to a being of pure energy and thought as was possible, Celestia would have smiled. As it was, her metaphorical eyes widened. 'Yes! Yes! YES! LUNA-'
Suddenly she slammed into something that surrounded the moon just a few hundred feet above it. There was a moment of nothing as she felt the energies of the Elements of Harmony. Her spell struggled against the shield, but it had been created by magical items who had sealed away a reality warper. No matter her spell's power, it could no more break the shield as Celestia herself could turn back time to when her sister fell and prevent it. For the briefest of moments, she could feel the power of the Elements of Harmony as it pressed in on her. There was a feeling that they were highly displeased when suddenly her world became pure, unadulterated agony as the shield reflected her spell. For Celestia felt as if her body was ripped apart and put back together as the planet below grew larger unseen by her.
It was a minute later that the top of the tower that she had teleported from flashed with light before a scream that was composed of mostly pain and agony, but with aspects of anger and hate rang through the night. Those ponies near the outskirts of the forest despite the storms heard it and ran, their stories only adding to the cursed reputation of the wood...
Slowly, Celestia came to only to writhe in pure agony as a cloth had stopped where it had brushed against her coat. "Ah... you're awake your Highness..."
A hiss of pain escaped from Celestia's mouth as she cracked open her eye some to see a shadow before her. The feeling of a warm cloth against her fur a moment later caused her to spasm before it stopped and a female voice spoke up. "We art most sorry, Princess, but we must clean thy wounds."
Minutes passed as the cloth rubbed against what seemed like raw wounds before Celestia finally spoke. "Wa... water, please..." She gratefully drank from the goblet that was handed to her before she sighed. "Thank... you..." It took a while longer, but she was finally able to see who, or rather what, it was that had been taking care of her. "A... Night Guard...?"
The slit pupiled unicorn nodded his dark furred head as he pulled out a package of herbs and mixed it with some water. "Yes, your Highness. We are Night Guard and before your Highness asks, we have been watching thee as our duty. Please, remain calm as you are most injured at the moment."
When he rubbed the poultice onto her side and began to wrap it, Celestia nearly bucked her back legs from the sheer agony that ripped through her body. Then with a grunt, Celestia was about to move her head when the female voice from before spoke up. "Please... don't move and aggravate thy injuries..." This time, a bat winged mare walked into sight. "Here, allow me."
From within a bag, she pulled out what looked like a metal sheet, polished to a reflective surface and held it far enough away from the Princess of the Day, that she could see her body. After a moment, her eyes widened. While enough of her body was covered with bandages that had bloodstains that seeped through them, she could see patches of skin and fur. Said patches looked as if the alicorn's hide had been stretched out and then violently twisted in many directions. "'Tis... similar to... some failed teleportation... backlash wounds..."
Slowly, the doctor nodded as he rolled out some more bandages. "Indeed... though I have never seen ones such as these, or as deep." At the expression on Celestia's face, he hurried to explain. "It goes much deeper then the surface, some of thy wounds have also torn the muscles. In fact, if I suspect that if thou were not an alicorn..."
What he had left unsaid nonetheless echoed through said alicorn's mind. 'Thou would be dead...' Moments later, Celestia shook off her shock before she laid back and closed her eyes. After all, if they had wanted to kill her, they would have when she had been unconscious. "We thank thee for thy service. 'Tis most appreciated..." The two ponies continued their work as something tickled at the back of Celestia's mind. Suddenly, her eyes opened as she realized what it was. "May We ask thee a question?" At their nods, she frowned. "How hast thee continued to spell Our sister's enchantment?"
Both the doctor and the mare stopped and frowned as they turned to each other before the stallion spoke up. "Enchantments, your highness?"
While she grunted from another flash of pain, Celestia nodded. "Indeed, thy appearance is a sign of the enchantment that Our sister placed upon her Guard before her..." Swallowing thickly, she continued. "After her incident. We were under the thought that only Our sister and I could create such enchantments."
Through their confusion, Celestia could see the truth in their next statements, not that it shocked her any less. "Your highness, we are not under any such enchantments. We... Night Ponies, as some have come to call us, are born this way and have been for many generations now."
Her eyes wide, Celestia's mind raced as it used the chance to try and take her attention off her body's pains. Then a thought occurred to her. "Did thy ancestors, the ones who fled Our generals foul actions against Our orders take off their Guard enchantments when they were with foal?"
Now confused, the doctor frowned but before he could answer, there was a chuckle and another similarly odd, though much older, unicorn stepped into view. "No, Princess." At the looks, she motioned with a hoof. "I just heard thy questions and can answer them." Her eyes closed as she thought back. "My grandsire told me the stories. Apparently, our ancestors could not be sure if they could replace the spells put on them by our Princess, so they never cancelled them. Even when they were with foal. So, when the first of those in hiding gave birth, their foals had the same form as them. Because they were perfect for our new existence in the shadows, they became known as Luna's Blessed. For they carried the gift of our Princess."
A thoughtful Celestia slowly nodded. "And such traits have bred true then?" At the nod, she smiled as she felt sleepy. "Then we are glad, for Our Sister has left behind a truly great legacy in the world..."
And then her exhaustion and pain caught up and Celestia found herself having drifted off to blissful unconsciousness once more...
Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling.
'Dearest Luna...' - Celestia's writing translated from Early Modern Equish "[Who's there?]"- Draconic "[That would be me..." - Draco Invictus speaking in Draconic
Night ponies...
Dearest Journal, I have heard of that name, though I had dismissed them as having been nothing more then hearsay and rumour. And yet, here I was, injured most gravely but in the care of said night ponies. Descendants of my sister's former Night Guard. While I recovered, I spoke with them at great length. After many conversations, I managed to gather together pieces of the story regarding their ancestors.
I remember that day long ago when I had been told that my own Generals had ordered the Night Guard to be disbanded in disgrace. They were stripped of more then their armor as the magical transformation and abilities that my sister had given to the members of the Guard was also taken. Needless to say, I was most... displeased. I had heard though some had escaped with their enchantments intact and, years later, I was saved by a number from an assassination attempt.
Part of me can't help but think on how we created the idea for the enchantments, which could explain much in regards to how the night ponies have come about. Before Discord appeared and when my sister and I were but advisors, we travelled to the far off Crystal Empire. We wished to examine a artifact which had been found in some nearby old ruins. To this day, I do not know to whom the ruins belonged to though a part of me suspects they had belonged to ancient, long dead alicorns. Yes, I realize that it sounds arrogant of me to say such, dear Journal, but some of the writing resembled much of what I remember mother and father using.
However, it was what would become known as the 'Crystal Heart' that caught our attention the most. After much examination and experimentation with the Heart, Starswirl as well as Clover discovered that they could connect ponies to it. Said connection would empower the Heart through their positive emotions and create a zone of habitability in the area. A zone that with many centuries might expand and allow for ponies to settle in the old lands once more as it drove out the influence of the windigos. But the connection had another effect, it changed those ponies who became connected to it for even a little time. They would become beings of living crystal. It was truly a sight to behold...
Strangely though, it seemed that over the decades or centuries, those ponies who lived there became permanently changed. They became the so-called "Crystal Ponies". Neither Luna nor I could come up with an explanation as to how such an occurrence had happened. The best theory that we had was that the magical field affected them due to long term exposure as well as exposure in the womb. But we could never be sure, which was why when a mare left our Guards to start a family, the spells we used would be removed. It wasn't until after Discord was defeated that we perfected the process we had invented, which drew power from our respective celestial bodies through out own magic. As such, it changed those of our Guard who underwent it.
In my Guard, their coats would brighten and shine as if lit from within by a brilliant light. Their eyes also changed which allowed them to see in the brightest of glares with no problem. They could even stare into the sun if they wished with no harm while their gazes became sharp like an eagle's. Even their body heat changed and made them so much warmer to the touch. So to, did their voices change as it became warm and inviting when at peace, but burning and scalding when angered.
My sister's Guard, however, became more suited to the night. Their coats darkened and dulled as did their manes. The pupils in their eyes became slits and they gained what I have been told is called 'Eyeshine', which allows them to see better in darkness. In addition, their ears became larger and more fluffy to better capture sounds as their sense of smell increased along with two fangs in their mouths. But among the pegasus portion, the transformation was far more impressive. Their wings changed from the normal feathered forms to wings like those of a bat or dragon. All in all, it gave them a bit of an unnerving appearance which worked when they needed to intimidate. When I asked my sister, she admitted that in her case she had mixed in a bit of the trait spell using vampire fruit bats as a basis which gave to give them instincts to help them survive in the night.
But when my Generals moved to strip them of their magic, it seems that several hundred had managed to escape and regroup with the magic on them being still intact. Due to what happened though, they did not have the spells removed when they started families wherever it was they had hidden themselves. Somehow though, the traits were passed from mother to foals and they looked like and had the traits of their Night Guard parents. They believed this to be a sign of sorts from my sister, that they were to continue to be the Guardians of the Night as they had sworn to her when they had sworn to her when they became Night Guards.
I believe that this shows that mine and my sister's theories in regards to how the crystal ponies came about were correct. The magic must have affected the developing foals within their mothers and created a new tribe. So, too, did the same happen with the Night Guard members who fled into the wilderness. I will admit that there is part of me that is quite... proud, in a sense, that thanks to my sister new tribes came into the world. Not one, but three as each "Normal" tribe now has a "Night Pony" equivalent.
However, once I had been healed, they were about to leave. I stopped them at the last moment asked them of a boon. That boon was of a way to contact them so that I could give them assistance in their duties to the best of my ability. After all, I have my own network of spies and informants and it would greatly enhance the protection that Equestria needs to combine our efforts, if only secretly.
They did not agree then, but told me to wait and they would let me know their reply...
It has been nearly a year, dear Journal. Though some may have despaired, it passed in the blink of an eye for me. Then last night, I heard a sound and entered my sitting area within my quarters to find a "Bat pony". He wished to tell me that their council had come to a decision after much debate. Said decision was that they would give me a way to contact them as needed and that if I had any questions at that moment, I could ask him. None of the questions, of course, were where they had hidden themselves away. No, they might trust me a little, but not that much.
My questions though had to deal with something else.
Over the year that I had waited, I remembered that there was much in regards to these "Night Ponies". I gathered up what information that I could using clones and the like while going over my own materials. It was... most interesting I must admit. From my understanding, the rumors first started just after the now named Century of Strife. Many of those who had seen the Night Guard before they were disbanded were long dead from either old age or the wars and diseases that ravaged the land during the Century of Strife. So sightings of those with the enchantments of the old Night Guard were considered strange, otherworldly even. Especially since they happened at night.
Even I must admit, some of the stories were strange. Some claimed that the night ponies would sneak into homes late at night and exchange infants there for their own. They called the infants "Changelings". Or they replaced the loved ones without one knowing unless they get caught, in which case they would become insect-like equine beings that appeared like corrupted alicorns. I doubt very much if those rumors are true as the magic needed to maintain such a disguise is beyond all but the most powerful of unicorns or alicorns. And if there was another alicorn, or even a tribe, I would know from their magic.
The rest of the stories ran from the plausible to the unbelievable. Such as the one where foals lost in the wilds would be rescued by the night ponies and lead back to civilization, sometimes with them being rescued directly from the jaws of monsters. It was not just foals either as sometimes lost travellers stated that they owed their lives to them. However, there were those that were truly unbelievable. For example, that gathered in isolated glades, glens, valleys, and mountain tops at night. And there, under the stars and moon, they would celebrate the night away.
Sometimes an unwary traveller might stumble upon them and get caught up in their parties and play, dance, and sing as they drank and ate the night ponies' food. What would seem like hours would pass as they had fun, but were in fact days, weeks, months, and years. Having tracked down some of the ponies in the tales though, I found that oftentimes they would fall asleep from drink partway through the night and awaken in the day. Even if they looked around, they would find no other signs of the previous night's celebrations except for them feeling filled and slightly drunk or hung-over.
Now, with an actual night pony in front of me, I could ask. And when I did, he seemed surprised for a moment before he started to laugh. It seems that the stories did contain a kernel of truth after all. For example, they have rescued those lost in the wilderness and then lead them back to civilization. After all, it is their sworn duty as the Night Guard to protect all those in Equestria.
What had brought a tear to my eyes though, was what they told me about their celebrations.
As with me, they had believed they had failed Luna, their Princess. They wondered long and hard about whether there had been anything that they could have done to have prevented her fall and transformation into Nightmare Moon. After some time, they realized, as I had, it was because her night truly was unappreciated. It was then that they decided to change it. No more would the night just be time for rest and work, but also one for fun and laughter. And so they often celebrate under the moon and stars. Gatherings, galas, parties, and feasts! Or they get together in small groups and carouse the night away telling stories, singing songs, and so forth.
It was not just the normal holidays that they held celebrations for either. Oh, like any other they celebrated Hearts and Hooves "Night" as they called it, as well as Hearth's Warming, End of Summer, and so on. But they also brought back my sister's holiday, the one that was just for her as the Summer Sun Celebration was my holiday. which I had believed to have been lost forever in everyponies minds but my own. On the longest night of the year in the depths of winter, they would gather together for a truly stupendous time for the Winter Moon Festival. According to them, where they lived it would be celebrated for days at a time. It is their belief that she might look down upon them from the moon and smile in happiness.
Oh, Luna... part of me only wishes that this was true. But when you return you should rejoice as you and your night are unappreciated no more! These ponies, who owe so much to you both love and adore you and the night! I will admit though, that from the descriptions that I am hoping that perhaps one day I might be allowed to observe and participate in them... perhaps even sing the old songs about your various lives lived and tell the old tales...
Dearest Journal, it has been four centuries now, four lonely centuries without my beloved youngest sister. I still perform my nightly duties including singing a lullaby to my sister. Strangely, since the time when attempted to teleport to the moon, I have been visited at times by her Generals. Never for very long, mind you. A few minutes at the very most is what occurs. They have told me that I should wait for my sister to be returned to me, but I will not. There must be some way for me to do so... but how remains the question.
However, sadly it seems that such any more research shall have to wait. For war is once more upon the horizon and ready to arrive in Equestria. And it seems that it has to do with the Griffin Clans that call the northeastern mountains and offshore islands home. No, my dearest Journal, they are not the ones bringing war to us for they are as much victims as we are.
I had always wondered you know... I knew about the griffin slaves which had fled into the mountains when their masters, the Royal Gryphons, were killed. But when my sister arrived a century later, she found far too many in the northeastern mountains. From what she had told me, the slaves had met another, larger group of griffins. These had come from a far off land beyond the Eastern Sea. They had been driven into the sea by another tribe of griffins in their homeland and sailed west across the sea to flee their fate. Eventually, they came across a large, mountainous archipelago off our eastern shore where they settled. After a time, they spread to the northeastern coast. There, they met the fleeing griffin slaves.
Now it seems that the old enemy tribe has found them and Equestria. Upon my desk lay two scrolls. One is from the High Thane of the Griffin Clans and the other is from the Night Guard. According to the Thane, the other griffins arrived upon their shores in massive sailing vessels. At first, they had assumed that contact would be peaceful, but soon the other group attacked them. They had long wondered where their enemies had fled and now they found them. For the past three years, they have been fighting each other...
But now things have changed. Just three months ago, these "Bittish" griffins captured the southern islands. From there, they have raided Equestrian coastal towns. From what my spymasters have uncovered as has the Night Guard, the Bittish griffins believe that Equestria will fall before them and then they can encircle the Griffin Clans. In fact, they have dismissed any possibility that I raise the sun and moon.
I aim to prove them wrong on all counts.
Upon the morrow, I plan to send courier to the High Thane with word that I shall support him. Equestria shall march to war...
I have some good news, with both our combined forces, both us and the Griffin Clans managed to kick the Bittish off the islands that they have captured for the most part. From what I have been told, it will take a month at least for one of their ships to return to their homeland, after which they will gather more troops. This gives us time to prepare though. Time that I am going to put to good use.
Having considered that they most commonly raided along the sea coast, I have already given the order that we shall fortify our coasts. Two of the major forts under construction are Fort Manehatten upon the island of the same name and the Fort of Baltimare on Horseshoe Bay. Those are easily the two most important port areas on our seaboard and therefore should be protected against pirates. With those two areas secured, it means that the next part of the plan shall go much easier then it would otherwise...
Equestria shall build a navy.
While some of our airships could manage for offense, I need them to cover more of the coast as needed. So I have told the shipbuilders to begin planning and designing ships capable of fighting. We have some luck that Silverbeak, the High Thane, is willing to send builders of his own in order to help. Between the two of us, we might manage it...
We managed to repel another attack on Manehatten. The fortifications there worked perfectly against the attack as expected. However, while we have held, and so, too, have our griffin allies. It's honestly rather strange when one thinks about it. Just a few decades ago, we were borderline hostile toward them and them us. But while I would not call our relationship that of "Friends" quite yet, there is a camaraderie of shared spilled blood, Equestrian and Griffin Clan. And that is fine for right now in my book.
At the same time, though, not all is good news. The Bittish Griffins have taken the Northeastern Mountains. While they have not fully conquered them, they have landed large amounts of troops there. Troops who have begun to spread out and dug in. In the future, we hope to dislodge them but at the moment, the naval battles are more important. That said, I have sent the current version of "Captain Sunny Days Skies" to the northeastern front.
I am highly unsurprised that it seems that she has become respected by our griffin allies there. Now, whether that is because she's competent in battle, or a mad mare, I do not know and cannot decide. One truly has to wonder how it is that every time I make one of these clones, they turn out that way...
There is also a report I received from my Day Guard. A group of their scouts had been tracking some of the enemy griffins as they made their way to Equestria across the wilderness. Said enemies stopped for the night just before the borders and camped. The scouts had sent back one of their number to warn the local garrison commander while the rest stayed behind. They kept an eye on the camp all night, but in the morning there was no activity. By the time the sun rose to midday, they snuck into the camp to make a rather gruesome discovery...
All of the griffins had been killed in the night. Some were even killed in their beds while they had slept. Thankfully for them, they did not test the food or drink as those turned out to have been poisoned. It would be a mystery, except I have an idea as to whom is responsible...
I believe that I shall ask the Night Guard at their next contact if I can send a cask of my finest wine to be shared among whichever group of theirs was responsible. What had occurred now makes the issue of why so few groups make it to our border through the wilderness or why the prisoners we take speak of monsters in the night. The Night Guard was always rather sneaky and seem to have become even more so over the centuries...
With the continued naval harassment, I have decided to go along with one of my advisors' ideas. Dearest Journal, it is rather simple, though it pains me to do so. The idea is to issue forth royal contracts whereupon sailors and fisherponies can use their own ships to attack the enemy ones. Whatever they capture from the ships will have one-quarter given to the crown with the rest split among the captain and the crew. If they capture a ship, they can also keep it. They shall be legal pirates of a sort, operating for the betterment of Equestria.
However, I softly weep inside as I know many of those who take the charters will never return to our shores and may instead find themselves in an eternal rest at the bottom of the sea. Young ponies and others who will become victims to the cannons, arrows, and the like of the enemy griffins. Lives cut so short just to give us breathing room...
One of these 'Privateers' is a former personal student of mine, Sunshine Waters. Her father was a fisherpony and she has grown up around the sea before I took her under my wing. Just four months ago she set out with her crew. Her particular field of magic deals with weather manipulation spells and water influencing spells. Quite good at it, though her favored tactic is to create a giant, thick fog bank as she comes in. While I have not seen her except for when she received her charter, I am quite proud of her though I do worry...
The war is over after six years, for now at least. Both sides have retreated from the field of battle for now and hopefully that will last. There are two reasons for this it seems. One is that the Bittish are currently in a war with a pony nation named Prance. While the Griffin Clans were their ancestral enemies, it seems that the Prench and them have been knocking horns for centuries. The other reason is due to Sunshine Waters.
During one of her raids, she managed to get a hold of some of the nautical maps used by the Bittish before they could destroy them. Because of that, she was able to track down where the Bittish Isles were and, after having confirmed it was accurate, she gathered together a small fleet of privateers. Sunshine then used those ships to attack the Bittish in their own waters. They had thought that her fleet were our navy and due to the shock of having been attacked in their own lands, along with their problems with the Prench, they decided to sue for peace.
Not much has changed though in regards to the peace agreement. Neither I nor the griffin High Thane believe that it will last. In fact, we fully expect that as soon as things calm down between Prance and them, the Bittish will return once more. And I will note that we will be ready and waiting for them.
Yes, by "We" I mean Equestria and the Griffin Clans, dear Journal. Our shared defense has forged strengthened ties between us. Ties that will likely in the future come into good use by both of us. In fact, just this morn I returned to Canterlot after having signed an agreement with the High Thane. Said agreement states that if one is attacked from another nation, then the other will come to its defense.
All of that alone would be reason enough to be happy. The war is over, one of my former personal students has cemented herself into history, and the bonds between Equestria and the Griffin Clans have never been stronger. Yes, all that would be more than enough reason to be happy... However, I have another reason to be happy, dearest Journal.
I have come up with a way to possibly see Luna.
Strangely enough, it came from diamond dog raiders. During the war, there was this one pack that kept raiding places, especially small frontier forts. Normally, that would not raise much of an eyebrow as the Bittish often used to harass us. No, what was certainly not normal was that said forts had shields based on those used by the rebels during the Century of Strife, much modified of course. They often struck at night and overwhelmed the garrisons there before they burnt it to the ground. It was... frustrating and puzzling.
Then they had the bad luck to strike at a fort where Sunny had been staying. It was their big mistake as she managed to rally the Guard to her and then drove them back. As it turned out, they had been tunneling along the bottom edge of the shield until they got deep enough that it ended. Then they would tunnel up at an angle and come out from below the fort. If it was not for the fact that they had killed my little ponies, I would likely be much more impressed with them for the sheer brilliance of the move.
With that said, they reminded me of something and how it could work against the shield the Elements have placed around the moon. I am talking about the Rings of Gothlamog. Said rings are not much to look at since they are only large enough to fit a hoof through. But what makes them amazing is that you can transport items instantly between them, no matter how far apart they are. According to Starswirl, may he rest peacefully in the Summerlands, they dug "Below" our plane of existence. I remember him telling me that reality rests in a series of layers, or "Planes" as he called them. Teleportation only skims along the top most while the rings went much deeper.
And through his research, he said that he had found a way to travel between worlds. Later on, near the end of his life before his disappearance, he crafted a magical mirror which could travel to another world. A world without magic... the thought of which makes me shudder at the thought. But, I do need to travel to another world, just one on my plane of existence. I believe that if I was to make a tunnel that went "Deep" enough down through these layers, then I could bypass the shield around the moon entirely. Thus, allowing me to see dear Luna...
Thankfully, I still have all his notes he had made in the archives under lock and key. Not much information about the mirror, but more than enough to make a base upon. Sadly, I doubt that it would be enough to make this plan work... alone that is. But there is another source of information that I can turn to if she is yet alive. I had found out that she had gained the rings when she had taken out a bunch of bandits and thieves who had stolen them. More then that, she has spent a long time studying them and so has much knowledge on them which I will need.
It seems, dear Journal, that I shall have to pay a very old acquaintance a visit and see if she yet lives. Hopefully, this will be one sleeping dragon who will not mind much..."
Celestia slowly made her way through the massive cave carved underground on the edge of the Everfree. Finally, she reached the end of the tunnel and stopped at a solid wall. For a brief moment, the alicorn looked around before she frowned and called out in draconic, the language of dragons. "[GARNET? WHERE ARE YOU?]"
A few seconds later she froze as the biggest eyeball she had ever seen opened up in front of her. So huge was it, her body was smaller then the pupil. And then it pulled away to reveal that the "Wall" had been in fact the face of a sleeping dragon before it spoke, its voice like a landslide. "[Celestia... It has been a long time...]"
With sure movements, Celestia walked out so that she could fully see the draco invictus in front of her. There was a frown as she looked around for something only not to see it. "[Where is-]"
The dragon cut her off with a swipe of her hand, easily able to crush entire groups of buildings beneath it. However, Celestia could see her glance at a corner and when she did as well, she noticed a massive and nearly unmoving form seemingly merged with the rock. "[Gone... he slipped into the Final Slumber two decades ago and I will soon join him... Now, what is it that you want.]"
Having given a saddened look at the ancient dragon, Celestia took a deep breath as she saw the lights glint off her scaled, lavender hide. "[I have come to ask for some help from you...]" When she saw the narrowed eyes, she got down on her forelegs and bowed her head. "[I beg of you, please...]"
When she heard the huff and felt the smoke billow around her, she looked up to see an amused look on Garnet's muzzle. "[Good... seems that you have finally learned some humility and become the alicorn that I once called friend again...]" Her next words caused Celestia to flinch and hang her head. "[I am only saddened that it took, from what I have heard, the loss of your sister to her banishment.]" A moment later, the tip of one of the dragoness' talons came down and gently raised her head. "[I did miss you all these years, my old friend... and I am glad that you have finally come here, at the twilight of my life.]"
As she blinked back tears, Celestia softly nuzzled the claw before she spoke, her voice breaking. "[And I am thankful for that...]" Then the dragoness asked her what she needed and after she took a breath, Celestia began to tell her. Once she was finished, she looked up to see the massive dragoness silent with her eyes close. "[Garnet?]"
Both eyes opened and stared down at her as they searched her own. Finally, she nodded. "[I do indeed have the knowledge that you are looking for, Celestia. I studied the gates for many centuries, unravelling their magics... but such a knowledge comes with a price from me, you must understand...]"
Her back straightened, Celestia stared at her defiantly. "[Then I shall pay it! Anything to reunite with my sister once more!]"
However, a moment later she flinched as Garnet blew a gust of smoke at her, the wind having nearly knocked her off her hooves. "[Do not make promises such as that without knowing what the price is, Celestia Dawnstar. Just be thankful that my price is not a large one...]" Her talon glowed for a moment before an egg that was light lavender with darker spots on it. Before Celestia could say anything though, Garnet spoke up. "[Yes... this is my egg, mine and Dark Spire's. Before you even ask, I researched long and hard to find a way for us to have hatchlings though one of us could not. And just twenty years ago, I created the spell that allowed this little miracle to occur... But he slipped into the Final Slumber soon after and I can feel it coming upon myself. Part of my price is this... Take care of him and have him raised among you ponies. I wish for him to have a happy life and you ponies are the best bet for that as once I slip into the Final Slumber, I will be unable to take care of him.]"
Celestia took a step forward with curiosity on her face. "[And the rest of your price?]"
For a moment, Celestia could see pure pain on the dragoness' face before she got her answer why afterward. "[Until he is an adult, do not tell him who his parents are, it is too dangerous for both him and Equestria otherwise...]" When she noticed that Celestia was about to say something, she growled. "[No! There are reasons why, Celestia. Reasons that you do not know of which have to do with other dragons... if they found out about who his parents were, they would stop at nothing to kill him, even if it meant destroying most of Equestria in the process. He would be a threat to them as an adult.]"
Her eyes wide, the Princess of the Day frowned. "[But... why would they do such a thing? And how could he be a threat as an adult?]"
There was silence before Garnet sighed. "[I sometimes forget... that for all Luna and yourself are quite old, there is much that you do not know, especially about dragons...]" She gestured for Celestia to sit, which she did. "[A dragon passes on a portion of their power to their offspring. Not much! Just one third of each parent's power will be inherited by their hatchling. And before you ask, there are two reasons why each generation does not become more and more powerful... one, is that most dragons have hatchlings when they're young adults, before they begin to grow into their full potential. Which means that the dragons don't truly grow very powerful anymore. The other...]" Garnet trailed off before she shook it off. "[The other is cultural. To prevent a truly powerful dragon from being born, dragons beyond a certain age are forbidden from mating and having a hatchling. If they are just old, they are... discouraged, from having one. Older then that, and they will find themselves and any hatchling killed by the others. Even if it means coming as a giant flight of many dragons including Great Wyrms and destroying all in their path.]"
Silent, Celestia looked down at the egg and blinked. "[And because your egg is the result of two draco invicti mating, then it would be...]"
Slowly, the dragoness nodded. "[He shall grow to be powerful beyond belief. I suspect that when he becomes an adult, he would be able to defeat dragons far more powerful then himself with ease. And as he grows older still?]" There was a roll of her shoulders as she shrugged. "[That is another reason for him to be raised among the ponies. He would absorb your morals and much... nicer, mannerisms. It shall help him not become like... others have, when given such power.]" For a brief moment, Garnet's eyes gazed far into the past to another time. "[Both myself and Dark Spire still remember the village of ponies we took under our wing and protected from others... they may have moved elsewhere with the village itself being no more, but they were our family in more ways then other dragons were... And it is my fondest hope that my young one will grow in a similar environment. Perhaps he'll become a protector of ponies like his parents...]"
As she held the egg gently, Celestia sighed. "[Garnet, I swear that I shall follow your wishes.]"
However, the mother dragoness leaned down and once more Celestia could taste the power in the air from the massive and ancient being before her. "[Not good enough Celestia... swear that you will care for him. SWEAR UPON BOTH YOUR PARENTS AND LUNA'S NAME!]"
With a gulp, Celestia took a breath. "[I, Celestia Dawnstar hereby do solemnly swear to follow Garnet Star's directions. I swear upon the graves of my parents and upon my sister, Luna's, name.]"
Silence descended upon the cave before Garnet pulled away and gestured at a wall, part of it moving to form an entrance as if the rock was nothing but clay. "[The knowledge that you seek is within there, Celestia. Use it wisely... But before anything else, know that I hope that if my hatchling shows signs of being a dragon mage, that when he is ready and can both read and speak the language of dragons, that you gift him my spellbooks...]"
Before Celestia's wide eyes, Garnet slowly sank to the floor, her huge bulk laid out. "[Ga-Garnet? What is wrong?!]"
All Garnet did was to smile at her gently before she looked toward her egg, her voice barely a whisper and carried a great tiredness and happiness. "[I have felt the Final Slumber coming upon me for the past few years, Celestia... But I have held out far longer... then a normal dragon could have... for my egg. And now? Now... that he shall be safe and shall be raised with love... and care... I find myself unable to fight it anymore... I am only sad... that I shall never see him hatch or grow...]" She gave a small shake as her eyes slowly closed to the sight of the grief-stricken Celestia. "[Do not cry my friend... I have lived so long... this is like going to sleep after a very, very long day... And I will soon be with Dark Spire and hear his voice and feel his love... in a place other... then my memories...]" Her chest gave a shudder as her eyes fully closed. "[Perhaps I shall see you... again... some day, my old friend...]"
Through the tears that streamed down her cheeks, Celestia flew down with the egg secure in her magic before she trotted up and gave her oldest living friend outside of Luna a nuzzle as she tried to speak past the lump in her throat. "[Per... perhaps we shall, someday...]"
While her lips curled upward, Garnet let out a sigh. "[If he ever asks about his parents... while you will keep who we are... secret... tell him... tell him that we loved him very much and are sorry... we weren't there but in spirit... and that we will always... watch over... him...]"
And with that, Garnet Star, the greatest and most knowledgeable dragon mage ever seen by Equestria, friend to Celestia, slipped into the Final Slumber from which she would never awake. A smile upon her muzzle knowing that her final duty was done and her most precious treasure was safe. Said treasure was cradled close to Celestia as she softly cried in the dark cave...
Dearest Journal, it has been more then a few centuries since Garnet slipped into her final slumber. It is something that happens to draco invicti where their fires slowly flicker and die. After that, their bodies petrify and become one with the rock their legends say they were born from, their blood crystallizing within their bodies. Beside me, in a hot stone lined crate, is her egg. It strangely has not hatched through some of my research has told me that is nothing to worry about. Due to it needing infusions of magic in order to incubate, I have used it to test the power of the unicorns coming into my school. The egg itself is never in danger, that I have made sure of.
It may have been centuries since her death, and Equestria has gone through good times and bad. Over the centuries, we have had more wars with the Bittish Isles, though the last was decades ago and it seems the world has become... while not exactly peaceful, quiet perhaps. And Equestria has grown to become the largest and most powerful nation in the world. I wonder how Luna will react to that... or how other things have changed.
One of the two biggest is that, though it was a lot of work, ponies now adore her night. They have what are called "Night Clubs" where they gather and party into the night. In disguise, I have gone to some of these and they are quite fun. There are also groups who gather to gaze through telescopes and wonder about the universe above them. Poets, theatre, songs, novels... all these about the night. Now the night is nothing to fear any longer. Though I do hope that she never finds out about a group of children's stories or realizes that I was the one who authored and are somewhat based them off her. They're about a princess on the moon and her adventures. She never did like the nickname of 'Woona' after all, no matter how cute her expression was...
The other is that foul night called "Nightmare Night". That was a rather large amount of work to steer ponies toward what it is now over the years. Where once it was a night of fear and anger, now it has softened. Ponies and others still use it to frighten, but it is also a night of fun and pranks with foals running around in costumes to gather up candy and other treats. Even the Night Guard like it, if only because of it being the one night a year that they can freely mingle with the average citizen of Equestria and not stand out. After all, most just assume that they're good costumes.
Speaking of the Night Guard, for the past century I have been invited some of their gatherings and celebrations. In particular the Winter Moon Celebration where I dress up as my sister and raise the moon in her honor. However, I cannot wait until she returns for her to perform the action. It is my hope that my plans come to fruition for when she returns in about seventeen years. At the moment, I am attempting to push my current personal student, Sunset Shimmer, toward making friends so that she can learn the magic of friendship and awaken the Elements of Harmony. If one whose actions were not as tarnished as my own does so, and uses them, then it should bring back my sister. And she may become an alicorn herself.
Yes, an alicorn. For years I had thought that one would need to be born one due to what I suspect was my parents' and uncle's plan in regard to the tribes. But just a year ago, I felt a pull to go to the astral realm and found there a pink pegasus. Her name was Mi Amore Cadenza, though she goes by the name of Cadence. Still feeling the need to perform an action, I did so and she transformed into an alicorn! Her special talent, it seems, is love. Remarkable and since she needed a powerful magical artifact and to master a form of magic when it was used, I suspect I know how to allow another to ascend. I found an unfinished spell in a book of Starswirl's during my research. If one were to complete it who knows of the magic of friendship, along with the Elements of Harmony being used, then they should ascend to alicornhood. I think that will be Sunset.
However, that is not all the good news that I have.
I have finally completed my greatest work. With this, I can finally create my gateway to the moon after centuries of work and research. Already, I have gathered the materials I needed and built this end of the gateway. Said gateway goes deeper then I had originally planned, to the depths that Starswirl's mirror goes, but it is not supposed to connect to another dimension. Rather, it will connect to the moon and, with any luck, I shall step out onto its surface to greet and speak with my sister.
That is not to say that I will not be prepared though since it could be the Nightmare I meet, still in control of my sister's body. If so, I will use a spell of my own creation which knocks the soul controlling a body out of it for a time. Casting it upon Nightmare Moon should banish her from Luna's body long enough for me to speak with her. To power the spell, not only will I use magic storing crystals, but also I will take the risk and connect with the sun and draw some power from it. I did learn from the last time though and set up a way to bleed off the excess energies. Within two months, during the summer months, I shall create a clone to take my place and then perform the spell...
For several moments, Celestia just laid there on what seemed like a stone floor of some sort before her eyes slowly opened . 'Ugh... what happened...' She tried her best to ignore the smell of ozone in the air along with the feeling of every inch of her fur standing on end. It didn't help matters that her skin itched from the magic in the air. Meanwhile, the alicorn went back over the events that had landed her here. 'I had done the spell and then...'
Suddenly, her eyes popped open in surprise before she shut them tightly as she remembered. The spell had worked and worked its way through the lower layers of reality until it reached the point where it ascended toward the moon. But just before it connected, the barrier the Elements had set up struck and shredded the end of the spell. Like a snake with its head cut off, the spell flailed around in the interdimensional spaces it was in, despite Celestia having tried her best to stop it. Then... 'Then the spell hit something and connected... another tunnel, but without a destination? What kind of idiot would do something like that...'
A sigh then escaped her. 'Well... besides myself apparently... Oh, Luna... I am so sorry...' It was then that she heard something and her ears tilted toward the sound. The sound that Celestia recognized as that of a body shifting and fabric as it slid across stone. '... I'm not alone...'
She opened her eyes and spotted the source at the same time the creature spotted her. "... Bloody fucking hell... Did I have my sister's boyfriend's special brownies again...!?"
Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling.
"Hello"-Normal Speaking
"Interesting..."-Nightmare Moon speaking
'Huh.' -Normal thoughts.
'All mine...' Nightmare Moon's thoughts
As she flipped through an encyclopedia, Nightmare blinked as she noticed a picture of a gemstone and then raised an eyebrow at the price. "What is the deal with this price for it? I could buy a gemstone of the same size and cut for just a hoofful of bits in Equestria..."
Intrigued, Luna glanced over her shoulder as the rain outside pattered against the window. "Hmm? Oh, right, the Cullian Diamond." She then hummed as she tilted her head. "That is something that I have always found odd, gemstones in this world are worth far more then their weights compared to similar ones back home."
Having heard a slight snort, they turned to see Harry where he laid upon the bed with a book. The young human flushed as he noticed as they raised one eyebrow each at him in askance. "Um... sorry about that..."
Luna just shook her head as she got up and trotted over to the bed before she hopped up on it. "No, it's okay." She ignored the grumble from the doll at the desk before she laid down beside her friend and looked up at him. "So then, do you know why gems are so expensive?"
For a moment, Harry scratched his chin. "Well... they're pretty rare actually, even small ones." He blinked as he got disbelieving looks from his friends and shrugged. "What? They are rare."
The plush shook her head. "But that makes no sense! Gemstones can easily be grown, hay, you can't dig much without stumbling across one at least the size of my eye after some time!"
He just shrugged again. "Must be another difference between our worlds." Harry then gestured in the air. "If I remember what I've heard correctly, gemstones formed in rocks millions of years ago." The human remembered something that she said and blinked. "Wait... ponies grow gemstones!?"
With a snicker, Luna nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes." She then shook her head. "Gemstones have many uses, especially in those items that use magic." At his interested look, she continued. "In fact, gemstones are one of the types of material that can store and channel magic highly efficiently."
From the desk, Nightmare chimed in. "Back in Equestria, gemstones naturally formed in the soil there. They're so common that dragons can use them for a food source and areas hardly ever got depleted of them." She then tapped her chin. "I remember one theory that the amount of magic in the soil was what caused it."
Having given her counterpart a nod, Luna smiled. "But they can have flaws and only flawless gemstones are the most effective for magic, and those are rather rare in the natural environment. So, first the Earth Ponies figured out a way to grow a just about flawless gemstone using their magic. The resulting rock farms are usually located in locales where normal crops can't be grown except with a lot of magical help, such as extremely rocky ground. It helps that the ground in such areas have an abundance of the material for the gemstones to use to grow."
Nightmare leaned back and tapped her chin with her hoof thoughtfully. "Of course, the unicorns before unification, not wanting to be reliant upon the Earth Ponies for such a strategic material, found a way of growing their own gemstones..." She then frowned. "Granted, said way needs quite the amount of magic and can only create small numbers of gemstones at once..." Her thoughts then turned back to the encyclopedia in thought. ‘Hmm... so gemstones here are expensive enough that people will pay a large amount of money for them...’ She turned so that the other two could not see the smirk on her face. ‘Yes... I can use this...’
The houses along Privet Drive were all dark as their inhabitants slept peacefully through the night, not having known what was outside darting around the bags of garbage left for pickup. Soon the small shadow stepped out into the light to reveal Nightmare who had wrapped plastic sheets around her and had a small burlap bag on her waist as a makeshift saddlebag. "Now where are you..." Her horn softly glowed as she closed her eyes and then concentrated. "Hmm... Ah, there you are..."
She quickly crossed the street and stopped in front of a garbage bag which she ripped a hole into with her magic. Nightmare grumbled some as she winkled her nose at the smell, but then a what looked like broken shards of a mirror drifted out encased in her magic. With a wave of her horn, they settled into her saddlebag, though she soon frowned as she sensed more of what she needed inside the bag. 'Great... going to have to come back once I drop off my current haul..." Nightmare rapidly made her way to where the park was before she headed to a rock pile. With some effort and grunts, she squeezed through the rocks to a small cavity inside the pile of boulders where she dumped out her bag, small and damaged earrings, a bent fork, and shards of a mirror fell out.
Nightmare looked at it in thought and then looked at the other bits of metal that she could only see due to her being able to see in pitch darkness. "Hmm... Not bad for a few weeks worth..." She then took a sniff of herself and recoiled. "Ugh... disgusting..." The plush then shook it off as she sighed. "This will be worth it though..." She then readjusted the strap for her sack and back out as she had many streets to cover before she had to call it quits as the pre-dawn light began to creep over the horizon.
As she climbed up the waterspout, having hidden the sack, Nightmare grunted. ‘I can’t wait for my bath... it’s a good thing that I do not shy away from using my own hooves if needed... though I wish that I didn’t in this case...’
The next night, Nightmare brought the various metallic items and mirror shards to the top of the pile and slowly floated them as she looked first toward where she could sense the New Moon below the horizon before she turned the shaped stone bowl before her and sighed as she closed her eyes. ‘Now then...’ She felt the familiar power of her magic as she channeled it. Unseen by her, the various bits and pieces floated up into the air surrounded by her aura. Over the next few minutes, they began to glow as they heated up until they were melted. Nightmare grimaced as she concentrated, her felt tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth.
They slowly congealed into a small orb before it began to spin. Slowly, a layer formed around it which was scraped off by Nightmare’s magic and placed onto a large, flat rock where it ran down its surface as smoke rose from it. Finally, whatever she was aiming for was finished as she had an orb the size of her head of faintly glowing metal. The plush then let out a sigh of exhaustion as she opened her eyes to see it and shook her head to fight off the exhaustion that gripped her. "Come on then... one last spell..." She cast it and the orb flashed purple before she slowly set it down onto the stone bowl, the metal slowly becoming silvery as it cooled still farther, but stayed in a semi-molten state. ‘Good... the hard part is now finished...’ Nightmare then leaned back and her eyes closed as she rested. ‘That was much more difficult then I could have imagined originally.’ With a sigh, Nightmare leaned back and stared at where she could sense this world’s moon was despite it yet being below the horizon as she ignored the slowly cooling molten metal as well as the stone bowl.
Shortly before the pre-dawn hours, Nightmare brought the bowl back into the rocky hollow inside the pile. And each night after that for the entire lunar cycle, she would bring it out and heat it up as she left it in a semi-molten state under the moon using her magic.
A full lunar cycle had passed and the now slightly exhausted Nightmare down from the rock she stood on to the molten metal in the stone bowl. ‘Ugh... damn those Elements for taking away so much of my power...’ She then looked at a small bottle of water which seemed to glow softly in the night next to a larger bucket. Water that through her magic, Nightmare had had absorb the distilled moonlight. ‘And that was even harder.’ Getting up onto her feet, Nightmare let out a breath as her horn began to glow. The molten metal slowly rose up and formed a sphere that floated in the air before her. Then, ever so slowly, the metal began to spin and was shaped within the magic, a small blob coming off it and floating to the side. Eventually, it formed what looked like a vase.
She waited until the metal cooled down more before she lifted up a small nail and dipped it into the water contained in the bottle as she tilted the ‘Vase’ and showed that it was hollow. She then bit her tongue in thought. ‘Now then... what were those arrays... right!’ With a nod, she pulled the nail from the water and maneuvered it into the metal object and pressed it against the metal on the inside where it hissed as she drew a symbol. She continued this for the rest of the night, the metal kept at a temperature where it was soft enough to gouge, but not molten enough to fall apart.
Nightmare suddenly blinked as she started falling forward before she shook it off and looked inside. "Hmm... yes, that seems about right..." She then turned to the other piece of metal and shaped it before she used the nail on it. It was around the time when the moon set that she was done and she sighed. "Finally... it’s done. And not a moment too soon!" Nightmare picked up the bottle and dumped it into the larger bucket before she slowly lowered the two metal objects into it with a hiss of steam.
Once the water stopped steaming, she pulled it out and looked at it as she turned over the two and then fitted them together to show that they looked uncannily like a small silver urn with the hollow part the size of her head. The plush then nodded as she yawned. "Ugh... I feel like I am going to sleep for days from this... should be worth it though..."
Later that day, Harry frowned as he picked up the obviously tired Nightmare and ran his hand along her mane. "Are you feeling okay, Nightmare?" As she glanced at him, he frowned as his eyes showed his worry for her. "You’ve been pretty tired lately..."
With a cough, Luna looked away. "Yes, we’re both worried for you."
For a moment, Nightmare was struck with a warm feeling in her chest before she chuckled a bit and shook her head. "Neither of you two need to worry. I’ve just been working on a project of mine that is all..."
After she heard the door slam shut as Petunia left to go gossip with the neighbours, Nightmare got up from the bed and made her way downstairs. She looked out the window and nodded. ‘Good, she should be gone for about an hour or two.’ The alicorn then made her way to the medicine cabinet and opened it to look around as she muttered to herself. "Now then... where would... ah! There we go!"
With her magic, Nightmare pulled out an old medicine container which was empty. She then walked over to the sink and washed it out as she whistled a tune to herself before she stopped and dried it out. Once that was done, she hopped down from the sink and made her way to Harry’s room where the plush pulled out a loose floorboard which contained what looked like drill bits and the urn from before.
As she picked up one of them, she brought it close to her face as she placed a piece of paper on the floor. "Rather nice for Harry’s... relatives... to have these. As well as let me have them." She then felt her lips twitch in dark humor. Nightmare then focused on one of the shiny specks in the drill bit and, using her magic, pried it out. Once she had finished with each speck, she folded the paper to make a funnel and slowly shook the specks into the container. She then put the bit back into the floor hollow and pulled out another.
The alicorn then brought the container up to her eye level and looked inside as she gently shook it while each speck inside sparkled. "Yes... this will do nicely indeed." That night found her outside the Dursleys with a tin can and some newsprint. As Nightmare felt the slight chill in the air, she chuckled while her forehooves rubbed together. "Ah... the perfect night for this..." She then went back inside and brought out a small bottle of water as well as a match. Setting the match down, the plush stuffed the tin can with the paper before she pulled out the match and struck it. She the dropped it into the can, which caused the paper to catch fire. The rest of the night involved her feeding the fire bits of paper and putting out the few bits that drifted out.
That morning, once Harry had left for school with Luna, she brought out the metal container, the can full of ashes, and the small container. Nightmare poured some of the ashes from the can into the metal container before she unscrewed the lid for the container and pulled out three specks.
‘These should do for now...’ She then laid them on top of the ashes in the container before she covered them with more ash. Once it was full, her horn glowed until the ashes did themselves and then she put on the top and hid it. ‘And there we go...’
"NIGHTMARE!"
The plush jumped a bit from where she had been sitting in the Gryffindor dorms before she turned with a shaky smile. "Luna, how... unexpected..."
Luna just raised an eyebrow as she stood up on her back legs and tapped one hoof on the floor as she stared down her darker counterpart. "What exactly is it that you’re doing..." And before Nightmare could have done anything, she snatched away what looked like an urn and brought it up to eye level. "What the hay...?" The alicorn shook it and raised an eyebrow as she heard something hard bounce around a bit inside. "What is in here?"
It was then snatched from her grasp by Nightmare’s magic before the plush brought it down to where she could hold it. She then looked looked around suspiciously. "Can you keep a secret?" Luna just nodded and Nightmare removed the cap before she brought out what looked like a lump the size of an eye. And then in a flash of magic, the soot that covered it vanished to reveal a rather large diamond. "There, happy?"
For a moment, Luna was too shocked to do anything before she then looked closer at the urn and felt her eyes widen. "That’s an old style Unicornia Gem Urn, isn’t it? But how..." She then frowned. "And it’s made from... Moonsilver!? Where the hay would you get the silver to transmute in the first place!? And we can’t concentrate enough moonlight to imbue the silver in the first place!"
With a snort, Nightmare shook her head. "As for the first, you would be surprised at how many items humans use even small amounts of silver in. Or what they would throw out."
She ignored Luna’s eyebrow as it twitched. "You know... I suddenly remember about how the summer before last had a bunch of garbage bags ripped open on Private Drive a number of times. From memory they blamed cats and homeless people... Tell me that you didn’t..."
Nightmare just coughed into her hoof. "Right, no comment." She then gestured out the window. "As to where I got the magic, the moon in this world is just as magical as back home." The plush alicorn then frowned in thought. "It was actually easier for some reason as the moonlight here seems to allow for transformations to occur easier then back home with it..."
With a sigh, Luna sat down and shook her head. "Why am I even surprised..." She then looked at the diamond in thought. "Why did you even do this? You know that selling diamonds would catch interest that could get Harry in trouble."
As she grinned, Nim shook her head. "Well, I had figured that having a nice nest egg might be worth it." She then chuckled. "However, I found out while we were in the alley that goblins don’t care where the gemstones that are sold to them come from. In fact, they would rather that they did not know."
The lighter blue alicorn raised an eyebrow. "One, you are selling to the goblins? And two, why?"
While she shook her head, Nightmare looked around in order to make sure that none were nearby who could overhear. "That has to do with the second reason that I am keeping this a secret right now. Especially with how I am selling to the goblins, though it’s less selling and more using them as payment." She then leaned forward. "What do you know of goblin weapons?"
Already having guessed where this might be going, Luna frowned. "I know that they’re highly prized by wizards and that they are highly effective weapons... not much more then that." She then looked around before she leaned down. "You’re getting one for Harry, aren’t you?"
With a grin, Nightmare chuckled. "Yes, a dagger in fact." She then frowned. "It’ll be highly useful for him to use if he gets attacked again and loses his wand. Also, it would be easier for him to use then a sword." At Luna’s interested look, she continued. "As for Goblin weapons, they are made from a substance known as ‘Goblin Silver’. From what I read, the metal repels dirt and blood while it takes in that which can only make it stronger. For example, an apparently old trick of the goblins was to dip their armor in the blood of dragons to make it magic resistant, which allowed them to shrug off spells to an extent. They’re also considered to be nearly indestructible as it takes powerful magic to destroy a blade, such as some spell called ‘Fiendfyre’. That attribute also makes sure that the blade never needs sharpening."
Luna thought it over before she slowly nodded. "You’re right... that is rather useful and should make for a good backup weapon incase he loses his wand." Suddenly, she frowned some. "But Harry already has his dagger, and it is rather effective as it is."
There was silence for several moments before Nightmare sighed and rubbed her head. "Yes, you are right that the dagger he already has is rather effective, but due to that it's unlikely that Harry would be comfortable using it even if he lost his wand unless there truly was no choice." Having seen the expression on her other half's face, Nim grimaced. "Remember, from what we know due to the fight with Quirrel just a week ago, just a cut from it can lead to death... rather horrible death at that. So the chances that Harry would feel comfortable using it outside of having no choice..."
Slowly, Luna nodded with her own grimace. "Is very low. So having a normal dagger to fall back onto would be preferable to not having him armed in some way or hesitant to use a weapon he has..." She then gave Nim a questioning glance. "Do you have a design ready for it at the least?"
As she smirked, Nightmare chuckled. "Oh? I suppose that you wish to give me a helping hoof?" At Luna’s nod, she thought it over and smiled as she gave a nod. "I see no issue with that, it can come from us both..." Nightmare then looked around and ducked into the trunk, Luna following. She then trotted over to a book and opened it to reveal a folded up piece of parchment which she unfolded to show a dagger design similar to the Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife. "Now then, I was thinking..." The two soon settled into a discussion as they added their ideas and thoughts as well as opinions as they worked...
Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling.
"Hello"-Normal Speaking
'Huh.' -Normal thoughts.
'All mine...' Nightmare Moon's thoughts
Luna watched from where she laid on a lumpy mattress as Harry shoved things into a small, worn backpack with interest. "Harry?" Having gotten a nod from the seven year old, she tilted her head to the side and continued. "Why are you packing?"
With a slight smile, Harry looked up at her. "Aunt Petunia wants me gone for the day, so they told me to go wherever I wanted as long as they can't see me." He hadn't noticed the scowl on Luna's face as he pulled on his backpack. "Which means that I'm free for the day!"
Suddenly, Harry turned thoughtful. Several moments passed before he turned bashful. "Um... Luna?"
As she raised an eyebrow, Luna shook off her normal annoyance with her human friend's family. "Yes, Harry? Is there something wrong?"
For a few seconds, Harry looked around before he leaned in. "Can you keep a secret?"
There was a twinkle in the alicorn's eye as she nodded seriously. "Oh, yes. If you tell me a secret then you can be sure that I would never tell it without your permission." With a flap of her wings, she lifted off the bed and glided down to stand beside him. Then she looked around and leaned in with the amused twinkle in her eye growing stronger as she whispered softly. "Now... what's this secret?"
Once more giving a look around, Harry bit his lip some. "Well... I want to show you a really special place, but you can't tell anyone where it is..."
Her eyes wide, Luna blinked as if she was surprised by what he said. "A special place? And you want to show me it?"
While he bit his lip, Harry looked at her smile. "Uh-huh... Are you sure that you want to see it?"
At that, her smile widened as she nodded. "I would love to see any place that you call special, Harry."
The bright smile on Harry's face more then made her day and that was before he hugged her. "Thank you."
All she did was return the hug though she could hear Nightmare scoff in her head. 'It's probably nothing that great, Little Princess.'
Internally, Luna rolled her eyes at her darker half as she mentally scowled. 'It's important to him and that's what is important. Now hush.'
Soon after, they left the house for the day and Luna trotted in the warm air. Not too long later, the two walked past where some houses had begun to be built at the edges of Little Whinging. Suddenly, Harry picked a stick off the path and twirled it at Luna as he grinned. "En guarde, Luna!"
With a gasp, Luna held her hoof against her chest. "Hark! A foul brigand hast appeared!"
Harry just grinned even more. "Indeed, that is what I am..." He then blinked and trailed off some. "Um... what's a brigand?"
A chuckle escaped from Luna as she shook her head. "It's a word for a highwaypony... a bandit."
Frowning, Harry scratched his chin in confusion. "Like... Robin Hood?"
Slowly, Luna shook her head as she also shrugged. "Well... not all of them were as nice or good as Robin."
While his cheeks puffed out, Harry shook his head. "I don't think that I want to be a bandit then..." His expression then brightened some. "Hey! How about a knight then? You're a princess after all!"
Humming, Luna made a show of thinking it over before she nodded. "Very well! You shall me my knight! Please, give Us your sword!" His face split in a grin, Harry handed her his "Sword" and bent at the knee. With a serious expression, Luna tapped the sword to either shoulder and then on his head. "We hereby pronounce thee, Sir Harry of the Moon!"
When he was given back his sword, Harry gave a nod and his best impression of a knightly salute, which caused Luna to bite her lip in order not to laugh. "My lady, I shall be your knight and we shall go upon our quest!"
The alicorn gave him her best imperious expression. "Very well, Sir knight. Please, lead Us on." For a few moments Luna managed to hold her expression but then she snorted and dissolved into giggles followed by Harry. "Oh... oh my, that was rather fun." A few seconds passed as they shared a look before they laughed again. Once he got his giggles under control, Harry skipped ahead some. With smiles, the two continued to have fun as they hopped across a small river that went around Little Whinging by making a game of it. Luna smiled at the happy look on her friend's face. 'I haven't had fun like this since Celly and I were foals...'
Neither of the two noticed a disturbance up the stream some as something moved under the surface. At the same time, Harry reached the other bank and looked around before he frowned with a sigh. "Huh... guess it's not here today..."
That caused Luna to look in the same direction that Harry did only to see an empty meadow. "Something the matter?"
Harry just sighed some as they did not notice the ripples come to a stop close by. "Sometimes there's this cool horse here. Don't know who owns it, but it's very friendly."
Behind them, a black furred horse's head with yellow, luminous eyes rose out of the water to observe them as Luna blinked. "A horse, huh? Well, if we do see it I would like to meet it, even if it can't talk." The creature behind them seemed to smile before it's head whipped around. Luna then turned her head as she heard something only to see ripples that spread out across the stream. "Wonder what that was?"
With a frown, Harry looked himself and then shrugged. "Probably a big fish like a pike is all, I heard that you can catch them here."
After some thought, Luna shrugged. "You're probably right."
Having decided to just ignore it, the two walked off along the dirt path not knowing that behind them, someone else was following. As he grumbled, the man looked in the direction that Harry was in and then at the stones. For a brief moment, he considered just apparating across, but decided not to just in case anyone was watching. After all, he didn't want any witnesses to what he was about to do if possible and he didn't know if the boy had any nearby guards. To that end, he started to cross the river on the same stones that Harry had as if he was just someone who had been walking the same path and nothing else. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he searched the area for the source of the feeling. Just as he was about to dismiss it, he caught sight of something from the corner of his eye and looked down into the river to see two eyes that stared up at him with barely hidden glee. "Shi-"
Up ahead on the path, Harry and Luna heard a loud splash and turned around to see large ripples spreading out from the river along with a few bubbles. "What the hay was that?"
While she searched the area, Luna frowned some as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion though she noted that some water fowl had taken to the air. "Hmm... probably nothing but a big fish... or maybe one of those pike grabbed a duck possibly..." She shook it off and turned back to Harry. "Nothing to worry about I think... So how far are we from where you want to take me?"
The young boy put the stick he had under one arm as he placed both hands behind his head. "Not too far actually..." And with that, the two began walking again not having noticed the clinching hand that rose above the surface of the river for a moment before it was yanked back under.
Several minutes later, they were crossing a field when Luna noticed various small, round hills around them. "Harry?" Having gotten a sound from him, she gestured at the hills. "What are those?"
Harry glanced at them and frowned. "Oh, those are the Little Whinging Barrows."
That caused Luna to blink in some confusion before her mind connected the word with something that she had read. "Barrows? Aren't those prehistoric grave sites which have a hill erected over them?"
All Harry did was nod as he glanced at them. "Yeah... There's supposed to be all sorts of stories about them." When Luna asked him what sorts of stories, he shrugged. "Supposedly they're homes to the Good Folk and sometimes if you're on them, you can feel movement underneath you as well as sounds from deep below the surface. Then you have stories about people going missing and such who got taken." There was a frown on Harry's head as they walked past the barrows. "I remember one that my teacher told us... A man was taken by them and held for what seemed to him like hours, but when he finally escaped the barrow he turned to dust because instead centuries had passed."
Neither of the two noticed how cracks formed in some of the barrows they had passed with eyes inside that watched them. Nor did they hear the soft giggles that drifted out. Then, just as quietly as they had cracked open, the barrows closed up. Not having noticed, Luna hummed before she glanced at Harry. "So... do you believe in them?"
With a blink, Harry turned and looked at her. "Believe in who?"
Luna waved a hoof around. "The Fair Folk, of course."
For about a minute, Harry was quiet before he answered. "I... don't really know if I do or not, Luna. If you told me before I met you that alicorns existed, I would have not believed you, so..." Then the young boy shrugged as he turned around and started to walk backwards so that he could face Luna. "Maybe they could exist? Never seen or met one myself though."
The alicorn thought this over before she nodded. "I suppose... still, they make for interesting stories at the least!" It was then that she noticed a hill that rose above the others which was crowned by a forest glade. "Is that where we're heading?"
As he grinned, Harry nodded. "Yeah, it's a place inside the woods up there."
Soon after, the duo began to climb the hill. As they did so, Luna noticed that there was the remains of an old road that slowly wound around the hill toward the top. 'Hmm... judging by how hard it is to pick out the road, this must be a really old place...'
She blinked as she heard Nightmare's snide voice inside her head. 'And it's obvious that you have not noticed, but look at the barrows, they're arraigned around the hill most interestingly. I do believe that there is also some kind of earthen berm at the bottom that encircles the hill.'
With a glance, Luna slowly nodded. 'I can see it now actually...' Not too long later, they entered the woods at the top of the hill. As they walked through the woods, Luna noted there seemed to be another berm around the top of the hill. She also noted that there were stones that laid on the ground, though a few stood up still. 'Standing stones, perhaps?'
Finally, they reached their destination which turned out to be a small clearing in the glade. In the middle, there was a spring that bubbled as it fed a small stream, which itself entered a deep pool. There was a large stone above the stream which Luna ignored as Harry rubbed one arm. "So, um... what do you think?"
Her smile caused him to relax. "It's peaceful." What she didn't let him know, though, was that she was slightly unnerved by how the only sounds came from the breeze in the branches above as well as the bubbling of the spring and stream. "Really peaceful actually..."
Nightmare then spoke up in her head. 'Can you feel that, Little Princess? In the air?'
Slowly, Luna gave the slightest nod as Harry laid down. 'There's magic here... ancient, powerful and wild magic...' After she shook off her slight unease, she walked over and laid down next to Harry as she continued to examine their surroundings. 'But I do not feel that it should be dangerous to us.' Meanwhile, Harry shifted himself so that his head laid on Luna's back as he stared up at the sky that was barely visible through the leaves above as the dappled sunlight played across the clearing. There was a smile on Luna's face as she watched him relax. "So... how did you find this place then?"
As he breathed in, Harry held it before he sighed. "I, um, found this place when I was four." At Luna's expression of surprise, he shrugged. "Uncle Vernon and the others took off for the day and left me at Mrs. Figg's doorstep... but it turned out that she had gone out for the day because of some family emergency so I kind of wandered around and found this place." The light and shadows played across Harry's face as he closed his eyes. "I like to come here just to think..."
To that, Luna could only nod as she tried to ignore the anger at what happened to her friend. "I see... thank you for sharing such a special place with me." It was then that Luna glanced at the rock that stood above the spring and gave it a closer look. Her head tilted to the side as she examined the markings on it. "Harry? Do you know what those swirls carved into the stone mean?"
With a glance of his own, Harry shrugged some. "I, um, don't really know... but Holly told me that they say this is an ancient and special place."
That bit of information caught Luna's interest as she blinked and turned toward Harry. "Holly, Harry? Who is this... Holly?"
Harry missed the slight undertone in Luna's voice as his face lit up. "Oh! She is this really nice lady that I met here one day. Holly is really tall and pretty, and she has eyes like mine." His expression then scrunched up a bit. "Though she keeps changing the color of her clothes and hair depending on the season."
Now Harry had really caught Luna's attention. "Oh? How so?"
A nod came from the young boy thought it over before he answered her. "Well... in summer her hair is blonde while she wears only green clothing. In the fall, her hair becomes red and her clothes are shades of red, orange, and brown." For a moment, Harry thought it over and tapped his chin in thought. Luna barely kept from giggling and giving him a coo at how cute he looked. "I only saw her once in winter, and both her dress and hair was white as snow. Then in spring, her clothes are grey and brown while her hair is green." Suddenly the human snapped his fingers. "Oh! And I always see her with this crown of flowers except for that time in winter, she had a crown of holly then."
Something about that caused Luna's instincts, honed over thousands of years, to warn her that it was not quite right. However, seeing as she needed more information, she focused on another thing which caused her to sigh in fond remembrance. "I remember making flower crowns with Celly when we were younger and I was a little filly. It was rather fun..."
With a frown of his own, Harry got up and gave her a hug. "Sorry..."
However, Luna just hugged him back and leaned her head against his. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Harry. You just reminded me of good times in my life which is a good thing in my book. In fact, I'd rather remember the good times such as making flower crowns with my sister then the bad." There was a small glimmer by her eye. 'No matter how much it hurts, it's a good pain..' With some rapid blinks to clear her eyes, Luna pulled away and looked at him with a thoughtful look. "Maybe I should teach you how to make flower crowns..." Having spotted how he shuffled, her eyes lit up. "Unless, you already know that is?"
Slightly embarrassed, Harry nodded as his cheeks reddened. "Holly taught me how and I even gave her the first one that I made. She said it was a wonderful one..."
As the two continued to chat and enjoy the peacefulness of the glade, they didn't see that the mysterious "Holly" was on a branch watching them with a smile and an amused glint in her eye. 'Harry always brings the most interesting and fun beings... though usually he doesn't know it.' She then brought her hand up and brushed some of her hair behind one ear...
Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro
There was the near silent sound of wings in the air as the group of ponies landed on the forest floor. Throughout the area, various near glowing eyes that held slitted pupils opened as the sound of hooves drifted through the air. Above, the clouds were swept away from the moon and revealed a group of bat ponies Each one of them were in a near fur-tight flight suit that resembled those of the famous (or, some would say, infamous) Wonderbolts, but in dark purples and black instead of the blue and gold. Another difference was what looked like areas of padding in their more vulnerable areas which were actually armor. The one in front stopped as she looked them over with a keen eye. "Hello there girls, got a mission for you."
She held out a folder full of papers and passed out one to each of the gathered bat pony mares. With a hum, one of them looked up. "So, Aphrodite, how's the kids doing?"
A chuckle escaped the mare who had passed out the papers. "They're each doing good actually. Venus, even though she's still young, is getting into trouble of course."
With a snicker, another one called out. "Like mother, like daughter, eh?"
Chuckles and snickers sounded throughout the clearing before Aphrodite sighed and became serious. "Now that's out of the way, it's time for your briefing." That caught all of their attention and they straightened a bit. "As you know, there's a diamond dog army that is just on the northern boarders of Equestria. It's low intensity fighting between the Equestrian Guard and them, but they're slowly inching south."
Her second in command nodded with narrowed eyes. "Hence why they have asked for the us, huh? Wonderbolts can't get close during the day?"
Slowly, Aphrodite nodded with a frown. "That is indeed what is going on, not that the Equestrian Guard actually knows that we, and by that I mean the Night Guard, are getting involved in the fight."
While she snorted, another of the bat ponies shook her head. "Not that the big scary day guard will believe in the ponies out of the fairy tales."
Aphrodite gave her a slight glare. "And you know why that is, Thunderstuck. We are to protect the Equestrians from the shadows."
Thunderstruck only scowled and waved her off with a hoof. "Yeah, yeah, we are not to step out into the light until our Lady of the Moon returns, I know all that." She then sighed explosively as she rubbed her mane. "It just really sucks is all."
The mare beside her gave her a good natured shove. "Hey, lighten up. It's only a few more decades before we can reveal ourselves to the world. Then they'll realize that we're big damn heroes."
With a suffering sigh, Thunderstruck looked at her. "Really, Zoisite? Really?"
As she shook her head, Aphrodite cleared her throat. "Ladies?" Having gotten the attention back onto her, Aphrodite nodded at a shadow that resolved into a night unicorn. If not for the bat ears and slit pupil eyes, you could mistake him for a diurnal unicorn with mane bleached by spending too much time in the sun. As he smiled, the fangs showed that the vampiric traits did not end there. "Now then, we have determined that the diamond dogs have camped out in this valley here and have been for the past two days as they lick their wounds. Thankfully for us, the ground is too rocky for them to dig through."
Slowly, her second in command frowned. "Wait, if we know exactly where they are, then what's the issue? The other forces should be able to get in and take them out."
There was a grimace on Aphrodite's face as she rubbed the back of her neck with one hoof through her tight flight suit. "Normally, you would be right. Issue though are these spots." She gestured at various circled spots on the map which they could all see, even through the near darkness. "Each of those are sentry points from which they send out patrols. They also happen to be in areas where they get the best sights of the surrounding area. They also have anti-pegasus cannons set up there that they captured from one of griffin groups they fought on the east coast close to the Crystal Mountains."
One of the mares hissed under her breath. "Roadapples."
All Aphrodite did was grunt. "Pretty much. They know that Equestrian forces know exactly where they are and are more then prepared to fight any forces that come in and can take them out. They also got magic detectors that can sense large amounts of magic, such as a flight of pegasi or a group of unicorns."
Slowly, the group of mares raised their heads as Thunderstruck grinned. "So that's why we're heading in, hmm? Why they're sending in the Night Phantoms."
While she chuckled, Aphrodite nodded. "Our job is to fly in fast and hard without them knowing and cause as much damage as we can. If we can take out those sentry posts and possibly the magic detector? All the sweeter." As she took in the nods, Aphrodite gave a bloodthirsty grin as she kept a lid on her before battle jitters. "Now then, we might have to do more then one sortie during the night. And this is only the first night that we might be flying."
Once more, there were nods before her second in command, a mare by the name of Starshine spoke up. "What do we know of aerial opponents?"
If anything, Aphrodite's eyes glowed more as her grin widened. "They got some mercenary griffins, speedy little bucks to say the least, but they have issues with overshooting slower targets, especially at night. They also rely heavily on sound when they're fighting at night."
Chuckles echoed around before one of the mares piped up. "Ain't going to help them any with us Phantoms!"
Thunderstruck made a motion with her hooves. "They're not going to know that we're there before we blow them apart, whoosh!"
As she watched them all snicker, Aphrodite shook her head. "Careful with being too overconfident." She then took a breath and looked up at the moon above. "Now, can we please continue?" At their nods, the bat pony sighed. "Now, if you'll look at the papers that have been given to you, you'll find a list of targets. Each one is also here on the map. Target Alpha, if we can get to it, is right here..."
Now all attention was focused on their commanding officer as she smacked a stick onto one of the dots on the map. Several minutes later, Zoisite raised a hoof. "Ma'am? From where is our intelligence coming from?"
While the others nodded, Aphrodite decided to lay their fears to rest. "We had an overflight done by Dragon Lady and she got this to us. None of them probably even guessed she was there as she was so high in the atmosphere as she passed over them with her cameras."
Mention of the famous high flying pegasus, whom held the record for the highest flights with help of her experimental air tanks, caused excited chatter. With a grin, Thunderstruck leaned forward. "Awesome..."
Having let them have a moment, Aphrodite cleared her throat before she gestured at the amulets on their necks. "Now then... as you all know, this will be a dangerous mission even without the griffins and the anti-pegasus cannons." They all winced at the thought of the cannons which fired a cluster of ball-like projectiles called "Grapeshot", strong enough to cripple if not kill a pegasus. "That means we go in full stealth and with disguise spells up to make us appear like a normal pegasus, even if you're killed. If the worst comes to pass..."
She trailed off before Starshine slowly nodded. "Make sure that we're not captured and fight our way out like true nightmares. With luck, one of the supporting squads waiting nearby will help you escape."
Aphrodite gave her a thankful nod before she cleared her throat. "Besides that, we have stockpiles of grenades and small bombs set up here, here, here, and here." The bat pony punctuated her words by hitting the spots with a stick. "Any questions, ladies?"
There was none as she expected. With their briefing concluded, each of the bat pony mares activated their amulets and were replaced by nondescript pegasi. Thunderstruck brought her cowl over her head which did not hide her grin. "Let's show these guys what we think of those who decide to attack Equestria by kicking their flanks and sending them back the way they came with their tails tucked between their legs. What say you girls?"
With identical grins, the others all nodded and shouted as they were loaded up with grenades and bombs, the smallest amount of lightening magic meaning that they carry more then usual. As well, next to their heads were set up what looked like a bridle and bit that had two prongs that pointed forward.
To a normal pony, it would just look like a fancy set, but any Guard would recognize them for what they were. The bridle would gather a pegasus' magic as it flew through the air and build up a charge. Said charge could them be released as small bolts of lightning that could stun a flying opponent. The high end gear this ponies were using, was however capable of unleashing something as close to the true rage of a storm as it come. Needles to say, anything hit stayed hit.
Having examined each of those mares under her, Aphrodite glanced over at Starshine who had completed her own inspection of Aphrodite. "Okay mares, let's head on out. Remember your targets and hit them hard and silent. Once you're offloaded, head out to one of the stockpiles and reload. And avoid any aerial fights that you can as we show them what the Night Phantoms can do!"
Nearly as one, they flapped their disguised wings and rose into the dark and starry night as clouds gathered.
An hour later found them getting close to the valley where the diamond dogs were grouped. They were cloaked in the darkness of the cloudy night as they flew, the specially prepared fabric on their bodies and wings muting the sound they produced. Finally, they looked at each other before they extended their wings to their maximum and began to glide, cutting down on the sound even more. To make it even worse for anyone watching, they also cut their natural flying magic as they began to rely on their large wingspans (wingspans which had lead to them being chosen for the Night Phantoms) to keep them in the air. Each and every one of them felt the strain, but ignored it as they focused on their targets as they passed the griffin patrols, silent and deadly.
Down below at one of the sentry posts, one of the diamond dogs grunted at an much older one who stayed away from the fire. "Brutus, what the fur are ya doing? Come here to the fire instead of freezing wha's left of your tail off."
Said diamond dog glared at him through his one eye. "Shuddup. You should be paying more attention to the sky and ground before somedog sneaks up on us." There was only more laughter that met him which caused him to grind his teeth. "Youse idiots! Being around that fire and all will just get yeh killed, mark my words!"
The diamond dog who had spoke just barked in laughter. "Brutus, you old paranoid dog. Ain't nothin' that is going to sneak up on us. Heh, especially with our cannons ready to kill them."
Another held up what looked like a crystal which sparkled in the firelight. "And look at these! There's not a pony that can get by them without us knowing!"
With his eye narrowed, Brutus grunted. "Except for them... They can get by."
More laughter met him before the first diamond dog shook his head and wiped a tear of mirth from his eyes. "Ah, yes... phantoms in the night wasn't? Bah! We have cannons and griffins so we have no worries about old bitch's tales!"
The second nodded as he followed the first and spread his arms wide. "There's nothing out there but the sound of the wind blowing!"
However, that caused Brutus to freeze as his ears perked up and he listened. Sure enough, he could hear the wind blowing which caused his eyes to widen as he was brought back to something decades earlier when he was just a young pup. He had been part of a large raiding party as he was now and could remember the death and destruction that followed the sound of the night wind... the very same night wind he could hear now as he rushed toward the alarm. "YOU FOOLS! DOG THE CANNONS AND SIGNAL THE ALARMS NOW!"
All he was met with was amused confusion as the first diamond dog rose up. "Hey now, calm down old timer..."
There was a whistling sound which caused him to turn as a oblong metallic thing came out of the darkness and sailed right into the middle of the group... and then exploded killing all of them except for Brutus who was flung out of sight. At the same time, throughout the camp, there were other explosions both within it and at the sentry points as the Night Phantoms did their work. As he held his side, Brutus looked out at the night in fear as a howl burst from him. "PHANTOMS!"
While she dodged a crossbow bolt, Aphrodite ducked down and was close to the ground as she swept between tents and panicking diamond dogs alike. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted one group in armor rushing toward where they could see her and smirked. Then the disguised bat pony bit down on the piece of metal in her mouth before a with a loud crack that split the air, a bolt of lightning shot from the prongs and hit the group dead on. Aphrodite ignored the smell of burnt fur and flesh as well as heated metal as she passed where they fell. Instead, with one hoof, she armed a grenade and threw it into a large tent. Moments later it exploded and set off the gunpowder inside in a much larger explosion.
However, she ignored all that in favor for the large oblong that was strapped to the bottom of her barrel as she came into sight of where they suspected that the magic sensor was. 'Gotcha...'
From where she was, Thunderstruck noticed the massive explosion where she knew their commanding officer was heading. With her eyes though, she could see her climbing and her ears twitched as she heard the high pitched sound that was code for said bat pony having used all her ammo. It was then that she heard a flap and performed a barrel roll nearly touching the ground with the tips of her wings as a griffin screamed down from above. "DAMN YOU!"
The griffin's eyes widened a moment later as he was blasted back into a fire due to a bolt of lightning. "Yeah, yeah..." Thunderstruck then reached her final target for this run and threw a small Dragonfire bomb into the group of wagons which set them ablaze before she climbed into the night sky as her fellow Night Phantoms dodged the griffins and the remaining anti-pegasus cannons...
In the light of the coming dawn, the Equestrian Guard Captain whistled as he looked over the devastated camp. "Looks like they had a Tartarus of a fight here last night..."
His companion only nodded, his own voice soft and full of awe. "Who in the name of Celestia did this to them..."
Another Guard walked up with a diamond dog in tow. "Sir? We found this one near what looked like an anti-pegasus cannon. Must have been left behind when the others fled back the way they came..." It seemed like he was unsure about something before he continued. "He was just laying there, sir... whimpering."
That caused the Captain to share a look with his aide before he turned back to the diamond dog with a frown. "Name?"
For a moment, the diamond dog looked up at him with a far off stare as he favored one leg, the other burned. "Bru-Brutus... my name is Brutus..." He then looked out at the camp and shook his head. "I told them... I told them to keep an eye out for them... But they didn't want to listen to an old dog like me..."
Both the Captain and his aide shared a look before the Captain leaned in. "Do you know what happened here?"
To his surprise, the diamond dog's head whipped up as he stared into the Captain's eyes. "It was them, you know... the Night Phantoms... They did all this..." He shook some and whined. "We didn't even know that they were there until the night wind whispered! I knew what that meant and I tried to tell them! I... tried to tell them..."
He slumped a bit and all the Captain did was nod at the unnerved Guard who had brought the diamond dog to him. "Take him to the wagons and make sure that he's comfortable. We'll take him back to Equestria and deal with him there."
Slowly, the Guard guided Brutus back the way they had come as the old diamond dog muttered to himself. With a frown, the Captain's aid glanced at him. "The Night Phantoms? That old story about a group of elite pegasi who came upon the night wind? That's an old mare's tale."
The Captain stood there silently for several moments before he shook his head. "Perhaps... but all such stories have a grain of truth in them." A chuckle then escaped from the Captain. "Though the truth of the matter is above your paygrade." He ignored the suspicious look from his aide as this was not the first time he hinted at things kept secret from anypony else except him and the Princess. Still, the Captain then blew out a sigh. "Anyways, we've still got to catch up with the rest of those diamond dogs and the griffin mercs." With a sigh, the stallion's eyes narrowed. "I want this done and over with in a month."
His aide blinked for a moment before he remembered. "Oh, right, your nephew's birthday is next month, isn't it?" At the nod, the old grizzled Guard smiled. "How he is doing?"
With a smile, the Captain shook his head. "Shining Armor is growing up quite well, my sister has raised that colt right." Grinning, he looked at his aide and old friend. "He wants to be in the Guard just like his uncle you know."
A laugh burst from his aide before he shook his head. "Well, let's not disappoint him then, Gladius!"
While she groaned, Aphrodite reached up and turned the dial on the shower and the blissfully hot water stopped. There was a sigh before she reached for the towel and began to dry herself as she looked over at Starshine who had a bandage around her barrel. "How was it?"
Starshine chuckled a bit. "Not too bad, I got the worst when that AP cannon clipped my side, thank Luna for the usage of spider silk in them or it could have been much worse." She then wince a bit as she shifted. "Other then that, there's just some sprained wings and minor injuries."
For a moment, Aphrodite frowned in thought before she shook her head. "Can we be good for another run tonight?" Just as Starshine opened her mouth, Aphrodite cut her off. "Not you, obviously. Not with those injuries."
Grimacing, this time not from the pain, Starshine shook her head. "With the lotions and creams being used for the strained muscles and wings? Most of those mares can do it again tonight. I would rather give them a night to recover, but they can manage it easily enough." Suddenly, she chuckled. "Thunderstruck will be biting at the bit for a second chance, I can tell you that much."
As she grinned, Aphrodite chortled. "I can imagine, and I am sure that you would be as well if I let you go." When her old friend and aide grumbled, Aphrodite laughed. "Anyways, that's only if the Day Guard don't manage to catch up with them. Hopefully, they'll manage it and we'll get some rest until the next time they call for the Night Phantoms to ride the night winds once more."
With a grin, Starshine nodded. "If that happens... The Smiling Goat?"
Having heard the name of the tavern in the Night Caves, Aphrodite laughed as she threw her towel onto the other bat pony's face. "Going to try and beat me at a drinking contest again, are we? Haven't learned your lesson yet then?"
Snorting, Starshine pulled the towel from her face and threw it into the hamper. "One of these days, Aphrodite, I'll manage to outdrink you."
All Aphrodite did was shake her head as she slung one foreleg over Starshine's withers. "While that day may come, I doubt that it will come any time soon." She then waved a hoof. "Besides, it just means more free drinks for me at the end of the night."
The head of the Night Phantoms ignored how her friend rolled her eyes before said bat pony was pushed off. "Getoff me, you all ball of fluff..."
With that, the two continued to joke and playfully jostle each other as they left the outpost's makeshift shower room. Both of them knowing that if need be, the Night Phantoms would fly in search of their prey as they came down on them with night time flight perfected, flawless vision and undetected...
Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro
A young pegasus filly sniffled a bit from where she laid in a cloud as some of the others above her laughed. "Look at the klutz! Dragon Lady? More like 'Lizard Lady' with how well she flies!"
With a teary glare, Dragon Lady looked up at the filly above her as her camera bounced around her neck. "You're just jealous that I got bigger wings then you do! That's all you butthead!"
The bully was taken aback and unsure for a moment as she glanced at Dragon Lady's wings before she went back to sneering. "Who would want such big wings if all they do is make you unable to maneuver like other pegasi! Heck, dragons are more graceful then you, Lizard Lady!"
Not wanting for the laughing bullies to know how their insults affected her, Dragon Lady opened her wings to their impressive wingspan and flew off the cloud she was on. 'Those... those...' A sniffle escaped her as she glared at her wings. 'Why do you need to be so big!? All you ever do is get in the way...' Dragon Lady closed her eyes and flapped her wings as she hit a thermal. 'Oh, who am I kidding... they're right. I don't even have a Cutie Mark yet...'
Unnoticed by her, the thermal she was using was carrying her higher and higher. So deep in thought, Dragon Lady had not noticed the various pegasi who were trying to reach her as she was going far higher then a pegasus could safely fly. Below her, one of her few friends was pushing himself to his limits as he tried to reach her, his rainbow colored mane streaming behind him as he watched her become a speck. "DAMNIT DRAGON LADY! STOP!" However, before he could get much higher, he was grabbed by a flight instructor. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO! DRAGON LADY!"
As he grimaced, the instructor kept his grip on the struggling colt. "Calm yourself!" The Instructor then turned to another one. "Get the high altitude rescue group on the horn now! Tell them we have a filly getting too high!"
Having waited until the Instructor handed over the colt, Rainbow Blitz, to another adult pegasus, the second Instructor leaned in. "They're already on their way, but she's already too damn high for them to reach her in time... there's no way that they'll be able to save her most likely."
Several moments passed before the first Instructor growled in his throat and turned a glare on a group of fillies a distance below who flinched. "When I am through with that bunch... and if we don't get her down, I am tossing them from the program!"
Far above, the high altitude rescue team continued to push themselves as they attempted to reach her. They were used to rescuing young pegasi and griffins who got caught in powerful updrafts with the odd adult. But even they found that they were having some issues as the Captain of the team shook her head. "Damn that filly is flying high..."
Beside her, her second nodded his head. "Yeah, Thunderhead. Celestia-damn is that girl flying high... if she survives this, then I vote that we keep an eye on her to join us once she's older and got some training under her hooves."
There was nods as they noticed how high they were going and they began to have issues breathing even with their training as Dragon Lady continued to get smaller and smaller. With a scowl, though there was more then a little horror in her expression, Thunderhead shook her head. "We're going to need to call it off soon, we're nearly at our limits..."
Up above, Dragon Lady sighed, still not having opened her eyes as even though she knew the air was thinner, she was having slight issues with breathing. "If only I could soar far above Equis and leave all my worries away..."
As the updraft she was using died having reached it's maximum height, she grabbed another that pushed her even higher as she rapidly rose above 25,000 feet to the dismay of the following high altitude team. With a sigh and her wings burning, Thunderhead shook her head. "Well... that's that..." She then turned a sad expression to her Second and the rest of the team. "Hawkeyes, continue to follow her so that we might be able to retrieve her body... Hawkeyes? Something wrong?"
Slowly with a disbelief on his face, the griffin pulled the binoculars away from his eyes. "She's... she's still moving and flapping those wings of hers! WHAT IN THE TARTARUS!?"
The others were also stunned as they stared at him. "How... how could a pegasus still be conscious at those heights..."
Before anyone else could say anything, there was a flash of gold and suddenly Princess Celestia was beside them. "Hello, my little ponies and griffins, I heard that there's an issue?"
While surprised, Thunderhead swiftly covered it and pointed upwards as she spoke out of breath in the thin air. "We have a filly flying extremely high and far above safe limits... but she's still conscious and..."
Having trailed off, Celestia finished her sentence as her eyes picked out the small filly among the blue of the sky. "And you have reached your limits..." A smile then spread along her muzzle as she spread her wings wide. "However, I have not... Captain, please return to Cloudsdale and I shall retrieve our wayward filly..." With that, her wings gave a mighty flap as she began to fly upwards. The whole time she kept her eyes on the filly. 'My word, this is rather impressive...'
Still, Dragon Lady continued to fly as the only sound was the wind under her wings. 'So lonely up here... I can finally think...'
After a few minutes, a soft, motherly voice spoke up. "Hello, my young filly. May I ask why you are flying so high?"
Not having opened her eyes, though somehow she felt she could trust the voice, Dragon Lady sighed. "Because when I'm high up I can just get away from the bullies back at Flight Camp."
There was a pause for a few moments before the voice replied. "Bullies? Well, it's such a shame that you always have some who pick on others... may I ask why you were being picked on badly enough to fly so high?"
With a shrug, Dragon Lady sighed. "It's my wings... they're so big that they make it hard to fly at normal heights so I'm really clumsy. But the higher I go, the easier it is to fly like a normal pegasus! It's really easy to fly this high! And I love taking pictures." She finally opened her eyes and turned her head only to do an aerial version of a stumble as she spotted an amused Princess Celestia beside her. "Y-y-you... PRINCESS!"
Now thoroughly amused, Celestia looked her over and softly chuckled. "Well, my little pony, I must say that you have absolutely nothing to worry about. I must say that you are rather talented..." She then tilted her head some to the side as she continued to watch the stunned filly below she looked down. "I will say that the view must be rather spectacular from this height..."
Confused, Dragon Lady looked down and felt her eyes widen as she gasped. "Wow... I've never been this high before..."
Surprised, Celestia felt her eyebrows raise as she noted they were continuing to rise. Though she had to smile at how the young filly was taking pictures of the ground far below. "Mmm... it is rather wonderful at this height, I must say." As Dragon Lady nodded, Celestia glanced at the camera. "Perhaps you can tell me about your camera? I've not seen a model like it before..."
Dragon Lady lit up and looked at her camera. "Oh! A friend of mine made it, he's really good with making cameras for aerial photography and created a custom job for me, your highness! It has all sorts of enhancements to make it better at taking pictures and..."
While the filly continued, Celestia nodded and interjected as she slowly began to descend, Dragon Lady following her as they began to approach the ground below...
Partway through having been yelled at by the instructors at flight school as well as her own parents, Dragon Lady was rescued by none other then Princess Celestia who wished to see the pictures that she had taken from her heights. Looking over the photos, Celestia smiled before she nodded. "These are some truly great pieces of work."
Even though she was still a bit depressed, the filly's eyes lit up as she vibrated some in excitement. "R-really!? You think so, Princess!?"
Smiling, Celestia nodded as she leaned down so that she was at eye level with Dragon Lady her parents watched on. Parents who warred between pride and happiness at their daughter being complimented by the Princess herself and anger as well as lingering fear from what had happened. Celestia then chuckled some as she spotted a picture of Canterlot taken from a great height. "I really do, young one. These are rather impressive and I think that I might ask for a copy of the picture of Canterlot?" At the excited nod, Celestia glanced at the pictures again. "I dare say that you have a talent for taking pictures from a great height."
With a stunned expression on her face, Dragon Lady blinked. "You... wow..." Suddenly there was a flash of light from her flanks and she looked back. "Wait, I got my Cutie Marks?!"
Celestia and her parents both leaned over some to examine them. The Cutie Mark appeared to be Dragon Lady's silhouette taken from above as it flew over a globe and had a serpentine dragon wrapped around her which caused Celestia to smile warmly. "A most impressive and unique one as a matter of fact."
Now brimming with excitement, Dragon Lady flapped her wings some. "I GOT MY CUTIE MARK! YES!"
As she watched the excited filly, Celestia smiled. 'She will be one to watch I have no doubts...' Then she turned toward Dragon Lady's parents. "While I know that you may be concerned that your daughter was flying so high, I would ask that you allow for her to develop her talents. Such things should be nurtured and developed." When the parents nodded, Celestia softly chuckled. "I know of a few pegasi who are in the aerial survey groups. They undergo training similar to the high altitude rescue squads in pegasus and griffin cloud cities, so with your permission, I might contact them? They would be best at teaching your daughter." Shocked, the proud parents nodded. "Very well, I will have them contact you at the earliest opportunity..."
Working a kink out of her wing muscles, the now teenaged Dragon Lady walked beside her best friend, Rainbow Blitz as they walked down the streets of Canterlot. "Ugh... my wings are killing me..."
However, she got no sympathy from Blitz who just snorted. "I wonder why? The training that you are doing is bucking harsh! High altitude training combined with endurance? Buck that right in the flank!"
Softly snorting right back, Dragon Lady rolled her eyes at him. "You're just lazy is all..."
As if hurt, Rainbow Blitz held his hoof to his chest. "That hurts, Dragon, that really hurts right here! I just do less work because I am that awesome when doing weather patrol." He then waved a hoof around. "No matter what, whoosh! I can clear the sky in twenty seconds flat!"
With a smile, Dragon Lady was once more reminded of how they became friends. "And then spend the rest of the day laying about and napping."
Blitz just shrugged some. "What can I say, I'm just that bucking awesome."
Once more rolling her eyes, the female pegasus just shook her head. "How the hay Firefly puts up with your antics as your marefriend, I will never know, Blitzy." A snicker escaped as the stallion grumbled at the nickname. "Must see something worth it, I suppose..."
Suddenly, Blitz's face softened into a smile. "Yeah... Firefly is one hell of a mare..."
That just caused Dragon Lady's eyebrow to raise some. "And what about me?"
His answer just annoyed her and caused her to scowl. "You? You're not some mare, you're Dragon Lady." As his friend stalked off, he blinked and then rushed to catch up. "Hey! What's the matter, Dragon?"
Puffing herself up to yell at him, Dragon Lady turned to see his confusion which caused her to deflate and sigh. "It's... nothing... do you really think that I'm not an awesome mare?"
Confused, Blitz rubbed the back of his head. "Er... you're Dragon Lady, my best bud so you're more awesome then any mare... well, except Firefly."
Once more giving a eyeroll at the denseness of her closest friend, Dragon Lady continued to walk down the road until she reached their destination. "Anyways, we're here."
Looking up, Blitz chuckled some. "So we're going to see Clear Rain?" He then frowned some. "Wonder what he's got cooking up in those skunky works of his now..."
With a sigh, Dragon Lady turned to him. "I wish that you wouldn't call his place that name..."
As he snorted, Blitz shrugged. "What? The place sometimes smells due to him working on various things, what with the chemicals and welding that goes on. Not to mention he sometimes gets so into a project that he forgets to get a bath... hence... calling it the Skunk Works."
However, Dragon Lady ignored him as she came up to a older unicorn. "Clear Rain! I heard that you got something for me?"
There was a grin on the unicorn's face as he trotted up and hugged her before he threw one foreleg across both Dragon Lady's and Blitz's shoulders. "Do I ever! Remember that challenge you gave me a few years back? The one about helping you fly even higher then before?"
Stunned, Rainbow Blitz turned toward Dragon Lady. "The hay, Dragon?! You're already pretty much the highest flying pegasus in the world! Why the hay would you need to fly even higher!?"
Dragon Lady just leaned toward his face. "Because of the challenge... Besides, the higher I go, the more I can see and..." She considered her next words for a moment before she shrugged. "I got some reasons for that."
Suspicious, Blitz just nodded as he narrowed his eyes. "I see..."
Coughing, Clear Rain distracted them and gestured for them to follow him to the back of the building. There, the two pegasi looked at a ponyquin in a pegasus style which had a skin-tight suit along with what looked like a backpack. The backpack had two tubes that extended along the sides of the ponyquin's sides and connected at a helmet. Clear Rain then walked up to it and patted it. "As you can see, I made some major modifications to the suits that the high altitude groups used. Among other, it's enchanted to be heated compared to the surrounding area while the backpack has oxygen tanks... There's just one issue."
Having been closely examining it, Dragon Lady's ears perked up some. "Oh? What issue?"
As he rubbed his neck, Clear Rain just looked slightly away. "Well... the pressure in both the suit and helmet would mean that at heights greater then you are, they would be a lot less. Let's say that you're at... double at what normal high altitude flights happen at. Well, these would only give the pressure available at normal heights in Cloudsdale... Not exactly the best, but better then what would be normal."
The only pegasus stallion walked over to where he could look at a chart for the suit's and helmet's pressure and brought his hoof up to where a human might recognized as being 70,000 feet up. "According to this, at this point you would have a pressure equal to where Dragon normally flies, right?"
Clear Rain walked up and nodded. "Pretty much, near fatal for any other pegasus except for Dragon Lady to fly at."
While she ran her eyes across the chart, Dragon Lady just smiled. "Well... I always love breaking records..."
Doing some checks on her black bodysuit, Dragon Lady (now in her twenties) nodded as she was given her helmet by Firefly who had joined the Day Guard. "Thanks."
The normally pink pegasus nodded with a slight smile on her currently white furred face. "You're welcome." As the two walked, Firefly turned toward her husband's and her own longtime friend with a smile. "By the way, are you coming over for dinner this Sunday? Blitz has the day off and we were hoping for you to come over for some... special catchup time. I even got some Stalliongrad Vodka we can make some drinks with..."
Remembering the last time the three had gotten drunk together, Dragon Lady felt her face heat up before she shrugged it off. "I'll think about it."
Her attempt to stop blushing failed as Firefly waggled her eyebrows some with a saucy grin. "Hey, at least Blitz knows that you're a mare now. Of that, he has no doubt whatsoever." Chuckling, she turned as she heard a throat cleared before she stiffened and saluted the higher ranked Guard officer. "Sir!"
With a raised eyebrow, the stallion nodded and returned both Firefly's and Dragon Lady's salutes. "At ease." The two mares relaxed before he gestured into a room. "If you would, Lieutenant?"
Giving once last smile to Firefly, Dragon Lady stepped into the room where Princess Celestia and one of her intelligence officers were waiting and bowed. "Your highness."
As she chuckled, Celestia waved off her bow. "Please, Dragon Lady, no need for this." She turned at the cough and just smiled. "Now then, we have need of your services."
Dragon Lady just nodded as she stood in place and glanced at the map behind the wall. "And, as always, those services are yours if you ask for them."
While he gave her a slight nod, the Equestrian Intelligence Agency's Day Guard Liaison officer frowned. "There's currently an army of diamond dog raiders at our northern border. We have managed to slow their march toward Equestria proper." He ignored the slight frown on Celestia's face at how he referred to the border region as if it was not part of Equestria. "Now, they have camped out in this region, here."
The intelligence officer tapped one portion of the map as Celestia took over. "We know that they have magic sensing equipment as well as anti-pegasus cannons. We've tried to do overflight, but some of the griffin mercenaries they have are trained for high altitudes which means that they have driven off those flights. As you are the highest flier, we need you to do an overflight of the camp and take some reconnaissance pictures of the surrounding area. We have some... assets in place with which to take advantage of anything you might find."
Slowly giving a nod as she thought it over, Dragon Lady walked up and examined the map. "It's not likely that they'll be able to spot me as I fly overhead. And even if they somehow do, I'll be too high for them to catch." A grin familiar to her friends stretched across her muzzle. "I've always liked a challenge."
Celestia just chuckled. "I don't doubt that. though this should be a larger challenge then some of the missions that we have sent you out on."
As she remembered the overflights of various hostile nations on missions for the Day Guard and the EIA, Dragon Lady gave a nod. "That's true... No mountain ranges with rockets stationed there... this time..."
Both Celestia and the EIA officer remembered that mission which lead to Dragon Lady nearly getting killed by rockets that flung out clouds of shrapnel before the alicorn shook it off. "No, there won't be any of that on this mission."
After some more time spent on her briefing, Dragon Lady left the room as both Celestia and the EIA officer went through a backdoor, taking the items for the briefing with them. Outside the room, Firefly waited for her friend and fell in beside her. "So, time to finish suiting up?"
Having glanced at the clock which showed how early it was in the morning, Dragon Lady nodded. "Yeah, need to head out ASAP and it'll take several hours to get there... Mind helping?"
With a laugh, Firefly shook her head as she smiled softly. "I've never minded at all." Several minutes later they reached a room full of various harnesses with cameras on them. "Which ones?"
For a moment, Dragon Lady tapped her chin before she pointed at one. "Give me harness A-19. I'm going to need a magic sensitive lens on the second camera as well."
Firefly gave a nod as she went to work securing the harness onto the other pegasus. One who over the years had become famous for high altitude, long distance flights. Which she had used for survey work and in the Guard for a similar reason...
