Princess Luna is slowly recovering from her thousand year exile. Meanwhile on another world entirely Princess Elspeth of Valdemar is trying a new sort of portal spell, which will eventually turn Luna's world upside down.
Princess Luna is slowly recovering from her thousand year exile. Meanwhile on another world entirely Princess Elspeth of Valdemar is trying a new sort of portal spell, which will eventually turn Luna's world upside down. Now she has to face her past and choose her future, all the while dealing with the excitement, adventure, danger, and Pinkie Pie parties.
Luna stood on her balcony and stared up at the moon overhead. It was waxing towards full, and the silvery light spilled over the quiet palace and city that lay spread out below her.
She heard a soft click of hooves on stone as her sister Celestia landed gently beside her.
"It's a beautiful night, sister," she said softly.
"Thank you," said Celestia. "You don't mind that I'm still raising the moon?"
"Mind?" Luna blinked at Celestia. "No! I'm grateful. I still worry about taking my full power again. I don't feel ready. I wish I did..."
"I don't expect you to be recovered from a thousand years of darkness in just one year, sister. And I've raised the sun all this time, I can keep raising it a little bit longer yet."
"Thank you."
They were both silent for a time, and Luna felt a warm glow. Spending time just being with her sister... she had missed it so much. She was the one who'd stopped speaking with Celestia all those years ago. The banishment had come later. The arguments, the fighting, the bitterness and hatred... those had come first, and they had all been her fault. But her sister had forgiven her so easily. She just wished she could fully forgive herself. Her long years on the moon hadn't paid for her wrongs. She wasn't sure what could.
"You know, it's strange that I still love the moon so much," she said softly. "You'd think that I would hate it after being trapped there. But I don't."
"I..." Celestia sighed, sounding regretful and sad. "I'm so sorry I banished you, sister. If I'd known it would last for a thousand years I wouldn't have done it. I just had to do something..."
"Don't be sorry!" said Luna. "You did the right thing. My eternal night would have destroyed the world, eventually, and killed every creature on it. You saved me from becoming a worse monster than I already was."
"You were never a monster. Nightmare Moon was the monster, not you, not my sister Luna."
Luna sighed. She had never been able to really explain that there was no "Nightmare Moon." There was only her, Luna. The name had been a childish conceit, an attempt to look cool and powerful by a filly who wasn't really ready for power, but had grasped it anyway. She could recall begging her sister to let her raise the moon, so very long ago, and her kind sister had helped her learn how. And she could recall the slow slide into darkness, begun with that tiny seed of jealousy, that had brought her to oppose her sister. And although she had named the dark part of her that wanted power, that hated and was jealous, "Nightmare Moon" it wasn't some other pony living in her, it was only her. There was no one else to blame it on.
But her sister seemed to completely, even deliberately misunderstand Luna's explanations, she just insisted that it wasn't Luna, that Nightmare Moon had done those things, and that Nightmare Moon had been destroyed by the Elements of Harmony and was gone forever.
Luna wasn't so sure about that last bit either. Certainly the raw power of magic fueled by friendship, love, and virtue had shattered the hold the Nightmare Moon part of her had over the rest of her emotions. But the pieces were still there. She could feel resentment and anger still, and it would be very easy to let those blossom into a new hatred. And if she took her power up again, it would be very easy indeed to become Nightmare Moon once more. That fear was what held her back from raising the moon. She hoped to do it again someday, she still loved the night. But not yet. Not until she was sure Celestia was right, and Nightmare Moon was gone forever.
"Celestia?"
"Yes?"
"Do you ever get angry? Do you ever want to... want to hurt people who've upset you?"
Her sister stepped closer, and nuzzled Luna softly. "Yes. All the time."
"You do? Then... then what stops you? Why don't you? You have so much power!"
"Why is there no 'Evil Daydream' storming around, you mean?"
"Well yes."
"Partly I think it's because of you."
Luna blinked. "...me?"
"Yes. I always had you to take care of, when I was growing up. I was responsible for you. So I just couldn't let myself get angry and hurt you. It wouldn't be right. And later..." she sighed softly. "Later, when you weren't there, my friends helped me through it. I've always made friends easily. Having people who depend on you, and who you care about and don't want to disappoint, makes a lot of difference. I would think 'my friends would be so sad' when I got mad and wanted to do something awful. And so I didn't."
"I've never made friends easily," said Luna.
"I know. Some people don't. I had to give my student Twilight Sparkle a letter assigning her to make friends before she managed to get any, you know." Celestia smiled fondly, and nuzzled her sister again. "Maybe I should give you an assignment too?"
Luna chuckled. "Maybe. I don't know. I've never been... I mean... ponies can be so frightening. They can say such cruel things. Books never laugh at you when you've done something stupid."
"Good friends sometimes laugh at you too, but they laugh kindly, not to make you feel bad."
Luna nodded.
"You know, you and Twilight would probably get along. She loves books nearly as much as you do. And she loves the night too. Did you know she's an astronomer?"
"No, I didn't. Loves books and the night... well, maybe we could be friends. Though I don't know. She's the one who defeated m... defeated Nightmare Moon. Would she want to be my friend after that?"
"I think so."
"Then..." Suddenly Celestia's head jerked up and she looked towards Ponyville. Luna felt it too, a pulse of power, coming from somewhere in that direction. It was strong, and very strange. It cut off almost as soon as it began, leaving the night seemingly unchanged.
"What was that?"
Celestia shook her head. "I don't know. It reminds me of something... Something. I can't remember what. Something from a long time ago. Maybe I should go and see..."
"I could go," said Luna.
Celestia looked at her. She hesitated a moment, then nodded reluctantly. "Yes. I have too much to do right now. But if you get in trouble, little sister, don't hesitate to call me. I'll come, no matter what I'm doing. I don't want to lose you again."
"I'll be careful," promised Luna.
"You'd better be," said Celestia with a sudden grin. "Or else... I'll tickle you!"
"Eek, no!" Luna leaped away from her sister. "No tickles!"
"There's no escaping the tickles!" Celestia advanced on her, one hoof raised.
"Nooooooooooo!" Luna laughed and flailed as her sister tickled her. It was just like when she was a little filly, so long ago.
She was breathless, and her sister was too, when they stopped. "Evil tickles," panted Luna, still laughing.
Celestia was laughing just as hard. "My punishments are harsh but just!"
After Luna caught her breath she said, "I should just go now. I can get there tonight, there's still plenty of time left before sunrise."
"Do be careful though, please. Don't go charging into anything. Promise me."
"I promise," said Luna. "It's probably nothing dangerous though. And maybe while I'm near Ponyville I can talk to Twilight, or make a friend."
"Maybe you can."
Celestia hugged her, and she hugged back. Moments later she was in the air, soaring beneath a silver moon towards strange magic and, even stranger, the possibility of making a friend.
"Hey Elspeth, where are you headed?" Skif waved hello to his old friend the princess, adept, and of course Herald of Valdemar, Elspeth.
She paused her brisk trot for a moment and waved back. "Out to the Companion's Field."
"Going to relax with Gwena a bit?"
Elspeth laughed. "I wish. No, I'm going to try a new spell I found in the archives. It might be the solution to some of our problems, though sadly not to their cause."
"Oh?"
"Yes. It's a gate spell. One that's supposed to be very easy to cast, relatively speaking. If I can master it, it might make it possible to gate around Valdemar, even in the immediate aftermath of a storm. You can see how useful that might be."
"Yes. And if we could set up gates to Hardorn, or Karse... very useful indeed!"
"Want to come along and watch me cast it?"
"Sure, why not? At the moment, at least, I'm not too busy. Is Darkwind coming?"
"He's up to his eyebrows in something he's working on with Firesong. I didn't want to disturb him."
The Companion's Field was a rolling meadow contained within the royal palace grounds. It was the largest of all the parks in the city of Haven, but few of Haven's citizens came there, for it was the refuge of the Companions, and it was a rare occasion when someone besides their chosen Heralds visited them.
Elspeth had been their many times. The ruin that lay near the heart of the field was where she had first met her own Companion Gwena. And that ruin was her goal now. As she and Skif climbed over the fence into the field two white horses came to meet them.
Or at least they looked like horses. What exactly the Companions were nobody truly knew. They looked like horses, always pure white, with shining white manes and tails, bright blue eyes, and silver hooves. But they were intelligent, and in some way magical. They could not speak, but most could communicate mind-to-mind with their chosen heralds. Which is how Gwena greeted Elspeth. :Ready to cast this new spell, kitten?:
"Yes. As ready as I can be, at least," replied Elspeth out loud. "I thought I'd use the arch in the ruins. It's been used as a gate before, which should make it at least a little bit easier."
:Hop on then, and I'll take you there.:
Elspeth vaulted onto Gwena's bare back with practiced ease, and Skif was on his own Cymry almost as quickly. The two mares raced across the field, running more smoothly than any normal horse possibly could. In moments they had reached their destination.
The ruins had once been a chapel. It had fallen into disrepair centuries ago, but the bell tower still remained, and the bell sometimes rang, though there was no rope to pull it. Elspeth wasn't there for the bell, though. She was there for a certain archway. The walls had fallen down around it, but the arch itself was still completely sound.
She slid from Gwena's back and seated herself in front of the arch. A moment later she had her careful copy of the ancient scroll set in front of her. She weighted it down with a few pebbles, so it wouldn't blow away, and studied it once again. She already knew it almost by heart, but there was no point in making mistakes.
Skif, Gwena, and Cymry stood by watching. A few other Companions, with nothing better to do, joined them. After a moment Elsepth nodded, and began the spell.
Gates were strange things. Unlike most spells they drew entirely on the energy of the caster. She didn't even bother reaching for the node, with its store of magic, that lay beneath Haven. She would reach for it later, to replenish herself. For now the power must come from her.
And that was part of the reason why setting up permanent gates was so hard. A normal gate would require the caster to be present, with their life-force actively being drained, the whole time the gate was active. How, exactly, permanent portals were cut off from the one who cast them and made stable she had no idea. But this portal was different. It would drain her energy, yes. And setting it up would require energy, yes. But the scroll had said that as far as the magic was concerned, the portal would be going to the same place that it went from. So no distance would be covered, and thus very little power required. She hadn't fully understood it. At first it had seemed useless. What good was a portal that went nowhere? But the scroll had also said that although to the magic it would be as if the portal covered no space, the portal would actually go to some other place.
There had been something about the layers of reality, and moving among them. She knew that ordinary gates passed through a very peculiar alternate reality in order to move people about. Perhaps there was some other sort of alternate reality that this gate could use, one that wasn't an energy sink the way the place between gates was. That alone would make a huge difference in the ease of casting the spell.
And indeed though she felt power flow from her it was nothing at all like the horrible draining, sucking feeling that came from an ordinary gate spell. It took longer, she could feel the spell reaching out tendrils of magic, questing... somewhere. Into that other reality, perhaps. The tendrils were very fine, and took little power. After a long wait during which her personal power ebbed slowly away, the tendrils finally snapped back, and with a faint rainbow shimmer the gate popped into existence.
The shimmer cleared and Elspeth could see through to the other side. It looked very much like what she had seen when looking through the empty arch, but not quite. The biggest difference was that it was night there, where it was only mid morning on her side of the gate. Her eyes widened. This gate must go incredibly far, for it to be that much later in the day. She had been trying merely to go to the chapel at Ashkevron Manor, where she'd been once before, and where there had also been an archway, but this gate had gone somewhere else entirely. She stood, and stepped a bit closer. Skif and the Companions came closer too, including a curious young stallion that she didn't know, crowding up behind her to try and peer through.
"Where does it go?" asked Skif.
Elspeth shook her head. "I don't know. Nowhere I've ever been, which shouldn't be possible. Gates go to places you've been to. I almost want to go through and see, but..."
"What?"
"Well, it's a very long way from here. I'm not sure I could gate back. This gate seems stable, but I can't quite trust new magic to do what I expect. What if it collapses? What if I can't re-establish it? It's too far from here to use an ordinary gate to get back, so we'd be trapped. Trapped so far away it might take months to get home again."
"How can you tell how far it is?"
"By the time. The farther you go to the east, the later it is. The further west, the earlier. Being mid-morning here, and night there... it must be literally on the other side of the world."
Skif nodded slowly. He'd had the way the sun traveled and times changed explained to him once, but it had never seemed particularly relevant. Although... "What if it's not distance, but actual time? The other side looks like the same place as this side. What if the gate leads to tonight? Or yesterday?"
Elsepth's eyes went wide. "I hadn't thought of that." She stepped aside, to look around the gate at the ruins around her. Then she looked through the gate again. She shook her head. "No. It's very similar, yes, but it's not exactly the same ruin. That pillar there in the gate, it's not there where we are."
"It could have fallen down since, if the gate goes to the past."
"Maybe, but there are a few other differences too. I don't think so. I think somehow when it said the magic would be going to the 'same' place you left from, it means you can only use this portal to go somewhere that's so very similar it's nearly identical, and somehow that makes casting it easy. Though it also makes it much less useful."
Skif looked thoughtful. "Maybe. Although in the future... you could build little identical buildings, with identical arches, and use these gates to travel between any of them. That could be very useful!"
Elspeth smiled. "You have quite the agile mind, you know."
"Matches my agile everything else. But anyhow... if we're not going to go through, what are we going to do?"
"I'm going to take the gate down now, and study some more. I've learned something, at least. I'll try casting it again to get more information later. Maybe when I fully understand it and I'm confident of making the return journey I'll go through. For now, time to end it."
She raised her hands, unable to resist making the dramatic gesture with an audience, even if it was only Skif and three Companions. She touched the spell with a mental hand... and it twisted away from her like a living thing. Off-balance, Elspeth tried again, but when she grabbed it more firmly, the spell suddenly sucked power from her. She hadn't shielded herself from it, it hadn't occurred to her that she might need protection from her own magic. New tendrils reached out from it, but this time they didn't reach into that other realm, they reached directly at her. She tried frantically to fend them off, still mentally unbalanced and very confused. The tendrils ignored her attempts and curled around her, and around the others as well. Then with another, brighter shimmer of rainbow light and a magical whoosh that was almost audible, the tendrils pulled them all into the gate, which collapsed down on them even as they were going through.
A moment later there was no sign that gate, humans, or Companions had ever been there, just an empty arch in a ruined wall. The other Companions who had been standing further back stared in shock. The princess was gone. There was going to be a great deal of chaos once her mother the queen found out. They exchanged worried glances, nobody wanting to report the news. But somebody was going to have to any second now...
Elspeth slowly opened her eyes. She was lying on a cold stone floor, with a nearly full moon shining down on her. She sat up with a groan. She had a horrible reaction headache. And something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong... She looked around.
Gwena was lying next to her. Slowly the companion got to her feet. But... something was different about her. Elspeth could feel their bond still, it was definitely Gwena, but she looked... shorter. Stockier. With a larger head and bigger eyes. She looked like a pony, rather than a horse, though not quite like any pony Elspeth had ever seen. She heard a second low groan on the other side and looked over to see another pony. Not a white Companion this time, but a brown pony with a black mane and hooves. And... wings? Elspeth wondered if she had gone insane. A pony. With wings. Perhaps even stranger still, the pony had a marking, like a brand but somehow in color, on its flank. It depicted a black circle with silver daggers crossed over it. The pony blinked and shook its head. Then it opened its mouth. "Elspeth?" It was Skif's voice.
"Skif?" she said, shocked. She stared at him. He stared back.
"Elspeth, is that you?"
"Yes. I think." Elspeth suddenly looked down. She was expecting to see her hands propping herself up in a sitting position. Instead she saw a pair of cream-colored hooves. She was a pony too. She looked herself over and found her same silver-streaked brown hair, but in the form of a mane and tail. Her coat was cream, and her flank also bore a mark, the winged horse crest of Valdemar with a mage's wand beneath it.
"What happened?" The third voice was unfamiliar. Or... familiar but strange all the same. Elspeth looked back at Gwena, who was suddenly looking just as shocked as the rest of them. "I... I meant to mind-speak that! But I said it out loud! Companions can't talk! What is going on?"
Cymry, on the far side of Skif, got slowly to her feet. "I have no idea," she said. Elspeth got up too, though for a moment she almost fell over as she tried to stand on her hind legs.
Skif rose shakily next to her. "This is weird. This is beyond weird. We've been turned into some kind of... of horse-creature. But no horses ever looked like this! And I've never heard of a horse with a horn."
"A what?"
"A horn, you have one on your forehead," said Skif.
Elspeth looked up, and could just see the tip of it. A cream-colored horn, projecting from her forehead.
"Well you have wings," she told Skif.
He blinked and turned around to look at them. "So I do." He spread them, then folded them up again. "That feels very strange."
"And we can talk," said the third Companion, the young stallion that had been peering curiously at the portal. He got to his feet as well. All three Companions were still white and silver, without flank markings, but the other two were also as strangely proportioned as Gwena had become. Though the stallion was stockier than the two mares, and taller as well. "Where are we?" he asked. "And can we go home?"
Elspeth immediately turned to look at the archway they'd come through. It looked exactly like the one in the Companion's Field. But when she tried to raise her power, her head felt as though it would explode and she staggered. "Oof. Maybe. But not right now. I need to recover before I can try casting the spell again." She felt around for a node or a ley line. If she could draw a little power it would at least help the splitting headache. But she found none. In fact she could sense no magic at all. Was this a magic-poor land, or were they having their own mage storms here? Surely this place must be another reality entirely. The strangeness of everything suggested that they were not only no longer in Valdemar, but were somewhere so far removed from it that the very laws of reality had changed fundamentally.
"How long do we need to wait?" asked Skif.
"I'm not sure," began Elspeth. "The magic here is..." She stopped. Had she heard something? A moment later the sound repeated. Something like soft footsteps, with a faint clicking sound. It reminded her of a dog trotting over stone, the way its claws might click. She looked around. The ruins were of some large structure, she could see a number of dark archways leading who knew where. Although they would not have to navigate a maze if they wanted out, thankfully, one half-fallen arch showed trees and grass, and a path leading among them, all silver and black in the moonlight.
She heard the sound again, closer. Suddenly an immense creature burst from one of the darkened archways. For a moment she stared in shock, then it roared and leaped at the little group. With yelps and whinnies they scattered.
The thing nearly cornered Cymry, but she twisted away from it. "Get out in the open!" yelled Elspeth, and headed for the archway leading outside. She tripped once, running on all fours was unfamiliar, but thankfully not very hard. Cymry put on a burst of speed and caught up with the rest, the monster close on her heels. They clattered down the path, which led to a gorge, crossed by an extremely rickety bridge. But there was no time to make sure it was safe, Elspeth dashed out onto it, praying it would hold.
By some miracle it did and all five of them reached the far side. The creature skidded to a halt. It was far too broad to step easily on the bridge and its weight would no doubt break it. It seemed to know that. It flapped its wings in agitation, but they were tiny, too small to fly with.
Elspeth stared at it once more.
"Am I seeing things, or did we just get attacked by a giant rabbit?" said Skif shakily.
"No, you're not seeing things," said Elspeth. It was, indeed, a rabbit the size of a house. It had small, useless wings but its claws and fangs seemed anything but useless. They also seemed to belong to another creature entirely, as did the curved horns on its head. "Maybe they're having mage storms here too," said Elspeth. "That thing looks like it could be some kind of change-creature."
The others nodded. The rabbit-thing turned and hopped back the way it had come, revealing a cat-like tail trailing behind it. Elspeth turned and looked at the path ahead. Something had worn the trail. Something had built the bridge. Something had built the ruins, for that matter. If they followed it they would no doubt encounter people. But looking down at her own hooves she had to wonder what sort of "people" they would be.
"So what now?" asked Skif. "We need that archway to make a gate back, right?"
Elspeth nodded. "Yes. But that's probably not our biggest problem. Monsters can be dealt with. The magic... Skif, I can't sense any magic here! None at all! And the gate sucked me dry when it pulled us all through. I couldn't even light a candle right now, let alone cast another gate spell. Without ambient magic, I can't recharge. We... we may be stuck here."
"I can't sense any magic either," said Gwena in a subdued voice. "Which means that we Companions aren't going to be any faster than an ordinary horse. We have to draw on magic to run."
Elspeth sighed. "Well, it's not like Skif and I will be riding you anyway, so you'd have to slow down for us to keep up. But that's not really good news. If you can't sense magic either, there may not be any magic to sense."
"Then what are we going to do?" asked Skif, sounding worried.
"We'll follow this trail and see where it leads. Whoever made it must surely still be around. Once we find the natives, we might have a chance to find some magic. If there is any anywhere to be found, they'll probably know about it. Even if they don't have a mage, they should have stories, legends, tales that might point the way to finding one. That's the only option I can think of."
They trotted through the forest, following the often-times faint path. As they went, Elspeth distracted herself from the unwelcome thought of being stranded here by introducing herself to the third Companion. She discovered that his name was Dale. He was unpartnered, which made Elspeth breathe a sigh of relief. To separate a Herald and Companion by such a distance as they'd come would probably be a very bad thing. Dale was older than most unpartnered Companions, but some never did choose. "There was once when I might have, but... the lad himself chose otherwise," said Dale with a note of melancholy. "He was a good boy, he could have been one of the best, but he let a family feud twist him. And I would not make him another Tylendel." Elspeth could only nod. Tylendel was the only Herald she knew of whose Companion had repudiated him. Heralds had to be selfless, and to put the needs of the kingdom ahead of their individual desires. That was the essence of what a Herald of Valdemar was. But Tylendel had clung perhaps too tightly to his family. A Herald wasn't required to give up family and friends, but they had to put their duty first, and family second. But for Tylendel, when an old feud had sparked into active flame and Tylendel's twin brother had been killed he had gone beyond all reason. He had used magic, the same magic a Herald learned in order to defend the helpless, to massacre the ones he thought responsible, man, woman, and child. An act perhaps understandable, but never forgivable. And no Companion would ever risk such a thing happening again.
That thought was enough to put a damper on Elspeth's already flagging spirits, and she remained silent for the rest of their trek through the forest.
They emerged just as the moon was setting and the first hints of dawn were lightening the eastern sky. The forest gave way to a massive apple orchard, obviously well tended, and beyond that they could see a town, spread amid low, rolling hills. It was a town like none they'd seen before, a bright and colorful place, with every house seeming to bear decorations in every color of the rainbow. Beyond loomed a mountain, and just visible on the mountain slope was an impossible fairy-tale of a building, domed and spired and clinging somehow to the mountainside. As the light slowly grew they all gaped at the scene. Whatever they had imagined this alien world might be like, this was not it.
"It's beautiful," said Dale softly. "It's nothing like home, but it's beautiful."
The others could only nod.
Then Skif added, "And if they're not sticking that castle to the mountain with magic, I'll eat my... uh..." he had the sudden, uncomfortable realization that he was naked. He wasn't even wearing boots! He glanced at the others, wondering if they could tell he was blushing. "Uh. Anyway, they have to be using magic!"
"I don't know, the engineers have been doing some amazing things, so magic might not be needed, but it certainly does look as though it were built by some kind of mage. Some kind of very powerful mage." Elspeth stared into the distance as the light continued to grow. Then she shook herself. "Let's get going."
After walking all night they were all tired. Elspeth almost turned aside when she saw a road leading to a farm, but farmers weren't what they were looking for. They needed to reach the town and ask about magic. But as she looked at the sign over the farm she had a sudden, sinking sensation. The sign itself was easily intelligible, it simply showed an apple. But this was not just a foreign country but a completely alien world. They wouldn't be able to read the writing. They wouldn't even be able to speak the language! How could they ask about magic when they couldn't communicate?
Ahead a pony came trotting down the road. A mare, if the appearance of their own group was anything to judge by. But she was oddly colored, a light orange that Elspeth had never seen in any sort of equine. Her mane and tail were straw-blonde, tied with ribbons, and she had a hat on, though she was otherwise unclothed. Her flank was marked as well, with a picture of three red apples.
"Howdy there!" she called out, making Elspeth jump. She was speaking Valdemaran! How was that possible? "Ya'll look a mite tired. You folks headed t' Ponyville? You been down at Sweet Apple Acres or did you come through th' Everfree Forest?"
"Uhm..." said Elspeth brightly.
"We came through the forest," said Skif. "We didn't know what it was called. But we're headed for the town there, yes."
"Well ya'll just keep right along the road and you'll get there lickity-split. Though if'n ya'll want to rest up and eat a bite, there ain't no better place to buy some victuals than my apple farm."
"Thank you," said Skif, "but we have no money to pay you with."
"Sounds like ya'll 've been in a bit of trouble then, coming outa' th' forest without gear er bits. Tell ya' what, you can come have a sample on me. No charge."
"That's very generous of you," said Elspeth. Her stomach rumbled at the thought of food. Breakfast had been a long time ago.
"I'm Applejack," said the stranger as she continued down the road.
"I'm Elspeth. This is Skif, Gwena, Cymry, and Dale." Elspeth felt a bit odd introducing the Companions. Usually she had to explain to... to humans that Companions were people too, but other than their lack of flank symbol the Companions looked just like anybody else here, it seemed. Elspeth noticed Applejack glancing at the Companion's flanks several times, but the orange pony said nothing. Elspeth wondered if the lack of symbol had any particular meaning here.
As they walked under the apple sigh, Applejack called out "Big Macintosh! Big Macintosh! We have guests!" An enormous red pony, with a draft horse's build, came out to meet them. He was chewing contemplatively on a wheat stem.
"Howdy," he said in a slow, deep voice.
"You show these folks around while I fetch them some apples," said Applejack.
"Ya'll look tired, so I'll spare you the grand tour," said Big Macintosh in that same slow drawl. It still made Elspeth's head hurt, hearing these strange creatures speaking her own native language. It made no sense at all! But she supposed she shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Or was it gift pony? The thought was enough to actually make her smile. "This here is Sweet Apple Acres," continued the huge stallion. "Been in the family fer generations. Ma sister Applejack 'n I manage it now."
Applejack came trotting back out, carrying a large basket laden with apples in her mouth. She set it down in front of Elspeth. "There ya' go. Dig in!"
Elspeth bent down and took an apple awkwardly in her teeth. The Companions were more graceful about it. Skif dropped his, and looked very embarrassed. Seeing how the Companions put theirs on the ground and then took bites from them, Elspeth imitated them with fairly good success. Not having hands was very awkward. But the apple tasted very good, better than any apple she'd ever had before. She ate it core and all.
There were enough apples for her to have a second, and then a third. Finally there was just one left. Dale glanced around at the others, and when nobody else made a move he took it and ate it in just two bites. Well, he is the biggest of us. He's almost as big as Big Macintosh is, even, thought Elspeth.
:Very true,: said Gwena to her, mind-to-mind.
:I didn't think you could talk like this here!: replied Elspeth, surprised.
:Our gifts still seem to work, even if we can't draw on magic,: came the reply. :I just wish we had more gifts among us. All we've got is a little mindspeech. None of us is a farseer, or anything useful like that.:
:Well, it may come in handy all the same.:
"Thank you very much," she said to Applejack out loud. "If there's anything we can do to repay you..."
"Aw shucks, you don't have to do nothin'. I couldn't turn away folks that were down on their luck, it wouldn't be right."
"Thank you again. But before we go, I wanted to ask... do you know anything about magic?" Elspeth wanted to hold her breath. Here was the moment when she'd find out if magic was taboo, or common, or completely unheard of.
"I'm just a plain ol' earth pony, not a unicorn like ya'll," said Applejack, "I don't know nothin' about magic. But if'n you're looking fer a magic expert, ya'll should look up ma friend Twilight Sparkle. She lives in the library right smack in the middle o' town, ya can't miss it. She's one o' the best magicians in Equestria."
Elspeth's heart jumped. There was magic here! There was hope of going home after all. She tried to not get too enthusiastic, if she couldn't sense it, the magic might be something she could use, but...
:You notice that she said she was an 'earth pony' and not a 'unicorn' like you?: asked Gwena silently.
:Yes,: replied Elspeth. :If that means what I think it means...:
:If it means what I hope it means, it means you can cast magic here too. You just need to re-learn how.:
:Ugh. If it's anything like learning in the first place...:
:It will still be better than being trapped here forever, kitten.:
Elspeth smiled. "Well, we'd better get going. Thank you again Applejack."
"See ya'll! Good luck!"
When they had left the apple farm Gwena and Elsepth shared their hopes with the others. They all agreed that Applejack's reaction to magic had been a good sign. And hopefully this "Twilight Sparkle" would be able to help them get home.
Only a few minutes later they reached the town of Ponyville. All five of them had to make an effort to keep from staring. The town was full of ponies, which they had expected. But they hadn't expected the variety of bright and unlikely colors that greeted their eyes. There were blue ponies and purple ponies and even bright pink ponies. Their manes and tails were even more colorful. And all of them had markings on their flanks depicting a dizzying array of different objects.
A vividly pink pony suddenly dashed up to their group. "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee! There are five of you! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" She bounced up and down like a puppy, or an excited child, then dashed off again, leaving Elspeth and her fellows completely bewildered.
"What was that about?" asked Skif.
"I have no idea," replied Elspeth. "But look, I think that might be the library."
It was a tree. Elspeth had lived for a while in a tree. But the Hawkbrother ekele had been a sort of glorified treehouse. This was a house made from a living tree. How the tree was still alive with its trunk carved out Elspeth had no idea, but it seemed to be thriving. Magic, perhaps? And it was immense, towering over the smaller buildings around it.
They approached the tree. Elspeth raised a hoof to knock on the door when a passing pony called out "They library is closed in the morning."
Elspeth blinked. "Why?"
The pony, an improbable shade of vivid dark fuchsia with smiling flowers on her flank said, "Because the librarian is also an astronomer, she keeps late nights and likes to sleep in."
"That seems like an inconvenient arrangement for everybody else," said Elspeth.
The pony smiled. "We don't mind! Everybody likes Twilight Sparkle, and even if we didn't she saved all of Equestria once. The least we can do is let her enjoy her hobby."
"I see." She exchanged glances with Skif, who shrugged. "I suppose we'll just wait then."
The lawn in front of the library was lush, and Elspeth settled down to lie on it with a grateful sigh. Her hooves were sore. She hadn't known hooves could be sore, but hers definitely were.
She hadn't meant to fall asleep, but she started awake when somebody called out "Hello?" She looked up to see a purple pony, with a horn on her forehead, standing in the open doorway of the library.
The others had apparently napped as well. She saw Skif shoot her a guilty, apologetic look. He normally would have made sure somebody stayed up to keep watch, but apparently he'd been as lulled by the peacefulness of this place as she had.
"Hello?" said the purple pony again.
"Hello," said Elspeth. "Are you, uh, Twilight Sparkle?"
"That's me."
"Applejack said you were the person we should talk to about magic."
"Oh yes. I love to study magic! Why don't you come in?"
Inside the library it was both spacious and cozy, with bookshelves lining the walls and a clutter of books and papers scattered across desks, on the floor, and pretty much everywhere else. It was nothing like the tidy libraries Elsepth was used to, but it was obvious that people here did many things differently.
"So what can I help you with?" said Twilight Sparkle.
"Well... it's a long story," said Elspeth. "We come from somewhere else. Somewhere, uh, well, an entirely different world." Saying it out loud sounded completely insane. "A world where I guess magic works differently, because although I'm a mage, I haven't been able to cast a single spell since I got here. I was hoping that you'd know about gate spells, and could teach me how they work, and how to get back home. There was something wrong with the gate spell that brought us here, else we wouldn't be here at all, so even if I could cast magic normally I wouldn't trust it to return us. But if you know about gate spells..."
"By gate spell, you mean a spell that can take more than one person from place to place, instantly?"
Elspeth nodded.
Twilight chuckled. "A portal gone wrong hm? I thought that only happened to me! No, I haven't had much luck with portals or gates or whatever you want to call them."
Elspeth's face fell.
"However," added Twilight, "You're in luck. There's somebody visiting here who knows far more about all kinds of magic than I do. The princess Luna. I'll go see if she's awake yet."
Elspeth perked up. Even if this Luna wasn't able to help her, just the existence of gate spells on this world was a good sign. Twilight clattered up the stairs to an upper level of the library, and a few minutes came back down with another pony following her. This one was different than any they'd seen thus far. She was just a little bit taller than the other female ponies, and she had a horn, longer and more slender than Twilight's, and a pair of wings as well, broader than Skif's. Her coat was dark blue, and her mane and tail a lighter blue. The mark on her flanks was of a moon in an inkblot of night sky.
"This is princess Luna," said Twilight. Elspeth realized that she hadn't introduced herself, or any of the others.
"I'm Elspeth," she said, deciding to leave off her own "princess." She had never really liked the title, and she didn't want to turn this into some kind of diplomatic occasion. "This is Skif, Cymry, Gwena, and Dale." She gestured at each as she named them, and Luna nodded politely at each one. But when Luna's eyes met Dale's she froze. They stared at each other for a moment that grew more and more charged as it drew out longer and longer. With a sudden feeling of horror Elspeth realized what must be happening.
And Luna, somewhere deep within the recesses of her mind and soul, where before only her own dark side had whispered, heard another voice. :Luna. I Choose you. Above all others, and when I had thought never to Choose any, I Choose you.:
"What in the Havens were you thinking?" Gwena was in full rant mode, which Elspeth had never actually seen. It was a little bit harder to chew somebody out via mindspeech. You couldn't be so melodramatic. But now she had a voice and she was using it to full effect. "Or did you even think at all?! Choosing a princess..."
"Has been done," cut in Dale, his voice mild. "Or a prince, at least."
"Prince Daren was at least human! Heralds have always been human!"
"Right now," said Dale, still mildly, "two of them are not. And Valdemar has plenty of non-human allies of late. It was only a matter of time until a non-human was Chosen."
"But you can't just bring her back to Haven! She's... she's... she's a blue horse, for all the gods' sake!"
"Gwena!" Elspeth broke in sharply. "You're frightening her."
Luna had practically flattened herself to the floor, her ears were down, and she had put her wings over her head. Twilight had backed away from them, and was staring, wide-eyed. And a little reptilian creature, something like a hertasi but shorter and bright purple, stood staring as well at the top of the stairs, no doubt drawn by all the commotion.
"Sorry," said Gwena, abashed. "I shouldn't have shouted. But..."
:Gwena,: warned Elspeth. :Don't.:
:But we can't just let this happen!:
:And what do you suggest we do about it? Dale has Chosen. A Companion Chooses as he would, nobody had a right to stop him.:
:We can separate them right now, so they don't bond...:
:No. You are not Roland. I am not the Queen. We have no authority, and no right.:
:But Elspeth! This Luna can't possibly...:
:We know nothing at all about her. For all I know she'll be the best Herald there's ever been. And think on this, if the strangeness of a 'blue horse' worries you. We changed into ponies on coming here. What's to say that she won't change to a human if she comes back with us? In any case I wouldn't think that you of all people would suffer from species prejudice.:
:I'm sorry.: Gwena sounded genuinely chastened. "I'm sorry," she said again out loud. "Luna... I didn't mean to insult you. I just... nobody like you has ever been Chosen before."
"Can somepony explain this 'Chosen' business?" said Twilight Sparkle, sounding a bit cross.
"I'll try," said Elspeth. "Where we're from there are special people called Heralds. Heralds are... well, they're people who are fundamentally good. Honest, loyal, kind, generous, all that sort of thing. They're the hand of the Queen, being where she can't be, helping her people all over the kingdom. And the Companions are the ones who choose them. Companions are special too. They're not just ordinary, uh, ponies." Elspeth didn't feel like explaining humans or horses just then. "They're always white, but that's the least of it. They have a number of abilities, including the gift to be able to choose those who are worthy of being Heralds."
"What happens when someone is chosen?" The quiet voice was Luna, who had gotten to her feet and stood now next to Dale, who was obviously trying to hover protectively over her.
Elspeth sighed. "Normally their Companion takes them to Haven to be trained. But in your case..." She shook her head. "I really don't know. For one thing we don't know if we can reach our world at all, let alone take you to Haven. And if you're a princess I'm sure you have duties you can't simply abandon."
"I don't know. My sister..." Luna trailed off, looking confused. Dale nuzzled her. She leaned into it unthinkingly, taking comfort from him, then let out a little eep and stepped away, blushing.
Elspeth smiled. Luna was obviously very young."In any case we'll no doubt have plenty of time to sort it out while I figure out if we can get home. Twilight said you know something about magic?"
"Oh yes." Luna smiled. "I haven't, uhm, I haven't used my full powers in a long time. But I know more about magic than anypony except my sister. Why don't you tell me about the spell you used to come here?" Her voice had grown more brisk, and her uncertainty faded as she moved into familiar territory.
Elspeth nodded and started to explain about gates, and the mage storms, and her experiment and how it had gone wrong, leaving them here. "The thing that worries me the most," she concluded, "Is that I can't sense magic at all. My mage sight has always been very good, but I can't see anything."
"Mage sight? So in your world magic can only be seen by mages?"
"Yes..."
"Hmm." Luna considered this. "Well, let's try something. You can see this, yes?" Her horn suddenly began to glow.
Elspeth blinked. "Yes."
A book next to the blue pony glowed as well, and rose into the air. "And you can obviously see that."
"Yes."
"Can you sense anything?"
"I..." Espeth had been about to say no, but she did feel something, a faint, strange tingling on her forehead. "Yes, actually."
"You feel it in your horn do you not?"
"I think so... yes."
"You think so? Have you never felt magic with your horn before?"
Elspeth shook her head. "I didn't have a horn before I came here. We were all changed, but Skif and I especially, when we came through the gate. We used to be humans."
"Humans." Luna looked intrigued. "There have never been humans here, though my sister has mentioned them to me a few times. Very strange creatures. So you weren't ponies at all then. It must be very peculiar to have your whole form changed. When I got my wings it took me months to get used to having them."
"It is kind of weird." She concentrated on the tingle in her horn again. "So the horn is what you use to cast magic?"
"Yes. Why not try it? Levitation, as I'm doing," the book bobbed in the air for emphasis, "is one of the simplest spells. It requires nothing more than will."
Elspeth nodded. Her will was very well trained by now. She should be able to do this.
"Focus on your horn. Feel the power in it. Reach through it and lift the book. And be sure to picture it lifting slowly, don't simply apply upward force, or you might put it through the roof if you've any real strength."
Elspeth nodded again and did as directed. The tingle in her horn grew to a kind of warmth. She projected that warmth out of the horn, just as she had learned to project when she first learned magic. The book lifted gently from the table and hovered. Elspeth grinned broadly and resisted the urge to shout. She'd done it!
Luna giggled. "Very good! Though it's a long way from simple levitation to portal spells, I'm afraid."
Elspeth's face fell. "How long are we talking?"
"It depends on your talent. Months. Years. Possibly never."
"Could you cast the spell for me then?"
Luna shook her head. "I don't know where you're from. The caster's will affects the destination. I can't will a portal to somewhere I haven't been."
"I was afraid of that." Elspeth sighed. "My mother is going to be mad with worry."
Luna giggled again. "Not necessarily. Portals across the worlds let you play games with time, a bit."
Elspeth's eyes widened. "With time?"
"Yes. You can't disrupt causality, of course. Though I've heard some rumors... but never mind. I'll try to explain. Causes happen before effects, right? If I throw a rock at a window, the glass breaks after the throw happens. You can't mess with that, you can't put the glass breaking before the thrown stone. So ordinarily when you make a portal, you can't come out the other side before you went in, that would make the effect come before the cause. So no making portals to the past. Theoretically there's nothing stopping you from making a portal to the future, but once you went through you couldn't go back, because then it would be the past.
"But when you travel between dimensions it's different!" Luna was talking faster now, obviously very interested in her subject matter. Skif looked a bit dazed. So did the Companions, and the little reptile who was now descending the stairs. But Elspeth and Twilight were both listening in fascination. "The ripples of causality don't spread between the worlds, so if you go through a portal here, there's nothing to stop you from coming out a portal in the past there. As far as your universe is concerned the 'cause' happened when you took the portal that brought you here. The 'effect', that is you returning via another portal, could happen any time after that. So you could spend years here and still return there the very day you left, if you wanted."
"I see!" said Elspeth. "Thank the Havens then. That means I can study for as long as it takes, and if I pull it off Mother will never even know I've been gone."
Luna gave her a conspiratorial grin. "Yes! You picked up levitation so fast though. It's possible you'll master the portal spell quite quickly."
"I don't know, Luna," broke in Twilight. "I picked up levitation quickly too, but I've had a lot of trouble with portals."
"You were learning from books, Twilight. With me here to teach you, I suspect you'll learn a bit better. Books are good, but they're no substitute for real experience. That is..." Luna suddenly looked shy and hesitant again, all her confidence gone in an instant. "That is if you don't mind my staying here for a while."
"Mind! I would be honored! I told you last night that I really enjoyed your company. You're the first pony I've ever met who knows more about astronomy than I do! You can stay as long as you like. Although..." she looked at the others. "We're going to have to do something with the rest of you. You can't possibly all stay in the Library, I only have one spare bed."
"Hello everypony!" The voice that broke in from the doorway was ridiculously cheerful. Elspeth turned to see the brilliant pink pony that had dashed away earlier standing there. "Ohmygosh you're here! That's super-duper-double-awesome! I can give you your invitations!" The pink pony reached into a saddlebag strapped to her side and pulled out an envelope. She held it out to Elspeth in her teeth. Elspeth took it somewhat awkwardly the same way, thinking as she did that passing very small objects to another pony would be indistinguishable from kissing. She wondered for a moment how she would open it, then she remembered the magic lesson she'd just had. Carefully she focused through her horn and delicately lifted the envelope, opened it, and removed the card within.
You are invited to a party in honor of YOU! At Sugarcube Corner Tonight, at 6:00
Elspeth stared at it. "A party?"
"Yes! I just love parties, don't you just love parties? Parties are the best, best, bestest thing ever! My favorite thing in all the world is to throw parties and when I saw you all, five whole ponies that I've never ever seen anywhere ever I just knew that you were new in town and that I needed to throw you a welcome party!" The pink pony had started bouncing up and down excitedly again. Then she let out a joyful squeal. "Eeeeeeeeeee! Princess Luna! Ohwow! I should throw you a party too! Will you be here tomorrow? Or should I throw you one tonight? Or do you want to join the other ponies? No, you should have your very own party! Ooo! I should throw five parties so every new pony can have their own party! Six parties I mean!"
"Pinkie Pie." Twilight's voice was amused but firm. "I think just one party is plenty for now. We all love your parties, but having six right in a row would tire everyone out. You can throw one for everypony tonight, and then throw some more over the next few weeks. All these ponies will be staying in Ponyville for at least that long."
"That's a great idea Twilight! You always have the bestest ideas! That's just what I'll do!"
"Pinkie! Before you go, can you do us a favor?"
"You bet I can!"
"Thank you." Twilight smiled warmly. "These five new ponies don't have anywhere to stay yet. You know every pony in town. Is there anyone who could put them up?"
"Well..." Pinkie Pie looked thoughtful. "Did you know they're finally building a hotel? They are! But it's not done yet, it won't be done for months. But wait, I know! Mr. and Mrs. Oak! They had a house down in town just because Acorn, he's their son you know, was an earth pony and couldn't fly but he's gone off to study at Canterlot now and so they moved back up into a pegasus house, but they didn't want to sell the house in town because he's going to come back in between terms and they told me just yesterday that they were looking for somebody to house-sit and it's just perfect, you can all stay there!" It actually took a moment for Elspeth to comprehend Pinkie Pie's story, since she delivered it all in one rushed, enthusiastic sentence.
"That does sound perfect!," said Twilight. "Why don't you take them to meet the Oaks and get them settled. They've had a long trip and would probably like a meal and a nap before the party too. You can take them to Daisy's and treat them to lunch on my account there. Meanwhile I think I'll pull out all my books on portals and go over them, so it's fresh in my mind."
"Okie Dokie Lokie!" said Pinkie Pie. "This way!"
As the others moved to follow the excitable pink pony, Dale quietly came up beside Elspeth. "I'd like to stay here until the party," he said with a nod towards Luna
"Of course," said Elspeth. "I'm sure somebody can show you to where it will be."
"Thank you."
Halfway down the path Elspeth looked back. Dale stood just outside the library's open door. He lifted a hoof and waved at her. Elspeth waved back, then turned and followed Skif, Cymry, and Gwena, who were all trailing after Pinkie Pie. Such a strange world, she thought as she walked through the town. So different, and yet in many ways so like how Valdemar was, before the war and the storms. I hope Valdemar can be this peaceful and serene again someday.
Twilight and Luna were both completely buried in books. In Twilight's case almost literally; so many were stacked around her that she could barely be seen. Dale had settled to the floor nearby and simply watched as the two ponies read and compared notes about portal spells. They discussed past cases when portals had reached other worlds, or when those from other worlds had come to Equestria. Such things were not entirely unheard of, though most of the tales were just that, tales, with no way of knowing if they were based in truth or were pure fiction. Then Luna remembered her sister saying that there was something familiar about the pulse of magic that had apparently been Elspeth's portal.
"Twilight, sort out the books on how to cast, so we can both brush up our technique before teaching Elspeth. And put aside a few of the magic teaching books too, for later. Bur right now we can set aside the books of tales, I have a better idea. I just need to send Celestia a letter. You send them all the time, how do you do it?"
"Spike does it. Celestia spelled his magical fire, so it can send things to her instead of burning them."
"Very clever of her! Let me write this then." Her horn glowed, and paper, quill, and ink flew to her. "Dearest sister, I have found the cause of the strange magic we sensed. It was a gate from another world opening and then closing. Five ponies have come through, though they say that two of them were not ponies but humans. They are something called 'Heralds.' Please tell me if you know anything more about humans, Heralds, or gate spells that I might use. One of them is a unicorn, who wishes to learn portal magic so that they can go home. Sincerely, Luna."
She floated the scroll over to the little dragon, who took it and breathed green flame on it. While they waited for a reply Luna sorted books. She hummed a little bit as she did so. She loved books. Books had been her closest friends during some very lonely years. If she'd had books on the moon... she sighed. If she'd had books on the moon she might have fought harder against her own dark side, and come back at least slightly more sane. Being alone on the moon hadn't been good for her. But she wasn't going to be alone like that ever again.
:You won't be alone at all ever again,: said that quiet voice in her head.
Her head came up and she looked around. Dale was smiling at her. She stared at him. He nodded. :Yes, this is me. I am using what we call 'mindspeech'. You have enough of the gift to hear me. And I can hear you if you think at me. Or if you think something very emotional, strong emotion tends to make people broadcast.:
:I... I see: Luna tried to direct the thought at Dale. He smiled.
:You're a fast learner.:
:What do you mean that I won't be alone ever again?:
:I'll be here. Always. That's part of what a Companion is. We are always with our Heralds. Even if they separate us, our minds will still be together. I will never leave you. I can never leave you.:
Luna felt tears gathering in her eyes. She could feel, as well as hear, what Dale was thinking, and his thoughts were so full of support, affection, even love, that it seemed somehow unreal. She was Nightmare Moon, who'd nearly destroyed the world. How could anybody love her?
:I don't know anything about Nightmare Moon, but I know you. That is another part of what a Companion is. We are gifted to Choose those who are worthy. We do not Choose wrongly.:
:But I'm so... so weak. I let hatred control me. I hurt people. And now I'm too afraid to take up my power again. How can I be worthy of anything?:
:You have weaknesses. All people do. But you are good at your core. I know it. I know you.:
Luna shook her head. Suddenly Spike make a strange burping sound and spit out a scroll. Luna hurried over to pick it up, feeling both regretful and grateful for the distraction. She was not comfortable with being told she was good. It felt like a lie. Nightmare Moon was evil. Nightmare Moon was her. She was evil. She was trying, she didn't want to be evil, but she knew she was evil, deep down in darkest parts of her mind. But now she could sense Dale in those same dark places, and his quiet approval was wonderful, and completely unnerving at the same time.
She read the scroll out loud. "My dearest sister, your letter jarred my memory, and I can now recall where I felt such strange power before. It was another Herald, like the ones you have met. He came here while experimenting with portal magic. He was accompanied by a Companion, a very strange white earth pony. His name was Vanyel, and she was Yfandes. They were both very driven by duty, and returned to their home not long after they came. Vaneyl was a unicorn also, though he had been human before. He successfully learned the portal spell in only a few weeks' time, though I suspect that is largely because he did little else but study while he was here. Hopefully that is what you wanted to know. I enclose a few notes on what I remember of inter-dimensional portals, though they are very similar to those a unicorn might use to travel long distances with friends. Best of luck in aiding your new friends. With love, Celestia."
New friends, thought Luna. Are the Heralds my friends? Maybe they are. They seem nice...
"Did she say Vanyel?" asked Dale.
"Yes."
"Vanyel," he repeated, sounding startled. Strangely Luna realized that she could faintly sense his surprise, there in the dark depths of her mind.
"You know him?"
"I know of him. He was before my time. Seven hundred years before my time, if I'm recalling my calendar correctly. He was the most famous Herald-mage ever. There are stories and songs about him. But none of them mention any place like this."
"I bet he did what Elspeth is planning to do with time, and returned seconds after he left. If he didn't seem to have been gone sharing a tale about traveling elsewhere would seem a lie, or madness."
Dale nodded. "True." He paused, then added, "I know that time here and time in my world aren't necessarily related but, uh, your sister..."
"Could easily have met him seven hundred years ago," said Luna. "We're old." Dale shivered as he sensed a deep, profound sorrow fill her. "We're very old. Some days I think I know why the sun and moon grew tired of looking down on the world."
"I'm sorry," whispered Dale, not knowing what else to say. He projected his love at Luna, the unconditional love that a Companion had for the one he'd Chosen. He'd seen all of her soul. He knew very little about her, but he knew her all the same, and he didn't want her to be sad.
Twilight sparkle coughed delicately. "If we want to be ready for the party we should eat, and groom a bit."
"Yes, of course," said Luna.
The library proved to have a small kitchen attached to it, and Twilight seemed delighted to be able to serve her guests lunch. She assembled alfalfa sandwiches, garnishing them with blossoms, with an apple each for dessert. "I'd offer you something sweeter, but there will be enough sweets at Pinkie Pie's party to make you sick." Twilight smiled.
"I like apples," said Dale simply, and Luna smiled.
"Me too."
Luna and Twilight brushed their manes. Dale got his brushed by Luna, since he couldn't hold the brush. Luna told him that earth ponies could grip things, but obviously there was some trick to it he wasn't catching on to.
Their appearance set in order, the trio of ponies, with Spike riding on Twilight's back, set out for the party. Neither Dale nor Luna knew what to expect. Dale had been to parties of sorts, Heralds often included their Companions in their celebrations, and the unpartnered were welcome at such events. Luna hadn't been to a party in a thousand years, unless the dull, formal balls that somebody in Equestria seemed to think that Canterlot needed to hold regularly counted.
Pinkie Pie's party was a riot of color and sound. Dale and Luna both gazed around at bright streamers, tables laden with equally bright food, and other, more peculiar decorations placed everywhere. Dale recognized these objects as the same things pictured on the pink pony's flank. He lifted a hoof and prodded one of them curiously. "That's a balloon," said Luna. She grinned. "You should have seen me the first time I encountered one. Don't poke it too hard."
"Why not?" asked Dale.
"Because this!" shouted Pinkie Pie gleefully, and pounced on one, pinning it under her hooves. It popped with a bang, making Dale shy and snort. Luna giggled, and Pinkie Pie laughed hysterically.
A number of other ponies were present, though Dale saw no sign of Elspeth, Skif, or his fellow Companions as yet. He went over to a punch bowl and, watching the other ponies, figured out the trick of picking up a cup in his teeth and drinking. A blue unicorn ladled out the punch, using magic to float the ladle about. The punch tasted tart and fruity. He'd never drunk punch before, Companions lived on much the same fare as ordinary horses, albeit usually the very best of such. Alfalfa hay and hot mash had been his favorites, but either his tastes had changed in this somewhat changed form, or he should have been drinking fruit punch rather than water all along, for it was very good.
Cheerful, bouncy music filled the air, and after a moment searching for the musicians, Dale traced the sound to a peculiar contraption. Luna had apparently reached the same destination, for he found her staring at it in fascination. A flat black disk circled around, with an arm over it, and a sort of cone was attached to that, from which the music emerged.
"What is it?" asked Dale.
Luna shrugged. "I'm not sure. I haven't seen one before. I'm still learning things. I... I was gone for a long time, you see. The world changed a lot while I was gone."
He sensed her unwillingness to talk just then, so he didn't ask.
"Yay, you're all here!" shouted Pinkie Pie. She put a brightly colored object in her mouth and blew on it. It made a loud noise as it unrolled into a long tube and then rolled up again. Luna giggled. Elspeth, who'd just stepped into the room, took a step back in surprise.
"Well don't just stand there like a silly-willy-filly! Come in! Have a cupcake!"
Elspeth smiled a bit uncertainly and entered, with the others following behind her.
"I think I want a cupcake too," said Luna. "I love cupcakes. Twilight told me Pinkie Pie's are the best in Equestria."
She trotted over to a table laden with baked goods and floated a cupcake into the air. She bit into it. "Mmmmmmm. That is good."
Dale grinned. "You have frosting on your lip."
Luna giggled and licked it off. "I wonder if Pinke would give me the recipe?"
"Nah," said a blue pegasus pony hovering in the air nearby. "She never shares it with anypony. Says there's some 'secret ingredient'" the pegasus made quotation mark gestures in the air, "and she won't tell anybody what it is. But they really are good, aren't they?" She landed and picked up one in her teeth, tossing her head back and eating the entire thing, crumbs spraying everywhere.
Dale cautiously sampled one, and found it amazingly delicious, if much sweeter than anything he was used to. Companions were not habitual cake eaters, to say the least.
Skif came over and sampled a cupcake. "Hi Dale. Hi Luna. Hi pony I don't know." Skif, ever adaptable, had already started to pick up the local vernacular. He substituted "pony" for "person" as comfortably as if he'd always been around ponies.
"I'm Rainbow Dash," said the blue pegasus. "The fastest flier in all Equestria!"
"Skif. Nice to meet such a famous pony." He grinned at Rainbow Dash.
"I see creampuffs!" said Luna with sudden enthusiasm. "Dale, come try one!"
Dale waved a hoof at Skif, who waved back and continued chatting with Dash.
By the time Dale reached the table where these "creampuffs" were sitting Luna had eaten half a dozen of the round confections. She looked not the last bit embarrassed by her excess either. Dale chuckled as he sensed her gleeful, hedonistic pleasure in the taste. "Try one!" she said.
Dale picked up a cream puff in his teeth. He tipped his head back and bit into it. I've died and gone to the Havens. It was quite possibly the best thing he'd ever eaten.
The party was long since over, and the sun had just set. A purple twilight settled over Ponyville. Dale smiled, remembering the unicorn Twilight Sparkle. The sky was the exact color of her coat, which was no doubt how she'd gotten her name.
"It's a beautiful night," he said softly.
Luna sighed sadly. "Yes it is."
"And that makes you sad. Why?"
Luna leaned against Dale. They were both laying on a balcony in the upper branches of the library. Twilight Sparkle was fiddling with her telescope on a different balcony, waiting for it to get dark enough. Luna had agreed to stargaze with her again, and while the night fell and Twilight prepared, she and Dale had gravitated towards each other, feeling the inner pull of their still-new bond.
"To understand, you need to know about my sister and I. And to know that I guess you need to know about everything from the beginning."
"Everything? What, from the creation of the world?"
"Close enough," said Luna with a smile. "I'll tell you the story. It begins after the creation of the world, but before the ponies were as you know them now."
She cleared her throat and began, her voice soft and sad.
"Long, long ago the pony race was less than it is now. The ponies of that long ago had no language. They had no art. They made no tools. And they used no magic. They were animals, no more intelligent than any other creature of forest or field. They lived short lives, and were prey for many creatures, but they knew no sorrow, since they knew no joy. They simply were.
"Then one day the sun looked down on a new morning, and said 'I grow weary. I have seen the world begin, and all things begin to be, and many things end, and I am weary of seeing. But I cannot sleep and rest, lest the world be plunged into darkness and the creatures on it perish.' She pondered long on her problem. As she pondered she saw a pony, new-foaled, who was as white as a cloud with hair as pink as a flower in spring. It was a thing even the sun had never seen before, for ponies then were always in earth colors, black or brown or gray. A plan came to her then, and she reached out to the infant pony and touched her with sun-power, planting a seed of magic deep within her.
"As the pony grew, the magic grew with her. It changed her as it grew, and by the time she was a mare she had become a unicorn, which thing had never been seen before on all the world. And as the magic grew, her knowledge and understanding grew also. She learned the language of the sun. She learned to speak also to the moon. She learned many things. And she taught those things to the ponies around her. For her magic shone forth from her, and it changed them, though less than it changed the sun-touched pony herself. Under the influence of her magic the ponies learned language. They made tools. They made art. And eventually they too began to learn magic.
"For among the ponies born after the sun-touched mare there were unicorns, and pegasi also. And from that time on the ponies were no longer only brown, or black, or gray, but began to be born in every color. Their magic swelled within them, and it marked them as they grew, even the earth ponies, each pony's soul shining through in her marking. So it was not long after the birth of the sun-touched pony that ponies became very much as they are today.
"But that is not the end of the story. For a thousand years the sun slowly gave her power to the sun-touched pony. And she continued to grow and change. She grew wings. Her mane and tail grew new colors, and began to flow with magic. She grew taller and more graceful than any pony. And after a thousand years the sun had given the pony all her magic, there was none left in the sun any more. Then the sun told the pony, 'The sun's power is yours now, and the sun's responsibility too.' And with that the sun went into a deep slumber, from which she has never awakened. And the sun-touched pony raised the sun each morning, and lowered it each night, and watched over all the ponies as her people, and they were happy.
"The moon, sister to the sun, saw what the sun had done. The moon was younger than her sister, and perhaps more foolish, but she too felt weary and wished to rest. So she too selected a new-foaled pony. The moon chose a dark blue foal, and gave her a seed of the moon's power.
"The sun-touched pony sensed the passing of the moon's power, and flew to investigate. And it was well that she did, for the birth had been hard, and the foal's mother died only moments after the birth and the moon's gift. The sun-touched pony searched, but there was no stallion who would claim the foal as his own. So the sun-touched pony took the moon-touched pony with her, and called her 'sister' and raised her.
"But the moon, as I said, was perhaps more foolish than the sun had been. She did not want to wait a thousand years. And the young moon-touched pony did not wish to wait either. She saw her sister raising the sun, and she wanted to raise the moon. The will of the moon and the will of the moon-touched pony worked together, and in her third century the moon-sister took up her full power, and the moon slumbered.
"Now it chanced that the moon-sister was in one way very unlike her sun-sister. For the sun-sister had been an earth pony before the sun's power was planted in her. But the moon-sister had been born a unicorn. And it chanced that the moon's power multiplied her natural magic, making her very strong, stronger even than her elder sister.
"She was young and foolish, as her moon had been. And her great power made her very proud. She was also very vain, and took pleasure in the beauty of her night. She sought to make each night a work of art, and came always to her sister, saying 'Sister, is my night not beautiful?' Her sister, who loved her greatly, always praised her night. But as time passed she grew more and more jealous. For her sister alone praised her night. All other ponies slept during the hours of darkness. They woke during daylight to play, and to work, and they often spoke of a beautiful day, but rarely of a beautiful night. This made the moon-sister jealous. She began to press her elder sister to allow her to raise the sun as well. Over the ages her jealousy and her desire for power grew. She begged, she argued, she shouted and fought, and finally she disowned her sister, and swore eternal hatred towards her.
"The sun-sister was wise, for the moon-sister had been twisted by having such great power, so young, and so easily. More power would not help her. She sorrowed when her sister disowned her, but she did not relent. But the moon-sister was not so wise, and she decided that her sister was plotting against her. She saw the jealousy in her own heart, and thought that her elder sister was jealous too, jealous of her great power, and that was why she would not give over the sun. In her hatred she forswore the name her sister had named her with, and re-named herself Nightmare Moon, and swore to have revenge for what she perceived as the wrongs done against her.
"So Nightmare Moon raised her power one day, moon power and magnified unicorn power together, and took the sun from her sister, and prevented it from rising. She swore that the night would last forever, and her power would be absolute.
"The sun-sister saw that her beloved little sister had put herself beyond all help. Her power was too great, and so was her hatred. But there were yet greater powers. The sun-sister, in her wisdom, knew of them. She took her own power and used it to raise a great talisman of good, the Elements of Harmony. They broke the moon-sister's hold over the sun, and allowed the sun-sister to banish the moon-sister to the moon."
Luna paused here, and Dale saw that she was crying silently, tears streaming down her cheeks. "The... the sun-sister had not wished to banish her beloved moon-sister, but it was the only way, for the sun sister had not been able to break her bond with the moon, her source of power. So she must be trapped there, unable to use that power on the world. It... it was the only way. Nightmare Moon raged against her exile, and swore that one day she would return, and overturn the sun, and banish her sister forever. In bitterness and hatred she dwelt on the moon, refusing to admit that... that she had been wrong. That she had done evil, and her sister had done good."
Luna paused again, and Dale leaned against her side, wordlessly offering her his support and love. He could feel how much this story pained her. After some time she finally continued. "A thousand years passed, and on a particular day the wandering stars, those that are actually planets, aligned just so. As part of her night, Nightmare Moon could use their power, and the beam of their power paved a path from the moon to the world, which she could follow.
"This time Nightmare Moon banished her sister, and once again prevented the sun from rising. But a young unicorn and her friends came, bearing the Elements of Harmony, though they knew it not. The moon-sister could not work against that subtle power directly, and they thwarted all of her attempts to stop them by indirect means. They raised the power of the Elements of Harmony against her and this time... this time they were raised not by one with magic, and sorrow, but by six with friendship and love. So their power not only broke Nightmare Moon's magic, it broke the hatred that had made her into Nightmare Moon and not... and not... Luna. And her sister forgave her, and loved her. So... so she became Luna again, but with very little moon magic. And... and she has not tried to regain her power and raise the moon again, for she is... is afraid that if she takes power again then Nightmare Moon will come back, and she will be lost in evil forever."
She started sobbing, and put her muzzle against Dale's shoulder, crying into his coat. He made soft sounds of comfort, and nuzzled her.
"I see now why you worry that you might be evil," said Dale softly after a long time. "There is something I know about evil though. Evil doesn't cry."
"What?" Luna sniffled and looked up at him.
"Evil doesn't cry. Evil is selfishness. Evil is giving in wholly to that impulse that puts one's self first and all others later, but evil doesn't regret selfishness, evil just goes ahead, forging ever deeper. You may have set foot on the path to evil, but then you regretted, and turned back. If you were still on that path you would not be crying now. You would be thinking how to use me to your advantage, rather than feeling unworthy to have me here."
"I... I don't know."
Dale nuzzled her gently. "You fear becoming evil. That's good. You need to strive to avoid evil always. But you can't let the fear of what you might be convince that's what you are. You turned back from that path, and you're walking further away from it every day, Luna. And someday you will take up your power again, and use it to help others."
"I can't... I..."
"Not yet. I know you're not ready yet. I won't push you into it. But someday you will be ready, even if it's another thousand years from now." He smiled at her, though this time he was a little bit wistful, a little bit sad. "I know you will. I just hope I can be there to see it."
Luna felt a trickle of sadness, there in the deepest part of her, where her bond with Dale was growing. "You're sad now. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I just hope I did the right thing when I Chose you. I felt it was right, and I've been taught to trust my instincts, but it's possible that here in this other world they're not trustworthy. I want to help you be everything you can be. But I may have done you a great wrong."
"You? But you're so good! How could you do anything wrong?"
Dale shook his head. "I'm not perfect. And I didn't know you were immortal when I Chose you. Heralds are normally as mortal as their Companions, and they both grow old together. When a Companion dies, or when a Herald dies, their other half usually dies soon after. It is very rare, very rare for one to outlive the other. But you... I have no idea what will happen. If you do come home with me, to Haven, to be a Herald in my world, then you may become human, as Elsepth and Skif became ponies. And then you'll be mortal and you'll die, many years sooner than you should have. So there is one wrong I may have done you. And if you do not become mortal, if you don't change, or if you stay here, then I may still grow old and die. And when I do... I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry. I told you I would be with you always, and I may have lied, though I meant it when I said it. I don't know what will happen then. That I could become immortal like you seems the least likely course, and the only one where I will not have done you harm. I'm sorry."
Impulsively Luna leaned over and nuzzled him. "It's okay." She tried to think at him, wanting him to be sure she meant what she said. She was fairly certain you couldn't lie mind-to-mind. :I'm glad you Chose me. Maybe it will lead to sorrow. I know it will lead to complications. But I don't care. I've never had a friend before. Having you as such a special friend is wonderful. And I know you can help me to be better, to fight Nightmare Moon when that part of me tries to come back. I'd rather have that, even with risking everything else.:
:Thank you,: he replied simply.
When Twilight came over to tell them the telescope was ready, she found them both sound asleep, Luna with her head resting on Dale's shoulder. She smiled and floated a blanket over to them, and left them together while she went to watch the stars alone.
Dale and Luna woke to the sound of panicked cries and clattering hooves. Dale started to his feet and dashed to the edge of the balcony. Below him ponies were running in every direction, shouting in terror as they ran. Most were headed in one direction, but he saw Twilight Sparkle dash out the front door of the library and run towards whatever it was the other ponies were fleeing.
He made out one word amid the panicked babble. "Stampede!"
"Let's go!" said Luna, and she was off the balcony and flying after Twilight Sparkle before Dale could react. He yelped as he felt himself suddenly lifted into the air and floated after the princess. She lowered him to the ground as she flew, and he hit the ground running. Up ahead he could see a cloud of dust, and small dark shapes in front of it as something stampeded towards the town.
They reached the border of Ponyville rapidly. Now he could see that the stampede was a herd of cows. He could also see a handful of other ponies converging on the spot. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, who he'd met last night. Applejack, who was running neck and neck with Twilight Sparkle. A white unicorn who'd caught up with him from behind was there as well, and a yellow pegasus, flying near the ground with her eyes squeezed half shut in obvious fear, but still headed towards the crisis and not away from it.
As the herd thundered towards them Dale realized that the cows were not just lowing, they were shouting too, just as the ponies in town had. Well, I guess intelligent cows isn't that much stranger than a whole world full of intelligent equines, he thought. Somewhat more alarming was the cry they were shouting. "Wolves! Wolves!"
"Twilight!" Yelled Applejack, "I don't reckon I can turn them this time! If they got wolves on their heels they won't turn for nopony nohow!"
"Right! We need to go through them to stop the wolves. Can you split them so they go to either side?"
"Can do, sugarcube! Dash! I'm gonna nudge the lead cow over a mite, you nudge her neighbor the other way, and we'll go right down the middle!"
"Right!" They were almost to the herd now. With the easy coordination of those who've worked together often Applejack took the lead, and the other ponies fell in behind in a wedge shape. Dale followed suit, taking up the tail end of the wedge. Overhead Rainbow Dash dived, just as they reached the stampeding herd. With a shout Applejack shouldered the cow thundering down on her aside. Rainbow thudded into another, and suddenly the herd was flowing around them as they ran past in opposite directions. And an instant later, before they had time to think, huge gray shapes were all around them.
Dale had been expecting the sort of wolves he knew, creatures hardly higher than his knee. These wolves were easily as large as he was, and he was the largest pony there. He dodged a pair of snapping jaws, and suddenly the wolf attacking him glowed and shot up into the air. He glanced up to see Luna hovering over him, her horn alight. She picked up a second wolf, then a third, but seemed to reach the limit of her ability at three.
Twilight Sparkle saw what Luna was doing and picked up a pair of wolves as well. As the numbers fell Dale could see there were only three more. Rainbow Dash had rammed one in the side fearlessly, knocking it off its feet with a startled yelp. Applejack bucked and kicked, hitting another wolf in the face and sending it into yelping retreat.
"Don't hurt them!" squeaked the yellow pegasus. She flew up to the third wolf, and to Dale's surprise she landed in front of the slavering creature and glared at it. Her narrowed eyes were full of quiet rage, and she started to lecture it. "Bad wolf! You're not suppose to attack ponies! You're not supposed to eat cows! Shame on you! You belong in the Everfree forest, where you can hunt the way you should. You don't belong in Ponyville! You're being just terrible, and you should know better!"
The wolf tucked its tail under its belly and whined in submission. Dale just stared. The little yellow pegasus kept lecturing the wolf. Luna and Twilight Sparkle both lowered their captive wolves down next to it, and Fluttershy glared at them as well. "And you! You've all been very bad. Now say you're sorry and that you won't do it ever again!"
To Dale's further surprise, the wolves all mumbled that they were sorry, and then turned and slunk away from town, every one of them with its tail tucked up in defeat.
"Way to go, Flutteryshy!" said Rainbow Dash, landing next to the yellow pegasus.
She smiled shyly. "Thank you. I'm just glad nobody was hurt."
"You did a right good job, sugarcube," said Applejack with a smile.
"Yes, that was terrific!" said Twilight Sparkle.
Luna landed next to Dale. "She's only gotten better, I think," she said with a strange little smile. "I saw her stop a manticore once, but this was more impressive. The manticore was only upset, not actually trying to hurt anypony."
"Thank you for your help, princess," said Twilight Sparkle, coming over to Luna and Dale.
"It was no trouble," said Luna, her smile brightening. "it was kind of exciting, really."
"You know what this calls for?" said Pinkie Pie, bouncing up and down. "This calls for a party!"
Twilight Sparkle smiled at Pinkie Pie. "I would love to have a party, but I'm not sure we'll be able to have one today, Pinkie. The herd didn't turn this time, they've run right through the town. They'll have done a lot of damage, and we have a lot of work ahead of us helping everypony in town repair things. I don't think you'll have time to throw another party."
"Aw." Pinkie Pie's face fell. "You're right, Twilight. Helping everypony is important."
"How about this? You had some snacks left over from last night, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, when we're done with the cleanup we can meet at the library and eat a few snacks and have a little, quiet party. A mini-party. How does that sound?"
"That sounds super-duper!" said Pinkie Pie, perking up again.
"Great. Now let's go help the townsponies."
The six ponies, with Luna and Dale trailing along, trotted back into town. As Dale helped repair smashed fences and salvage trampled gardens he considered what had happened. Twilight Sparkle and her friends had run towards danger, and not away from it. So had Luna, but Dale had known she would. It was part of what made somebody a Herald, part of the potential he'd sensed in her. She had a strong desire to do something about a problem, and not just sit around and ignore it. And she was no coward. Twilight's friends seemed to be made of much the same stuff. And not only had they stepped into danger, but now they were doing the hard work of fixing what had gone wrong. Another quality shared by Heralds. They were not only heroes, they were everyday helpers that made the kingdom run smoothly.
He wondered what would have happened if six more unpartnered companions had come along with him. Would Twilight and her friends have been Chosen as well?
He trotted wearily back to the library after the worst of the mess had been cleaned up. When he arrived he found Twilight and her friends already gathered. His Valdemaran friends were there as well, Elspeth already deep in a conversation about the mechanics of magic with Twilight Sparkle, and Skif talking animatedly with Rainbow Dash, while Gwena and Cymry were both sitting next to Fluttershy, quietly discussing something he couldn't quite make out amid all the chatter. Pinie Pie was setting out snacks, and Dale was thrilled to find that there were some creampuffs left. He trotted over and helped himself to a few.
"Fight you for the last one," said Luna with a grin, joining him at the snack table.
"I'll be a gentleman and let you have it," said Dale. "That and I know you'd probably win."
Luna giggled. "I would, because I would cheat shamelessly and use magic. For creampuffs it would be worth it."
Dale laughed.
"Everypony listen up!" Dale looked over to see Rainbow Dash standing on her hind hooves, gesturing animatedly. "You guys won't have heard this story, and you totally should!" Rainbow Dash had captured Elsepth's attention as well as Skif's. Dale too wandered over to hear the brash blue pegasus.
"So it all started with the Best Young Flier competition, right? I was going to win, of course, but then Rarity had gotten these magic wings, and she entered the contest too. Only she flew up too high and the wings burnt off. I didn't see it right away, but the Wonderbolts, they're amazing, I'm going to join them someday! They saw what happened and dived right off after her, of course. Only she was so freaked out she was all flailing around and she knocked all three of them out! So now there are four ponies falling, and only one pony to save the day, me, Rainbow Dash! I went into this awesome dive, going super-fast, and right before they hit the ground I caught them all! And got up enough speed for the sonic rain-boom, which nobody else has ever pulled off but me! It was awesome! Even more awesome than when I headbutted that mean old wolf today."
"Fluttershy was the awesome one today," said Twilight Sparkle with a grin.
"Yeah, you were pretty cool," Dash said to Fluttershy, who hid behind her mane and squeaked out a quiet "Thank you."
"You were far more 'awesome' when you dealt with that dragon!" broke in the white unicorn, who'd been introduced earlier as Rarity. "We all failed there, but you saved the day."
Fluttershy smiled, a little, half-hidden smile. "I was very scared."
"We were all very scared, darling. But you faced him down anyway. It was very brave of you."
"You've done brave things too," said Fluttershy, blushing in embarrassment.
"Me? Oh, I don't think so."
"You figured out how to deal with those diamond dogs," said Twilight Sparkle.
"And I think ya'll was very brave to give up yer tail for that poor ol' river dragon," broke in Applejack. "Ah'll admit at the time I thought he was bein' plain ridiculous, and ya'll were both making too much fuss about nothin', but now that I know ya a mite better, I know how much it took fer ya'll to sacrifice like that."
"Well what else could I do, darling? After Nightmare Moon cut off his fabulous moustache! I couldn't just leave him like that!" She suddenly stopped and looked at Luna with wide eyes. "Oh my! I'm so sorry to bring that up, Luna. I know you didn't..."
Luna shook her head. "I'm the one that needs to be sorry. I did a lot of things I shouldn't have, and upsetting the poor river dragon was the least of it. I'm very sorry, sorry to you all." She looked somewhat nervous, and Dale could sense her fear. She was afraid that these ponies, being reminded of what she had been, wouldn't want to be her friends anymore. But she was facing the fear, and facing her past as well. "I'm sorry, Rarity, and I need to say sorry to the river dragon, for upsetting him and making you give up your tail."
"Think nothing of it, my dear. The tail was restored by the Elements before anypony even saw it, after all. I hardly suffered!" Rarity gave her a dazzling smile.
"I'm very sorry, Rainbow Dash, for trying to make you betray your friends."
"Ah, you never stood a chance, don't worry about it," said Rainbow Dash dismissively.
"And I'm sorry for hurting the manticore, and making him attack you all."
"It's okay Luna," said Fluttershy quietly. "He was only a little bit hurt. I pulled that thorn right out, and he barely even remembers it now."
"I'm sorry I tried to frighten you with the living trees," contined Luna, determinedly pressing on.
" It's okay! We had a good laugh. They were so silly!" Pinkie Pie's grin was contagious, and Luna couldn't help but smile back.
"And I'm sorry I tried to drop you all off a cliff."
"That was you too, sugarcube? Well, you didn't harm a one of us, so I don't see there's much to be sorry for." Applejack's smile was warm too, and Luna smiled back, feeling amazingly light. None of them seemed to hate her for what she'd done to them. But there was one more thing...
"And Twilight... I'm very sorry for attacking you in the castle. I was trying to kill you. I am so very, very glad I failed."
Twilight shrugged. "If you hadn't attacked me I never would have felt the spark of friendship and realized what the Elements of Harmony really were. So it all worked out for the best in the end, Luna. I hope... I hope you can forgive me for attacking you too. I thought I had killed you. And I was glad of it, which was wrong of me."
"No, you..." Luna paused, catching herself saying almost the same thing she'd always refused to hear from her sister. "You were attacking Nightmare Moon, not me. You saved me, you set me free from hatred. So thank you. Thank you very much. And thank you all for being so kind to me on my visit here. I'd like... I'd like it if we could be friends."
"Well of course, sugarcube, It'd be a right honor."
"Indeed, Darling."
"You'd be a super-duper friend!"
"Yeah, you're pretty cool."
"I'd like to be your friend."
"We have so much in common, I'm sure we'll be great friends."
Luna smiled at them all, feeling a swelling of blissful happiness in her chest. All these ponies would be her friends? Even having experienced the evils of Nightmare Moon directly? They had forgiven her as easily as her sister. It was nothing short of miraculous.
"We'll be your friends too," said Elspeth, breaking in. "You're a sweet person, and I think we all like you a lot. And if you do come with us to Haven you'll meet even more people who want to be friends with you, I'm sure."
"Thank you. Thank you all very much," said Luna, trying not to cry. She had no idea if she wanted to stay here and try and regain her powers, or if she wanted to go to this other world and get a new start, but it was wonderful to know that whichever choice she made she would have friends there by her side.
It was a beautiful summer day in Ponyville. The library's door was open to let in a warm breeze. Birds were singing in the branches of the library tree, and Dale and the other Companions were lounging on the grass just outside the door, keeping out of the way of Elspeth, Twilight, and Luna, who were having a fairly intense magic lesson.
"Woo hoo!" Rainbow Dash came tearing past the library, her trademark streak of rainbow trailing out behind her. Dale just smiled to see it. He was past being surprised by anything these ponies did anymore.
Skif went rocketing after her, his wings a blur, and Dale smiled more broadly. The thief-turned-Herald-turned-pegasus seemed to be enjoying his flying lessons. "I may not be able to fly when I get home, but it would be a shame not to enjoy it while I can," he had said earlier. And Rainbow Dash had been more than willing to teach him, though Dale suspected she was just enjoying the chance to show off a little. She'd had to work hard to keep ahead of Skif though, he picked up physical skills quickly, a legacy of a childhood spent learning how to climb houses, pick pockets, and do other demanding tasks.
Inside the library there was a small explosion, and Dale winced. Elspeth, on the other hand, wasn't learning magic as easily as she'd hoped.
He peered in the door to where Luna and Twilight were both patiently coaching Elspeth. The tip of her horn was slightly scorched, and she looked very cross and impatient. "You're still letting your old habits influence you. Unicorn magic is different." Twilight scolded her gently.
Elspeth sighed. "I know, I know. But it's easier said than done."
"Well as they say, practice makes perfect. So let's try this again. First gather your power in your horn."
Elspeth nodded and closed her eyes. Her horn began to glow.
"Very good. Now remember to reach through the horn, not through your hooves this time."
"Right," muttered Elspeth. A moment later a glowing bubble surrounded her.
"Oh very good!" said Twilight. "Very good! That one took me nearly as long, even without the bad habits."
"I don't suppose I could learn the actual gate spell next?" asked Elspeth, the bubble still glowing around her.
"Hold the spell now," said Twilight. Then she added, "No, not until you're completely at ease with unicorn magic. You do not want to have a gate spell go bang on you the way that shield bubble just did. Isn't that right Luna?" Twilight looked over at the third pony in the room.
"Huh?" She blinked at them, then shook her head. "Oh yes, right. Gate spells are pretty powerful, you could blow yourself to bits."
"Nothing is wrong. There's just... something. I can sense it. I'm not sure what it is, but it somehow reminds me of the moon."
"Is that... bad?" Twilight looked nervous.
"I don't know. It's coming from that direction," Luna waved a hoof at the Everfree Forest, "so it might be some forgotten artifact in the old palace, or any number of other things."
"Could it be a creature?" asked Elspeth. The distraction made her mind wander and the bubble spell vanished with a "pop!"
"I suppose it could be a creature, yes," said Luna. "Why do you ask?"
"Because something attacked us right after we came through the gate. A huge monster. I don't know what connection it might have to magic, or to the moon, but it was in the ruins there."
"What sort of creature was it?" asked Twilight Sparkle.
"It was, well... it was a giant rabbit. Only with fangs, and claws like a cat, and horns, and a long tail."
"Hmm. I think..." Twilight's horn glowed and a book floated over to her. She leafed through it. "Ah, yes! It's a giant wolpertinger!"
"Ah, of course," said Luna. "The forest has always had a large population of wolpertingers, so getting one of the giant ones isn't that surprising."
"What is a wolpertinger?" asked Elspeth.
"Just what you said, it's mostly a rabbit, but they're predatory, and the small ones can fly."
"This one had wings, but they were too small, thankfully. Otherwise we'd never have escaped from it."
"They're mostly small creatures, but there's a peculiar magic in them, so that every now and then you get one that just grows and grows and never stops growing. So if nothing kills it, it will eventually be huge. I heard of one once that got nearly as big as an ursa major."
"It must have been while I was on the moon," said Luna, "if that really happened, otherwise I think I'd remember it. An ursa major is pretty big."
"Not the biggest thing there is though," said Twilight as she flipped through her book. "World snakes get bigger. But you never see them, they spend nearly all their time sleeping. They sleep so much that mountains grow on them."
"Would the wolpertinger be what you sensed, Luna?" asked Elspeth.
Luna shook her head. "No. A giant wolpertinger's only magic is its size. I sensed something magical. I still sense it, in fact. It's very faint, but it's there."
"Should we go investigate?" asked Twilight sparkle.
Luna hesitated. Then she shook her head. "No. Whatever it is, it's far off and not causing any problems. If it gets stronger maybe, but right now it's just another bit of magic in a forest full of bits of magic. Not worth the effort."
"Do you sense all those other bits of magic too?" Twilight Sparkle's eyes were wide with curiosity.
Luna smiled. "Yes. An alicorn is very sensitive. We have to be, in order to do our jobs. We have to know when there's new magic in Equestria. That's why I flew out here, after all. Stargazing with you was a wonderful bonus, and meeting so many friends has been amazing, but I came to investigate the portal magic that my sister and I sensed."
"So this thing you sensed is new?"
"Yes. But small. Or very far away. It's not big enough to worry about. If we went and checked on every single bit of new magic, we'd do nothing else. It's only the strong magic, or the magic that seems particularly harmful, that we investigate."
"You could send other ponies to look at the smaller magics," said Elspeth.
Luna considered that. "Hmm. Not a bad idea, actually."
"You two do a lot of things yourselves, don't you?"
"There are a lot of things only we two can do."
"But you do delegate some things, I hope?"
"Oh yes! Most of the everyday ruling matters of the nation get dealt with by various other ponies." Luna smiled. "I'd go completely around the bend if I had to get involved in all the politics and bureaucracy. Although I used to do most of the archives." She sighed. "I did always love scrolls, and doing all the statistics. I was a quick hoof with an abacus, back in the day. But Equestria is larger than it was, and there's a whole herd of ponies who manage all that now."
"That's good. A good leader always knows how to delegate. That's really the whole reason for the Heralds. We're the ones who do all the things the Queen would do, if she could be everywhere."
"That sounds like a very sensible way to run things," said Luna thoughtfully. "Can you tell me more about what Heralds do?"
"Most Heralds do what we call 'riding circuit.' They have an area of responsibility and they circle around it, stopping at every village. They bring news with them, and changes to the laws. But mostly they hear disputes, report on problems, and generally keep things orderly. They'll deal with small attacks by bandits or wild animals, and do what they can in cases of sickness and plague, both to help cure and to contain the spread of such things. They do whatever they can to help, wherever they are."
"You said most Heralds. What do the others do?"
"Well, some are teachers, training new Heralds. And there are a few special tasks. The archivist is a Herald. So is the weaponsmaster. And there's the Queen's Own. Or King's Own, when there's a king, but right now my mother Selenay reigns."
"What do they do?"
"Well, there's a certain amount of trivial stuff that comes from being the highest ranked Herald, but mostly what they do is to be there for the Queen. A ruler needs somebody they can take off all their masks with."
Luna nodded solemnly, thinking of Celestia.
"And a ruler needs somebody who's not going to be subservient to them, who can tell them if they have a particularly bad idea. The Queen's Own is technically equal to the Queen, he or she has the right to veto any idea the Queen has. Of course that doesn't get used very often, the idea of it is the really useful thing. It's very easy to get a swelled head when your every word is law. Knowing that somebody can shoot you down makes a difference.
"And of course the Queen's Own is the one person at court who has no personal agenda. They don't have any ties to the court itself, they're not usually a member of a noble family or anything like that. And since they're a Herald, Chosen by a Companion, they're completely trustworthy. I think sometimes that's the most important thing. They're a listening ear who's there to care about the Queen, and not to push their own politics. That's a very rare thing at court. At least in our kingdom."
"It's a rare thing here in Equestria too," said Luna. "And I think that in a peculiar sort of way Twilight Sparkle and I, between us, have been doing that sort of thing for my sister this last year."
"Me?" Twilight Sparkle looked surprised. "But I'm not equal to the Princess!"
"No. But I am. And you're somebody trustworthy, with no ties at court. I know Celestia looks forward to your letters as a welcome break from all the back stabbing and politicking she deals with every day."
Twilight blushed. "Really?"
"Yes. She's always very happy to get them."
A frown crossed Elspeth's face. "If you're like the Queen's Own for your sister, what's going to happen if... when you come with us to Valdemar?"
Luna looked at Elspeth, her expression troubled. "It's definitely 'if' and not 'when', Elspeth. I don't know, I really don't know if I can go. I'm not just another pony. I should... I should be the Bringer of Night, I should be raising the moon, as my sister raises the sun. I'm not now because... because of a lot of things. So maybe I could go. But if I do, I give up being everything I've ever been, or ever hoped to be. And I guess probably Heralds have had to do that before, but I really don't know if I can."
For a moment Elspeth's frown deepened and she looked rather annoyed, but then she sighed. "Sorry. I'm afraid I'm used to Valdemarans being Chosen, it's rare for somebody not raised around Heralds to be Chosen, though it's been happening more often of late, with our recent alliances with other nations. It used to go without saying that a Herald will accept their duty and come to Haven for training. And Heralds are always Chosen for their sense of duty."
"I do have a sense of duty. The problem is that it includes my duty to my sister. I... I'm grateful to be Chosen, I know it's an honor, and I wouldn't want to give up Dale for anything. But I just don't know if I can go. I really don't. Yes my sister has handled my duties for a very long time, but maybe that's all the more reason for me to take them up again." She sighed. "I've been wrestling with this even before I was Chosen. Now it seems like twice as much of a problem, and I have no idea what the right choice is."
"I guess I can understand, a bit. I've been torn between duties too, when I was still the heir, before I gave it up, but I knew what I really wanted to do. It was just difficult arranging things so that I could do what I felt I should. It would have been a lot harder if I hadn't been so certain."
"I'm sure you'll be able to choose what's best when the time comes," said Twilight Sparkle with a warm smile. "You have plenty of time left to think about it, if the way these lessons are going is any indication."
Elspeth laughed ruefully "Very true. I guess I won't feel bad for taking so long to master magic, in that case."
"Don't think that means you can slack off on your lessons though!" said Luna with a giggle. "Speaking of which, let's try the shield bubble again."
"Right." Elspeth turned her attention back to magic.
Dale turned his gaze back to the streets of Ponyville, but his thoughts kept worrying over the problem of what to do with Luna. It was true that a prince of another kingdom had been Chosen, and not very long ago. But prince Daren had been easily spared from his brother's court. And he had not been just another Herald. He had become the Queen's royal consort, very much her equal and as vital in his own way as the Queen's Own was.
But there were no such positions going begging now. Luna would be just another Herald. And there was the issue of what would happen if she turned into a mortal human. She would lose not only everything she ever wanted to be, but all the years should could have lived. And more than that, she was something very close to a goddess. She had told him about being trapped on the moon, but that was next door compared to going to Valdemar. Would it harm this whole world if he took a goddess away from it? He didn't know. I should be sure of this. I've Chosen, and my Chosen is meant to be a Herald! What point in Choosing if Luna just stays here? Heralds exist for a reason!
He sighed. It was just not that simple. But between them he and Luna had to figure out what was best for both worlds.
The Valdemarans had been in Ponyville for two weeks when Luna announced that she needed to leave. She and Twilight had been stargazing again, while Dale lurked nearby as he tended to do.
"No, I'm not headed to Canterlot. I'm going the opposite direction." She gestured towards the Everfree Forest. "The new magic I sensed has been growing. Very slowly, but very steadily. Either something is gathering power, or something quite powerful is moving closer. At this distance I can't tell which it is. But in either case it's gone on long enough that somebody needs to investigate. I'll leave in the morning."
"Can I come along?" asked Dale.
Luna frowned at him. "I was planning on flying, and you're an earth pony."
"You've lifted me with magic before. Could you carry me with you?"
"I wouldn't think you'd enjoy that very much," said Luna doubtfully. "All the earth ponies I've known prefer to have their hooves on the ground."
"I don't mind. I want to come with you."
"All right," said Luna.
They slept in the spare bed in Twilight's room once again, or rather Luna did. Dale, who insisted that he was used to such things, slept standing. The ponies of this land didn't seem to know how, but he's slept on his feet in a stall most of his life, and didn't see it as any sort of hardship.
It was late morning by the time they woke. Twilight and Spike went down to open the library, while Luna and Dale made breakfast for the four of them.
"Is this thing you've sensed likely to be dangerous?" asked Dale.
"I have no idea," said Luna. "The last thing I went to investigate proved to be you, so if past history is any indication it will be harmless but troublesome."
Dale laughed. "Harmless but troublesome, hm?"
"Yep." She grinned at him. "But really it could be anything. Even with as long as I've lived there are still things I've never seen. I've never seen a world snake, for example. I've also never seen a pony who eats as much as you," she added as Dale dug into his food.
Dale grinned. "I'm a growing boy, got to keep my strength up."
Luna's eyes widened in mock-fright. "Celestia forbid you grow any larger! I won't be able to lift you if you do!"
Dale chuckled. He had always been one of the larger Companions, and here he was bigger than any pony he'd met so far, except for Big Macintosh. Luna was taller than average for a pony, but he was as tall as she, and much stockier.
Banter and breakfast both completed, they cleaned up the dishes and went outside. Twilight Sparkle said goodbye and excused herself to go tidy the perpetually messy library.
Luna didn't hesitate any longer. She spread her wings and launched herself into the air. A moment later her horn glowed, and Dale felt himself lifted. It was admittedly a bit unsettling to be floating with no apparent support, but he wasn't going to let Luna go off to investigate something potentially dangerous without him.
Luna sped towards the Everfree forest, the wind whistling around her as she flew. Dale closed his eyes. They were going very fast and it was a little bit dizzying. But he found that closing his eyes made it worse, so he opened them again. The wind buffeted him, and he tucked his legs up as though he were jumping. That helped a little bit. Trees flew by below them. Already they were past Ponyville and the fields and orchards surrounding it. The Everfree Forest stretched out, dark and green and seeming to go on forever. He caught a glimpse of crumbling stone spires, probably the same ruins the gate had dropped them at. The ruins were past in a blink and they were still accelerating. Dale's eyes watered and he squinted. Ahead in the distance rose a range of low mountains.
"It doesn't seem to be in the forest," shouted Luna. "I'm going to triangulate on it. Hold on."
Dale had a moment to wonder, hold on to what? Then they made an abrupt right angle turn that made his stomach lurch. Luna streaked over the forest for several minutes in the new direction. "Wow, that's a long ways off!" she shouted. "Going forward again! Hold on!"
Dale decided that what he needed to "hold on" to was his lunch. Another sudden turn and they were headed once more for the mountains in the distance. They went faster and faster and faster, until Dale had to shut his eyes again, the wind was too much. Still they streaked on, for what felt like an eternity, before finally Dale felt the wind slacken slightly. He opened his eyes again. They were soaring over craggy peaks. They flew through a pass between mountains that held a dusting of snow on their highest slopes, even though it was summer. They arched downward, following the land, until Luna landed on the crest of a rocky ridge in the foothills of the range. She set Dale down next to her, and he resisted the urge to throw himself flat and kiss the ground. It was very good to feel solid earth under his hooves again.
"There it is," said Luna.
Dale looked around, but saw nothing. They were standing on a high point, with the mountains towering higher behind them, but the land in front sloping down to a rolling plain, dotted here and there with groves of trees. A river snaked past in the distance. He could see nothing moving.
"I don't want to get any closer, it's very strong, and something about it makes me uneasy."
"I don't see anything," said Dale.
"There," gestured Luna with one hoof.
Dale peered into the distance in the direction she'd pointed, and eventually made out a black dot in the distance, nearly on the horizon. "That little speck?"
"Ah, I forget you don't have pegasus sight. Here, let me try something." The air in front of Dale's eyes wavered strangely, and suddenly he could see the speck clearly, as though it had been magnified by a telescope.
It was something a little bit like a pony, though perhaps more like a deer. Quadrupedal, with slender legs ending in cloven hooves. There was nothing to give scale, so Dale couldn't tell how big it was. It was greenish brown, but an ugly, black, mold-like mottling covered it. It had a single horn, like a unicorn, but curved back rather than straight. Its sides seemed to be covered in scales, though its neck was furred, almost thickly enough to be called a mane. Its face was that of a deer, with scaled ridges like a dragon's over its eyes. The eyes were pits of blackness, and it was fanged, the fangs stained and dripping red as though it had just killed some hapless prey.
It plodded steadily forward, its face expressionless. Where its feet fell the grass blackened and died, and it left a spreading trail of rotting death behind it.
Dale shuddered. "What is it?" he whispered.
"I don't know," said Luna. "I've never seen anything like it." She banished the spell that was letting Dale see it. He felt a sense of relief to no longer have the horrible thing in front of his eyes. But he could still see it out there, that little speck. He shuddered again.
Luna was equally unnerved. She felt chilled, even though the sun was high overhead. Once again she found herself thinking of the moon, and the cold lifelessness there. She tried to shake the feeling off. "I need to triangulate again. I'll be right back." Luna leapt into the air, shooting straight up. Dale gazed after her. She flew a little ways towards the thing. Then a little to one side, then a little to the other. When she landed again her expression was grave.
"It's headed this way. If I'm correct, and if going over the mountains doesn't divert it, we're going to have some problems."
"It's headed for Ponyville?"
Luna shook her head. "No. It will pass close by, but it won't go through the town itself. It's headed for Canterlot. In fact, if I'm calculating correctly it's headed directly for my sister's palace."
The library was once again crowded with ponies. Luna, the six friends from Ponyville, one small dragon, two heralds, and three Companions, all filled the main room. But this time there were no streamers or creampuffs.
Luna wasn't sure about the crowd of ponies. She had originally only told Twilight Sparkle, hoping the scholarly unicorn would be able to identify the frightening creatures they'd glimpsed. But Twilight hadn't recognized it either. And she had insisted that her friends might be able to help, they were resourceful ponies who had dealt with a number of different disasters so far. Dale had said much the same for his friends, so now twelve ponies and a dragon gathered around with various expressions of worry and concern.
"All right. Let's lay the situation out," said Elspeth, breaking the uneasy silence that had followed Luna's description of the thing. "On the one hand we have an unknown magical creature, that probably has pretty bad intentions, given that it's leaking some sort of death magic all over the place. On the other we have what resources?"
"Three unicorns of varying ability," ticked off Luna. "Two pegasi, one a very strong flier, the other gifted in dealing with creatures. Five earth ponies of varying strengths and skills. And one magically crippled alicorn."
"You're not..." started Twilight.
"I am," said Luna. "There's no point pretending otherwise. I don't have my full power, I'm only slightly stronger than you are right now. My sister may count as a goddess, but I don't."
"What about your sister then?" said Elspeth. "Should we bring this to her attention?"
Luna shook her head. "Ordinarily with a threat like this I'd say that's a great idea, but my sister... she has a hard time not getting personally involved. She wouldn't be content to just advise us, she'd want to go out and fight it with us. And in this case I think that would be a very bad idea, but I'm not sure I could talk her out of it. Best to not involve her at all, except as a last resort."
"Why is it a bad idea?" asked Pinkie Pie with wide-eyed innocence.
"Because there is a creature oozing evil and death taking a ruler-straight path towards her palace. I can't believe it's a coincidence. I think the creature is on its way to try and kill her. And since it's an unknown, I don't know what abilities it may have. It may well be able to kill her. I can't risk that."
"Ooo, scary!" said Pinkie Pie with a theatrical shiver.
"It could be after you," said Twilight. "It's your palace too."
Luna blinked. "Me?"
"She has a point," said Skif. "Even if this whatever it is wants your sister, it might want you as well."
"I find that fairly unlikely," said Luna. "For one thing it's come from so far away that we've never seen anything like it. Every creature in the world knows that Celestia raises the sun. My return is barely a year old, the news hasn't spread that far. And I haven't taken up the moon again. Killing Celestia would be a disaster for the whole world, killing me wouldn't actually accomplish much."
"It might still have some magical means of knowing who you are," said Twilight. "But I suppose we can consider that the less likely hypothesis. I think you're probably right that it's after Celestia. Which means we must stop it."
"So what do we do about it?" That was Elspeth again.
"Like Twilight said it has to be stopped. If we can halt it, or turn it back, that would be ideal. If we can turn it from its course, we'll at least gain time, though I'm not happy about letting something like that just wander free, trailing death behind it. If we can't stop it or turn it, we'll have to kill it." Luna shivered as she spoke. She didn't like the idea of killing it, but they might not have a choice.
"How long do we have?" asked Rarity.
"It's moving fairly slowly, but I'd like to go out and meet it. If we can turn it north before it crosses the mountains... the northern plains are largely unoccupied. It would do little harm there. If it gets into the Everfree Forest there will be a lot more damage done, and we definitely don't want to let it out of the forest and into Equestria proper."
The gathered ponies nodded agreement. "I could fly ahead and try to stop it," volunteered Rainbow Dash.
"No." Luna's response was instant. "I'm not sure I could face it by myself, you certainly shouldn't. We'll all go. And we can think of ideas for halting it along the way. At the pace of an earth pony it'll be at least a whole day to get across the mountains. If we leave now we can make it quite a ways before sundown. Then we can camp and continue in the morning."
"Right." Twilight Sparkle stood up. "We should take an hour or so to pack first. I'm going to go through a few of the old bestiaries and see if I can find any reference to this thing. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, you two can pack food. Pinkie... a few cupcakes if you must, but bring things other than sweets. Both of you bring plenty, we've got a large group. I'm sure the Companions won't mind carrying packs?" she glanced at the three white ponies.
"No, we're happy to help," said Gwena, and Dale and Cymry nodded.
"Bring any other supplies you think might be useful too," added Twilight.
"I've got a couple o' light tents. Long as it ain't too cold..." Applejack glanced at Rainbow Dash.
"Hey, we don't do the weather in the Everfree Forest, but here in town tonight's supposed to be clear and pretty warm."
"Then I don't recon it'll snow on us," said Applejack with a grin.
"Right. Rarity, you have some spare packs I know. Can you go get them?"
"Of course. Though they're mostly ones customers didn't end up liking, not made for me, so I'm not sure how they'll look with white..." she trailed off, then laughed. "I suppose in such an emergency that's hardly the foremost concern, is it?"
Twilight smiled at her. "You've learned a lot recently."
"I still fully intend to pack a scarf that brings out my eyes, darling," said Rarity with a smile.
"If you have a few extra scarves, that would be very nice," broke in Luna. "It will be cold going over the mountains. It's summer, so it won't be freezing, but warm clothing would be a good idea for everypony."
"Oh, uh, I hope you don't mind me taking charge, princess" said Twilight, looking at Luna and blushing.
"Oh no! I wouldn't know the first thing about organizing other ponies. My sister always handled that kind of thing. I tended to work alone," said Luna. "You're doing very well!"
"Thank you." said Twilight Sparkle with a smile. "Well then, everypony go gather your stuff, and meet back here in an hour."
-----
Twelve ponies ran through the forest in the afternoon light. Spike had stayed behind to tend the library. He he protested only briefly when Twilight insisted he stay. He was a brave creature, but still just a baby. Although all these ponies are babies next to me, thought Luna. I hope I've done the right thing by letting them come. If one of them gets hurt, I'm not sure I could forgive myself.
:They're strong,: said Dale softy in her head. Luna thought for a moment that she ought to be annoyed that he seemed to always be eavesdropping on her thoughts, but somehow it didn't bother her. He felt like he was a part of her, another half that she'd somehow lived all these years without. :They're all the kind of people who seldom run away from trouble.: he continued. :That sort of person either dies young or becomes very capable indeed. I know my fellow Valdemarans are the latter sort. I'm pretty sure your Ponyville friends are as well.:
:I hope so,: was all Luna said in return.
She was in the lead, with the others strung out behind her in a long line. They were following a narrow trail through thick underbrush, but Luna was hoping to strike an easier path. She knew it had to be near here somewhere.
"Hey Luna!" shouted Twilight from where she ran just behind Dale, "Isn't this the way to the old palace ruins?"
"Nearly! There used to be a city below the palace, before the forest grew over it. That's where we're headed."
They galloped on, taking a downward-sloping path that led to a valley in the shadow of the ruined palace. There were ruins here too, though much more decrepit and less impressive. Tree roots had torn up most of the stones, leaving only the occasional bit of wall half-cloaked in greenery. They ran amid the remnants of an earlier age, that would have been full of eerie desolation by moonlight, but in the light of day only looked sad and empty. Soon Luna found what she was seeking, and turned their course onto the remains of an ancient road. The paving stones were almost invisible in most places, covered in a layer of loam and grass, but the trees had not encroached here, so the way was more open than it would otherwise have been. And the road ran, straight as the pegasus flew, towards the low mountain range that was their immediate goal.
Luna slowed to a canter, not wanting to tire everypony out, and they continued down the road, no longer single file but in an irregular herd. Dale came up to run on one side of Luna, and Twilight Sparkle ran on the other.
They ran on through the afternoon and into the evening. When the sun was about to set, and the long shadows of the trees already shrouded the road in gloom, Luna halted. The other ponies halted as well. The Valdemarans were in good shape, and Rainbow Dash had been grumbling the whole way about being held to such a slow pace, but several of the others were panting and exhausted. Rarity in particular dropped to the ground and lay there, trying to catch her breath.
"I'll get the tents up," volunteered Applejack.
"Should we build a fire?" asked Skif, glancing between Luna and Twilight.
"I can't think of any reason why not," said Luna.
"I'll gather branches then."
"I'll get out the food!" said Pinkie Pie with her usual exuberance. She had been breathless from the run as well, but recovered almost instantly.
Soon they had a cozy campsite, and were roasting apples over the fire. Pinkie Pie was roasting marshmallows as well, which she shared around happily. "Just like a camp out! Which I guess it is, because we're out, and we're camping!"
Luna smiled at Pinkie Pie. "Indeed. We shall have to do this again sometime, without the urgent errand." Pinkie's cheerfulness was heartening, and Luna found herself glad that she had brought these other ponies along. She still worried that somepony might get hurt, but this was far better, being surrounded by so many friends, than being alone.
"Does any pony have any ideas for dealing with this thing?"
"Well, ah was thinkin' that since we're lookin' to turn it, ah might lasso it up and haul it 'round," said Applejack.
"That's a good notion," said Luna. She considered. "A lasso in particular is a good idea. I don't think anypony should touch it. If it kills plants just by stepping near them, touching it is probably a bad idea."
"Well what else can we do to it without touching it then?" said Elspeth.
"There's magic, of course. With four unicorns, counting myself, we might be able to turn it or stop it. Perhaps in conjunction with Applejack's rope."
"There's me too," said Rainbow Dash. "I can spin it around in my patented rain-blow dry technique without touching it. Maybe I could get it dizzy or point it back the way it came."
"I wish I were up to helping with that," said Skif. "But I'm fast on my feet, so I'll jump in and help any way that I can once things get started."
"And Fluttershy can try the stare on it," said Twilight. "And Pinkie Pie can try... whatever it is Pinkie does. Though I suspect that won't work very well. Creepy death creatures probably don't like noisemakers and balloons."
"You never know!" said Pinkie. "Maybe all it needs is to cheer up a little and not be so gloomy-doomy."
Twilight chuckled. "I hope it's that easy, Pinkie."
"I'm not sure what we can do," said Dale. "If we can't touch it... and we don't have any magic or any special abilities."
"If you think of anything, let me know. But just having you along is good for morale, if nothing else," said Twilight with a smile.
:It's very good for my morale,: Luna said silently. :And no doubt for Elspeth's and Skif's as well, if I understand how this works.: Dale smiled at her, and sent back a wordless agreement.
There was a long silence, filled only with the snapping and crackling of the fire. "I guess nobody else has any ideas," said Twilight, getting to her feet, "so I'm going to turn in. We all should, so we're all rested tomorrow."
There was a general murmur of agreement. Skif set about putting out the fire, while various ponies got out blankets and made themselves comfortable in the tents. There wasn't quite room for everypony, and the three Companions volunteered to sleep outside, since they were used to it. Luna stayed out as well, staring up pensively at the night sky. If she took up her power again she could deal with this threat so easily. But if she did... fear shivered through her. To lift her power to raise the moon again was a terrifying enough thought. To take it up in combat? To attack some creature, even an obviously dangerous one like this? No. She couldn't do it. She just couldn't. One of their other ideas had to work.
-----
Luna slept little that night, and roused the others before dawn. They yawned and grumbled a bit, but soon the camp was packed up and they were once again on their way. The previous day they'd crossed most of the Everfree Forest. By the time the sun rose above the trees the road was beginning to curve and wind as it climbed and dipped among forested foothills. All too soon after that they started up the mountains in earnest. The steepness of the way slowed the whole group to a walk. Rainbow Dash grumbled louder than ever at the pace, and frequently darted from one end of the string of climbing ponies to the other, spending nervous energy freely.
Skif stayed on the ground, as did Fluttershy. The sheer drop along one side of the twisting road was bad enough for the timid yellow pegasus, and though Skif had learned fast he wasn't completely confident in his flying skills as yet. He didn't want to crash, for if he missed the road it was a long way down.
The sun was high in the sky as they neared the pass itself. But as Luna had expected, despite the clear sky and blazing sunlight, the thinner air was chilly, and the ponies found themselves shivering. Rarity distributed scarves, and those combined with the brisk pace were enough to keep everypony warm enough.
Finally, a little after noon, they reached the pass. Peaks still towered far above them, but here the road was level, running between high rock walls before dropping off into the unseen downward slope ahead. Luna paused for a moment, looking back the way they'd come. The dark green forest spread out below her, and beyond it the brighter green fields of Ponyville. The distant peaks that held Canterlot on the far side of the valley were blue with distance, and her keen pegasus eyes could just make out the brightly colored domes of her sister's palace, minute specks at the edge of perception.
The others had paused as well, and they all gazed back over their homeland. This was what they were setting out to protect. This idyllic image was why they were going to face the approaching danger. This beautiful peace was something worth fighting, even dying, to preserve.
Even Elspeth, an alien here, and eager to return home as soon as possible, found that she couldn't regret coming along. Equestria was something worth preserving. It was as though this strange land had become a symbol of everything she fought for back home. The peace, the prosperity, the tolerance, the easy friendship of these ponies, all these things were things that Valdemar too cherished, and that she hoped to help bring back to her land someday, somehow.
Dale snorted softly, a gentle reminder, and Luna and the others turned their backs on Equestria, and trotted forward along level ground until they came to the far side of the pass.
Below them stretched a very different sort of land. There were no forests here, though patches of trees dotted the landscape. But mostly the land was covered in grass, golden now in the summer heat.
Rivers drew lines of green trees, with a shimmering glimpse of blue water showing here and there among the foliage. But the most noticeable line was a black one, unnaturally straight, that ran from the distant horizon to the foothills below them. And one didn't need pegasus sight now to make out the creature tat the end of it. It was still small, far below them, but its deadly nature was obvious to all. Luna could feel the ponies around her shrinking back in dismay.
"That is what we came to fight?" said Rarity, her trembling voice expressing the fear they all felt.
"Hmm." Twilight Sparkle levitated a book from her bag. "It really does resemble the kirin in my bestiary, but it can't possibly be one."
The others all looked at the scholarly unicorn. "A kirin?" said Luna. "But aren't they... well, sort of like Celestia? They're supposed to be near-gods, and entirely benign."
"Yes, which is why I say it only resembles one. Here, look." She flipped open the book and turned it so they all could see. The creature pictured there definitely bore some kinship to what plodded towards them at a funeral pace. But where the creature below was mottled with black, the creature in the book was burnished and gleaming. Where the one oozed darkness and dripped blood, the other glowed with a golden light.
"If it's a god, how are we going to stop it?" asked Elspeth.
Twilight shook her head. "Kirins aren't gods. They're powerful, but not gods. And I don't think this is actually a kirin. I mean look here." She read from the book. "'Kirins are notorious for their pacifism, some going so far as to brush the ground gently with their magic as they walk, to ensure that they do not tread on an ant, and thus end an innocent life.' That's definitely not what's down there killing everything it touches!"
"Maybe it's gone bad somehow?" ventured Skif. "I mean, even the best people can turn to doing dark things, under the right circumstances. I've... seen that kind of thing happen before. Even with Heralds, they can go bad."
"True. It might be some kind of, well..." Twilight glanced at Luna, "some kind of Nightmare Kirin. But the book doesn't say anything about that. It's very short on detail, really. They're from so far away we know very little about them."
"Whatever it is, we still have to stop it," broke in Rainbow Dash. "And it's getting closer while we stand around wasting time!"
"You're right." Twilight looked over at Luna, who nodded.
"Yes. Let's do this. Applejack, get out your rope," said Luna, trying to stay calm. Please Celestia, don't let any of them get hurt, she prayed. She was not in the habit of praying, it felt strange to try and send a plea to her own sister. But she had a sinking feeling that it would take a miracle for this to work out, and her sister was the only miracle worker she knew. "Rainbow Dash, get ready to try that whirlwind move you were talking about. Unicorns, prepare your magic. When we get close enough for Applejack to throw the rope, we'll all act at once and try to push it back."
"Ah'll need to be 'round the far side, to pull back."
"Right. We'll pause to let you run around. Don't step in the black though. It's probably harmless but..."
"Better safe than sorry," said Applejack.
They broke into a canter, moving steadily downhill, steadily closer to the death-bringer.
They ran for perhaps an hour, the creature moving in and out of sight as it crossed the foothills, and as the trail they followed twisted. Eventually the thing was directly below them, near enough that all could see every horrible detail. Applejack started to gallop, pulling ahead. She had her rope out, whirling through the air above her as she ran. Rainbow Dash soared above her. The rest clattered down the slope, the creature below drawing ever closer.
"Unicorns! Ready your magic," called Luna. "Nothing fancy, just push it back as soon as it's lassoed."
Applejack circled around the creature, which ignored her utterly, simply continuing to plod forward. "Yee-haw!" Her rope flew through the air and settled perfectly around the thing's neck. She instantly skidded to a halt and pulled with all her might. While the dust was still flying around Applejack's hooves, Rainbow Dash dived down to circle just above the creature. She spun around and around and around, and a rainbow vortex began to form below her.
Meanwhile Luna and the others skidded to a halt and all four unicorns shoved with their magic, pushing backwards with all their might. Luna's horn was brilliant, a cold sun of power, and Twilight Sparkle's was almost as bright. Elspeth's started dimmer, but grew and grew as she gained confidence in this still-unfamiliar magic. Rarity's glow was nearly washed out by the more powerful unicorns, but she put all she had into it all the same.
For a moment the creature halted, one foot upraised. And then it stepped forward again, utterly ignoring them all.
Applejack's rope snapped suddenly. The creature lurched forward a few rapid steps. Rainbow Dash spun out of control and tumbled across the sky, nearly crashing. And though all four unicorns strained and strained, the creature still stepped slowly closer, and closer, until finally they had to stop their magic, turn, and retreat.
They regrouped at the first switchback. All four unicorns were trembling with weariness, they had poured everything they had into it, and had been ignored as though they weren't even there. Rainbow Dash landed next to them, her feathers in horrible disarray. Applejack galloped up to join them, her rope left behind. "It rotted through! Like it were a hun'red years old! Just rotted and broke!"
"I should have expected that," said Luna. "Thank heavens nopony touched that thing. But what are we going to do now?"
A tiny voice said, "I could try. Uhm. I don't know if it would work, but I could try stopping it."
"Your stare hasn't failed yet, darling," said a tired but smiling Rarity. "You should try."
"Yes," said Luna. "Please."
Luna felt like holding her breath as the little yellow pegasus flew back at the death-creature. She seemed impossibly tiny and fragile compared to something that had shrugged off four unicorns, two of them among the most powerful in Equestria.
She hovered in front of it for a moment, and the two, death-creature and pegasus, locked gazes. Then Fluttershy let out a cry and fled back towards the others.
"I can't do it. It's horrible! It's not like an animal at all, it's just made of hate and death!" She landed, shaking and trembling, next to Twilight Sparkle, who promptly hugged her tightly.
"It's okay. You tried. We all tried and failed, it's okay Fluttershy."
There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Nopony seemed to have any ideas. Applejack burst out, "How the hay are we supposed to stop that thing? If magic doesn't work on it, and everythin' else that touches it rots or dies, what are we goin' to do?"
Luna glanced around. All the ponies were looking at each other, each hoping that some other pony would come up with the idea that would solve everything. Then Skif said slowly, "Stone doesn't rot."
"Of course!" Twilight Sparkle looked back the way they'd come. "The pass! It's narrow enough we could wall it off, if we all worked hard. I think it's moving slowly enough that it won't get to the top until around sundown."
"Good idea," said Luna, feeling relieved. "Let's get on it."
"I'll get started! Come on Fluttershy, Skif, come help." Rainbow Dash zoomed off to the pass, and a willing Skif and a hesitant Fluttershy following after.
Luna couldn't manage more than a slow trot, using that much magic all at once had tired her out. She didn't even want to think about trying to fly, and the other unicorns weren't in any better shape. The earth ponies started outpacing them. Dale hesitated and dropped back, but Luna said "Go on ahead, we'll catch up!"
Dale nodded and broke into a gallop.
By the time that Luna reached the top there was already a substantial pile of stones. She could see the pegasus ponies higher up on the slope, kicking rocks to roll down and lie in the pass. The earth ponies were shoving and lifting them into place, to build a piled wall that was fairly steep on the near side, though it sloped irregularly on the far side.
Her legs felt like rubber, but the trip up the mountain had been long enough for her magic to recover a bit, so Luna immediately set about lifting the largest rocks she could manage and putting them into place on the pile.
As they all worked like madponies, Luna occasionally glanced behind her. The creature had, as she had feared, turned from its straight path to follow the road upwards. It would have been slowed greatly if it had continued in a straight line, there were sheer cliffs, ravines, and gravel slopes in its path that way. But the road, though ancient, was still smooth and unobstructed, and it was drawing steadily nearer.
It was no longer followed by a clear trail of blackness. There were few plants on the road, and fewer still as it came higher and higher.
"I think we'd better retreat," said Rainbow Dash some hours later as the creature neared the pass.
Luna wanted to fall over and just lie where she landed. But she wanted everypony on the other side of the wall. She lifted Dale and Pinkie Pie over with her magic. Thankfully everyone else had been working on the far side. Then she flew herself over, landing with a wobbly thud. Rarity and Twilight Sparkle were already sprawled on the ground, both visibly drooping. Luna sank to her knees, feeling utterly drained.
The three pegasi weren't quite as worn, and Rainbow Dash kept aloft, watching the creature approach. Luna looked up at the wall they'd made. It was irregular, but the lowest part was still more than two ponies high. They wouldn't have been able to do it without every single pony who had come. Luna was very glad she hadn't gone alone.
"It's here!" called Rainbow, after a period that seemed much too short. Luna tiredly flapped up into the air. She wanted to see it. The creature was not only in the pass, but almost to the wall. Then, to Luna's horror, Pinkie Pie jumped down directly into its path.
"Hi there, mister grumpy, black-deathy, grumpy-pants. Would you like to par-tay?!" She opened her pack and there was a popping noise, a honk, and a small explosion of confetti. Where the bright paper strips touched the creature they turned black and crumbled to dust. "I saved you a cupcake!" said Pinkie, pulling a frosted confection, somehow intact, from her pack. She waved it at the creature, but it still ignored her, just plodding ever forward. Luna exerted the last ounces of her magic and picked Pinkie Pie up out of its path and landed her behind the wall.
"Wow, he was really a grumpy-pants! He didn't want to party even a little bit! Even Gilda partied more than that!"
"Pinkie, that was a really stupid idea. You could have gotten killed!" scolded Rainbow Dash.
"I had to try, Rainbow. He's so gloomy! He needs cheering up!"
Luna landed on top of the wall, though not directly above the creature. She wasn't sure what was going to happen next.
For a moment her heart leaped. The thing stopped. It stood in place for some time. Heads started popping up above the wall as the ponies tried to see what was going on. Luna wanted to hold her breath. Would it turn around? Had they won?
Blackness seemed to gather around the creature. Its horn somehow anti-glowed, darkness rather than light radiating from it. Luna shuddered. It was not quite Nightmare Moon's dark power, but it was very close.
It spoke, in a language that Luna didn't know. It sounded almost poetic, the words themselves were elegant, even beautiful, but she sensed that the spell the creature was speaking was one of darkness and terrible destruction. Then it took one more step and touched its horn to the wall.
For a heartbeat nothing happened. Suddenly black cracks spread rapidly over the stones. They began to break apart. With a cry of dismay Luna took to the air again as the wall started to crumble beneath her. The other ponies shouted and fled the falling wall. Larger rocks tumbled and rolled as the ones beneath them turned to dust. And with a roar the whole thing collapsed completely.
As the dust cleared Luna could see the creature below. It stood still again for a very long moment, then it took a step forward.
She wasn't even sure if the groan rose from her own throat or from some other pony's. They all felt it. All that work, for nothing! What would they do now?
Retreat was the immediate and obvious answer. The creature was still advancing through the crumbled ruins of the wall. They needed to once more get out of its path. "Come on," she called, and headed for the far side of the pass.
She heard a few more groans, but also the clatter of hooves, as all the ponies staggered to their feet and followed after her. Fluttershy was walking again, though Rainbow Dash and Skif were still in the air. Rarity was stumbling, barely able to keep up, but Pinkie Pie seemed to still have some energy and she let the white unicorn lean on her.
Luna's wings ached, and after a moment she landed at the rear of the string of ponies. Walking took slightly less energy. But they had to open up a lead on the creature again, so although she would have preferred to shamble along, she broke into a rough trot. She gently chivvied those ahead of her to the faster pace, and they, amazingly, wonderfully, gave all they had and matched her speed.
It wasn't a gallop. She didn't think any of them had any gallop left, but it was at least still faster than the thing behind them.
The sun was setting as they began the downward trek, and soon night had fallen and the moon was rising. Luna felt a little better with it in the sky. She had not taken up her moon power, but the moon was still deeply connected to her, and she felt its light like a tangible thing on her skin, filling her with a cool, gentle energy.
The downward journey was exhausting all the same, and she could hardly imagine what it must be like for some of the others. Rarity collapsed half way along, and Twilight Sparkle was barely able to keep on her feet. Dale, with Luna's help, put Rarity on his broad back and carried her, and Twilight leaned on Pinkie Pie, and somehow they all got down to where the forest began again. In the moonlight Luna could see the creature, still moving slowly, about half way down. She breathed a sigh of relief. They had once again gained a little time. If the thing had been fast moving, she didn't know what they would have done. Run to Celestia, I guess, she thought. We may have to do that anyway. But first I have one last thing to try.
She halted under a spreading oak tree. Everypony else stumbled to a halt as well, and most of them immediately dropped to the ground.
"All right. We have an hour or so before it gets this far. It looks like we may have to call Celestia to stop it, but I've got one last plan." She had been thinking about it all the way down the mountains. They hadn't been able to turn it. They couldn't just let it go on. The only option left was trying to kill it. "First, the backups. Rainbow Dash, you're the last resort. I know you have enough left in you to fly to Canterlot. If we fail here, you must go to Celestia. I don't expect anypony to die, but I don't know what will happen. Whatever does, if it's not stopped here she must be warned."
She turned to Fluttershy. "And if we don't stop it here we can't let innocent creatures stray into its path. That's your job. Stay out of the way, and if we can't stop it you need to go ahead, making sure everything is warned. Somepony should probably go with you..."
"I can do that," said Cymry. "I haven't managed to do anything else so far. Skif can come too, if you don't need him elsewhere."
"No. If any of us had the right weapons or training... but the only way I can think of to affect it without touching it is magic, so I need the unicorns again."
"I knew I should have learned to use a dagger with hooves," muttered Skif.
"Princess... we want to stop it, but we have nothing left," said Rarity, not stirring from where she lay. It was a testament to her level of exhaustion that she didn't even make an attempt to shake the dust from her mane.
"I think I can help that,"said Luna. She hadn't been trying to reach out to the moon and tap the wellspring of power there. But the moonlight had recharged her all the same. And she knew a trick. It wasn't something to be done casually, but she was desperate enough to try it.
"If anypony else can think of anything besides magic that we can attack it with?" She looked around. All she saw were tired headshakes and negative murmurs. She sighed. "I can't either. So magic it is."
"I mean, we could throw rocks at it or something," said Rainbow Dash, "but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't do much good."
"Maybe we could get something else to attack it? Like an ursa? I know there's at least one in these mountains," said Twilight tiredly.
"Oh no!" said Fluttershy. "Anything else that attacked it would die! We couldn't do that!"
"Ugh, you're right. I'm not thinking straight."
"Maybe this will help," said Luna. She knelt down next to Twilight. "Touch my horn with yours," she said.
Twilight hesitated, her eyes going wide. Touching horns was not something unicorns did lightly. It formed a bond, soul-to-soul, mind-to-mind. But looking into Luna's aqua eyes she couldn't possibly distrust this friend who had fought so hard beside her today. So she touched her horn gently to Luna's.
Twilight had never done this before. Luna had, but not in more than a thousand years. Each of them sensed the other, their thoughts, their feelings, and more, the core of them that made them who they were. Luna tried not to concentrate on the intimacy of the bond, though she couldn't help feeling Twilight's soul touching hers. But she was doing something else besides just feeling what Twilight felt. She gathered the magic and moonlight within her, and poured them through her horn into Twilight's. Without touching such magic wouldn't be absorbed, but in this moment they were one being, and the magic flowed freely between them.
When Luna straightened and broke free of the contact, Twilight already looked much more energetic. She climbed to her feet. "Wow. I didn't know you could do that."
Luna smiled. "Any unicorn can, but most don't. For, uh, obvious reasons. I mean if you're lovers, of course, but, uh, unicorns who aren't usually don't because, er... I think I'll stop talking now." She flushed. She couldn't sense Twilight anymore, but the memory of that bright, lively, warm, and powerful soul that she'd touched lingered with her. Twilight was something special.
All ponies are special in their own way though, she reminded herself. That's why we have cutie marks. And I guess I get to feel somebody else's specialness too. "Rarity? Is it all right if I...?"
"Yes your highness," said Rarity solemnly. Luna knelt next to her and once again touched horns. The contact was just as intimate this time, but somehow less intense. Rarity was too tired for her full personality to come through, and she was less powerful than Twilight. Luna refilled her reservoir of magic swiftly and easily, and then withdrew.
"Elspeth?" she turned to the third unicorn, who nodded assent. Her mind was different, alien, a reminder of what Luna had nearly forgotten, that Elspeth was not actually a pony at all, as much as she might currently resemble one. Her mind was intense, powerful, and very self-contained. Despite the intimacy of the contact Luna came away from it with the feeling that she still knew almost nothing about the Herald, as though she had somehow shielded her mind and soul from the touch. But if there was some barrier between their minds, it hadn't blocked their magics, and Elsepth got to her feet, looking much less bedraggled and worn than she had mere moments before.
"Thank you. But what now? Magic didn't do much earlier."
Luna sighed. "We were trying to halt it. Now we're going to have to try to kill it."
Twilight paled. Rarity, unable to get any paler, swallowed and gave Luna a wide-eyed stare of dismay. "We're not warriors," said Twilight. "I've never studied war magic, unless reading histories counts, which it doesn't! I don't know a single war spell!"
"I don't either," said Elspeth with a frown. "Everything here was so peaceful it never crossed my mind to learn any."
Luna looked between them and smiled reassuringly. "There's one spell that I'm sure you all can learn quickly. It's very easy. It's a simple plane of magical force. Like so." She demonstrated, a hoof-sized rectangle of magic springing to life in front of her. "You make it tangible, as though you were going to set something on it, but instead you fling it forward, to cut with." Her horn's glow brightened slightly and the rectangle of magic flew through the air, slicing a nearby weed in half. "It vanishes after touching something, but not before cutting well into it. Because it's infinitely thin it's far sharper than any sword could ever be."
"Can it be blocked?" asked Elspeth.
"Yes. But they can bore through the most common sorts of shields. They usually have to be countered individually by specific counter-spells. With four of us casting them, we may be able to get one through. So everypony try one."
"I... I don't think I can!" wailed Rarity. "I am a designer! I'm not a warrior! I'm not! I make clothing! How can I learn battle magic?! I just can't!"
"You can," said Luna. "I know you can. You've told me yourself about facing down dragons, and diamond dogs. I've seen you charge straight at a wolf. And this spell is strongest when used with precision. It's not about power, it's about focus. And Rarity..." Luna smiled. "I've seen your embroidery. Any pony that can stitch that precisely will easily master this spell. You will probably cast it far better than I, once you become accustomed to it."
"Please try, Rarity," said Twilight.
"I... I... very well." Rarity's horn glowed. The plane of magic she made sputtered and wavered for a moment, then solidified. Rarity swallowed, and suddenly flung it at a nearby rock. She closed her eyes as she did, so she didn't see it slice through the rock in a shower of sparks. But when she opened her eyes the rock was lying in two halves, cleanly cut down the middle.
"I knew you could do it!" said Luna.
Rarity gave a half-hearted little smile, still looking more than a bit uncertain about the whole thing.
Elspeth and Twilight both produced suitable cutting planes. Luna encouraged them all to try several for practice, but stopped them after half a dozen each. "We need to conserve magic. I can recharge from moonlight, but you can't, and I can't stop and give you more power in the middle of the battle. So we should wait."
The little group of unicorns broke up, each seeking out the other ponies who had given them some distance to practice. Everypony was on edge, the conversations strained, frequently interrupted by glances at where the steadily plodding creature could be seen coming closer and closer. Finally it was nearly in range.
"All right every pony," said Luna, taking charge once more. She had never liked the idea of ruling, her sister was the ruler, but somehow it was easier here. These were her friends, they followed her willingly, and she knew that she had the best chance of leading them to victory now. "Rainbow, stay well clear. You're the emergency back up, so we can't risk you catching a deflected spell. Fluttershy, Skif, Cymry, you do the same. Everyone else should probably keep back as well. Unicorns, line up side by side, so we're less likely to accidentally hit each other. And be aware, if it deflects them instead of destroying them you might have to deflect them back to keep from getting hit." She furrowed her brow. "I should have had us practice that. Curse it."
"You did the best you could, Luna" said Twilight, resting a hoof on her shoulder for a moment.
"I hope so." She took a deep breath. "All right. Ready your magic. It should be in range..." she watched the creature take a few more steps, "NOW!"
Four glowing sheets whizzed through the air towards the creature. And four glowing sheets winked out of existence just inches from it. Luna cursed. "Keep firing! As fast as you can! Try to overwhelm it!" She followed her own advice and fired of a blazing stream of the magic squares. Twilight beside her was almost as fast. Elspeth was slower, but hers glowed with intense power. Rarity meanwhile was incredibly slow for the first few, then suddenly she started shooting tiny needles instead of squares, and her rate of fire soared past Luna's, until she was spitting out a nearly continuous stream of glowing darts.
The creature had dissolved every square sent at it, but the rapid stream of needles proved too much. One got through and cut a bloody line along the side of its neck.
It cried out, a high pitched scream of pain. The sound was loud, shockingly so from a creature that had been so silent. And then a pulse of black power came from it, exploding outward in a growing sphere of darkness. Luna didn't even have time to raise a shield before it slammed into her. She sensed once more that moon-dark coldness, tinged with almost-familiar malice. She shook off the feeling and readied another attack spell, but stopped as she realized that she was the only pony standing.
The black wave had knocked down all the others, even Rainbow Dash had fallen from the sky and lay still on the ground a little ways away. Oh no! Luna gaped in horror. Then she saw that Twilight Sparkle, lying next to her, was breathing. Oh thank Celestia! They're still alive.
She glared at the creature still advancing on her. "So. Your power doesn't hurt me. Good! Maybe I can hurt you. You come here dripping death, to try to kill my sister, and that's bad enough, but now you've hurt my friends! So fine! No more spells. No more trying to send you back peacefully. I am going to end this now!" She reared up, and then launched herself at the creature. She lowered her head and aimed her horn straight at its heart.
The creature seemed to ignore her as she charged, until the very last second. Suddenly its head whipped down, and its horn met hers with a clash.
Dueling unicorns normally shielded their horns with powerful magic. But Luna hadn't dueled in many centuries, and in her rage she had forgotten. Why the creature didn't shield itself was unknowable. But for whatever reason it hadn't, and so when their horns met, their minds and souls met as well. A shock of cold blackness went through Luna, leeching all warmth, light, and hope from her. She fell down into darkness that closed around her utterly, and this time there weren't even any stars.
Darkness, coldness, bitter hatred. Jealousy. Never first, never best, never the one loved and praised.
Oh yes. The moon. My exile.
Outcast. Never to go home again. And no way to reach those who had caused this wrong. But they would pay!
Yes, they will all pay! They will all see my true power!
Power of darkness, power of hate, soul filled with suffering, and all will suffer just as I suffer now. And then the end. Darkness covers all, death makes all equal, they and I. The betrayers who did this, the ones who ignored me, the ones who judged me second best. All at peace, all dead.
No wait. I never wanted them to suffer. I never wanted them to die! I only wanted to make them love me! I wanted them to praise my night! I wanted her to regret that she'd banished me, I wanted her to know what it was like, yes, but I didn't want everypony to die!
Death is the only peace. No life for me. No life I should have had. Death. Death is the only peace.
No!
So much pain. So much suffering. The ones who should have loved, hated instead. Rejected. Banished.
Yes, banished to the moon. But where are the stars? Why am I wishing for death?
Death is peace.
No! No it isn't!
Yes.
NO!!!!
No. Luna. Luna! This is not you. Wake up Luna.
What? I'm not Luna, I am Nightmare Moon! I'm on the moon, alone. There is no one here to talk to me. Am I mad?
You're not on the moon. And you're not alone. Never alone, I promised. Remember, Luna?
...
Dale?
Yes. Now wake.
-----
Luna blinked. It was still night. She lay on blackened, dead grass. The creature had walked over her, but hadn't harmed her. It must have been only minutes, for when she lifted her head she could see it still walking tirelessly onward, only yards away. The other ponies stood around her, looking bewildered. They had gotten out of its path, apparently they'd all woken while she had been knocked out.
"Luna? You're all right?" Twilight Sparkle stood looking down at her.
"Yes, I'm fine. What happened?"
"I don't know, exactly. I blacked out for a moment. When I got up it was standing over you, and you were screaming. Then it just stepped over you and kept going, and it didn't kill you but you kept screaming and screaming, but thankfully now you've stopped." She looked worried and more than a little disturbed.
Luna shuddered, remembering. "So much pain... I have to help him."
"What?!" That cry came from several throats.
"You want to help that?" Rainbow Dash gaped at her incredulously, and her expression was echoed on several faces.
"Yes! He's hurting. He's like Nightmare Moon, but he's in so much more pain. I was bitter, and jealous, and I resented being banished, but something happened to him that's even worse. Or that was harder for him, or something. He was jealous of someone close to him, like I was. I could tell that much. And he feels that they betrayed him somehow. He hurts so much he just wants to die, but he hates so much he wants to kill everything else. That's why he's going to kill Celestia, he wants the whole world to darken and die."
"And you want to help him."
"Not help him do that! Help him the way you all helped me! Help break him free of it!"
"Could we use the Elements of Harmony on him?" asked Twilight Sparkle.
Luna considered. "I'm not sure. Last time they activated naturally, when all six were present along with me. But all six of you were together in front of him several times, and nothing happened. Maybe because he's not a pony. Maybe for some other reason, I'm not sure. I don't know enough about them to know how to trigger them. But there has to be something I can do! If there were some way to reach into his mind... but a horn touch won't work. That conducts magic too, and he's so powerful! He'll just suck me back into his pain again." Her brow furrowed as she thought.
"All right. Rainbow Dash? Can you fly to Canterlot and find my sister? Tell her about this, and about how we might need the Elements of Harmony. She knows how to activate them."
"All right," said Rainbow Dash. "I guess if it's like you, then it does need help. And Celestia is probably the one to do it. Although if that thing kills her when she shows up, I will never forgive you!"
Luna sighed. "I think we are all too tired to think straight. You don't need to bring her here. In fact please try not to! Just find out how to activate the Elements. And then come back, since we can't do so if you're not here."
"Oh. Right. Will do." Rainbow Dash saluted and then sped off.
"Fluttershy? You probably should start warning the creatures. I'm not sure how long it will take to stop it, or to hear from my sister."
"All right," said Fluttershy quietly. She circled widely around the creature, and with Skif and Cymry in tow she went off to warn the forest animals in the path of destruction.
Luna closed her eyes. She was so tired. Even moonlight wasn't enough to fully recharge her after all she'd been through. She could tell the others were worn out too.
"If only there were some way I could reach him. Some way to show him that he doesn't have to hate like that. To show him what I've learned about forgiveness and friendship."
"There might be."
Luna looked up, into Dale's vivid blue eyes. "What?"
"There might be a way. You don't have the mind-magic to reach into another creature's mind. But I do. I can reach nearly anyone, if they're not shielding. And that thing... He's broadcasting death and hate so loudly I've been having to shield against him since we first came close. He's practically inviting me into his mind. And where I can go, you can use our bond to follow."
"But won't that just suck me in again?"
"I'll be there. I can anchor you."
"Then let's do it. He needs to be helped."
"Is there anything we can do to help?" said Twilight.
"You've all done so much already. But this I have to do alone. I'm sure if I can just reach him, I can help him understand. He's gone through something very like what I went through when I was banished. Nobody else can help. And nobody else has my bond with Dale."
Elspeth chuckled tiredly. "I have mine with Gwena. But I've no experience with banishment and only a little with jealousy of family, and that was just a spoiled little girl's brattyness. So no, I can't help. I guess it's all up to you."
It's never been all up to me before. No pony has ever depended on me. Celestia could always raise the moon if I didn't. And what else did I do? Read books. Dabble in art and music. Nothing that mattered. And now my sister's life and perhaps the survival of the whole world is up to me? The Elements might save us, if I fail. But what if they only work on ponies? What if they can't save us, and it really is all up to me? It was a frightening thought.
:You can do it,: said Dale, deep in her mind. :I know you can. Reach out to me, and together we'll reach out and help him.:
Luna lifted her chin and nodded. She reached within herself, as once she had reached for the mask of darkness, the name and persona of Nightmare Moon to hide behind. But that darkness was gone now. Deep within was only herself, Luna. Herself and the bond she shared with Dale. She grasped it, like holding hooves with a friend, and then felt Dale reach out to grasp something else. Black despair beat on her, saying death is the only peace, though it wasn't saying it in words. Or rather there were words, but they were foreign ones that Luna couldn't understand. She didn't need to understand them, she knew what they meant. He had been betrayed. He had let pain lead to hatred. She knew that path so very well, and it would be easy to let him suck her in once more, to recreate Nightmare Moon within her. But Dale was there, a firm anchor, a shield against that path. So with Dale by her side she reached out and showed him. She showed him her own past pain, her hatred, her long, cold exile. But then she showed him her sister's forgiveness, her sorrow, and her friends. Friendship had blossomed in the place of bitterness. It could blossom in the place of despair too.
No. What friendship is there for one like me? There is nothing but death, even my magic has turned to death. No one is a friend to death.
You're wrong. I will be your friend. I care about you. You are so like me! I want to help you. Let me help you. Please.
You lie. Pretend friends only betray. You could not be a real friend.
I don't speak to you with words. We have no words in common. I speak to you with my heart. It can't lie. I want to be your friend. I don't want you to die. I don't want you to hurt. I want to help you. I want to help right whatever wrong has been done you. I want to help you learn to right the wrongs you've done. Let me be your friend. Let me help set you right.
Hope was like a crack in the blackness around him. You? My friend? But you... you are one I tried to kill. How? Why?
Because I know your pain. Again the memories, the images. Sister, how could you?! Sister I hate you! Sister, you want to be my friend? I felt then what you feel now. And then... Sister I forgive you, as you forgave me. Sister I love you.
The crack widened. The dark aura around him visibly lightened. And he stopped walking. You will not betray? You will not banish from this kingdom?
No. I will be your friend. I will help you.
Suddenly Luna felt the dark shell around his mind dissolve in a rush of hope. He had despaired in darkness for ages but now there was light. Small but bright, hope again after so long. As the darkness of his mind dissolved, the physical darkness did too. His scales were no longer mottled with black. His eyes were no longer pits of black despair. His fangs no longer dripped blood, and his horn no longer radiated darkness. His scales were not the burnished beauty of Twilight's picture book, they were dirty from long travel, and he was thin to the point of emaciation, his coat matted and tangled, his tail filled with snarls and knots. But he no longer was a death-creature. He was now clearly a kirin.
He slumped to the ground, and for a moment Luna was afraid that he'd died, that with vengeance no longer before him he'd just run out of energy entirely. But then he opened his eyes. They were bright green, and tears gathered in them.
He said something incomprehensible. Luna sighed. "I wish I understood you."
"I can translate."
Luna gasped and looked up to see Celestia hovering overhead.
"I tried to stop her!" said a tired Rainbow Dash, following behind. "But how do you stop a goddess when she won't listen to reason?!"
Celestia chuckled.
"Celestia," said the kirin.
"Qui-Long," replied Celestia, followed by something Luna couldn't understand at all. The kirin replied, bowing his head, an expression of shame on his face.
"He wasn't himself," Luna broke in, wanting to make sure that Celestia understood. "He was like Nightmare Moon. He only wanted to hurt others because he felt so hurt."
"I understand," said Celestia. "But he has done somewhat more harm than Nightmare Moon ever did. She hurt my feelings, and made a couple of nights longer than they should have been, and coveted power and plotted evil, but he has done much the same and also destroyed much, and killed at least some creatures, be they ever so small. Forgiveness is harder, when you've done greater wrongs."
"I know," said Luna. "I just... I remember how bad I felt, how much I apologized. I didn't want you to only hear that, I wanted you to know... well, you do understand."
"Yes."
The kirin turned to Luna and said something.
"He says 'thank you'" said Celestia. "He is very grateful to you for reaching out to him, for being willing to be his friend."
"He's so like me... And he needs a friend."
"Yes he does. So thank you from me as well."
"I guess... I guess he'll be going home now?"
Celestia turned to the kirin, and they spoke back and forth for a very long time. Rainbow Dash and several of the other ponies seemed to grow bored with this conversation they couldn't understand, that didn't involve them, and wandered off a little ways, talking among themselves. But Luna stayed, and listened, even though she couldn't understand. Eventually Celestia turned to her. "His situation at home is not so easily mended as the breach between you and I was. He may not be able to return, though I know his brother and father, and I hope to at least bring some peace between them, even if his banishment can't be ended. But for now he will be leaving, yes. He wants to use his proper life magic to try and restore the land he killed when he was walking here. So he will be retracing his steps for some time. But when that task is finished he has asked if he can visit you in Canterlot, and I have of course said yes. If you are to be friends, you'll need to see one another every now and then. And learn one another's languages too, I'm sure. You can start studying while he's gone."
Luna smiled, and turned to smile at the kirin as well. "Tell him that sounds wonderful, and I'll be looking forward to his return."
Celestia relayed the message, and the kirin smiled faintly at Luna, and Celestia gave her his reply. "He says he will look forward to it also."
The kirin got slowly to his feet. His horn glowed, golden against the silver moonlight. He seemed to stand a little straighter, and to look a little less starved and bedraggled. And suddenly, around his feet where the land was blackened and the crumbling remains of grass and other plants stood, little spears and tendrils of green appeared. The plants were growing anew. A flower raised its pale face to the moon, and Luna caught a whiff of delicate perfume on the night breeze. He walked towards her, even more slowly than he had before. Realizing that she was blocking his path, Luna got to her feet and moved aside. But when he reached her he stopped once again. He bowed deeply before her, and spoke.
"He says 'I will always be in your debt,'" said Celestia.
Then he turned and began to retrace his path once more, the blackened forest floor coming alive beneath his hooves. Luna looked after him, wishing she could think of something else to say. But they had touched mind to mind, and surely that had said everything that needed saying.
-----
Luna yawned and stretched. She felt as though she had slept for a week, but she knew that it hadn't actually been that long. She hadn't even made it all the way back to Canterlot after their adventure had finished, but had once again ended up in Twilight Sparkle's spare bed. She looked across to see that Twilight herself was still in bed, despite it being well past noon. She smiled. Seeing the mare lying there, so peaceful, brought new and strange feelings into Luna's heart. She wasn't sure what to call those feelings. She already thought of Twilight as her friend, her first and possibly closest, if one didn't count Dale, who was different. Could there be something more between them? The touch of Twilight's soul against her own when they crossed horns had been intense, but was that only the strength of her magic? Or was it something more? Luna didn't know.
She glanced over at where Dale was also still asleep, though he was standing up on his hooves. She had no idea how he could do that, though she recalled Celestia telling her, when she was still a filly and had complained about her bed being lumpy, that long ago ponies hadn't had beds, they slept outdoors, on their feet or lying in the grass. Obviously Companions were more in touch with their ancient equine ancestry than Equestrian ponies were.
As she descended the stairs she heard a tapping at the library door. Deciding that she might as well play librarian while Twilight slept, Luna went to answer it.
She couldn't keep her face from falling when she saw Elspeth on the other side of the door. "Hello," she said, trying to not sound sullen.
"Is something wrong?" asked Elspeth. "I just came over for another magic lesson, if you're up to one so soon after everything."
Luna sighed. "I am up to one, I just wish I didn't have to teach you this. I have to confess that part of the reason why I decided to go investigate the strange magic I felt was that it was an excuse to put things off just a little bit longer. You're ready to learn the portal spell, Elspeth. You've mastered everything else, and you have enough power. It probably won't take you more than a day or two, and then you can go home."
"Really?" Elspeth looked delighted. "But why..." She stopped. "Oh. You have to decide if you're going to stay or go, don't you?"
Luna nodded. "Yes."
"You know I want you to come. But I won't force you."
"Thank you, Elspeth. I consider you a friend."
"Friends are very important to you ponies, aren't they?"
"They're not important in Valdemar?"
"Well... they are, but not in the same way, I think. Nobody makes any big deal about friendship. It's something we know everybody needs, but it's treated very casually. We don't talk about friendship as much. Love and romance get a big fuss made about them, but not friendship. But here you hardly hear about romance, and all the stories and songs are about friends."
"Our kingdom was founded on friendship," said Luna. "And it's part of our strongest magics. So I suppose it's natural for it to be important to us."
"Well, don't think that in Valdemar you won't have any friends, I know you will, if that's what you choose."
"Thank you. Why don't you come in, and we can get started on the spell."
-----
"What do I do, Dale?"
The night had fallen once more, and Luna sat on the highest balcony of the library and looked out at the stars. They comforted her less than usual tonight.
"I can't choose for you, Luna."
"But I don't know what to choose! I feel duty pulling me both ways. Everything you've told me says that Heralds aren't chosen lightly, and if you chose me, then I'm meant to be one. But everything else tells me that Equestria is where I belong!"
"Is it only duty?" asked Dale softly, "or is there something else? I can understand very well why you want to stay, but what's the real reason you want to go?"
Luna stared at him. "The... the real reason?"
"You've been hiding it even from yourself. But there is a reason other than your duty as a Herald, isn't there? I can sense it in you."
Luna swallowed, suddenly forced to face the truth. "Yes."
"You're afraid."
"Yes! I'm terrified! But if I go to Valdemar I'll never have to raise the moon. I'll never take up my full power and become Nightmare Moon again. I'll be safe there."
"That's probably true."
Luna sighed. "But it's a lousy reason to go, isn't it? Running away from my troubles, and not towards my duty."
"Heralds are not cowards. I will support you if you choose to go to Valdemar, or if you choose to stay here. But I can't support you choosing to be a coward, Luna. You need to face your fear."
"I don't know... I don't know if I can! I don't know if I'll ever be ready. I put it off, each night I say 'tomorrow maybe' and tomorrow night comes and I still don't. I've put it off for a whole year now. Will I ever be ready?"
"I believe you will, Luna. A year isn't very long, after a thousand."
She sighed again. "True. And I guess in that case I know what my decision has to be."
Dale smiled at her. "There's something else you should consider as well," he said.
"Oh? And what is that?"
When he told her, Luna found her uncertainty melting away in the face of a feeling of hope, inspiration, and determination all bound together into a wonderful excitement. And she knew exactly what she needed to do.
-----
"Everypony ready?" asked Twilight Sparkle.
There were nods all around, and Fluttershy, who was coming along to make sure the Wolpertinger would be taken care of without hurting it, said "yes" quietly.
Luna smiled at the shy little pegasus. She smiled too at the Valdemarans, the Companions, and Twilight. She was feeling good. She hadn't felt this good in... well, in more than a thousand years, to tell the truth. The last time I remember feeling this excited about something was the day I got the idea for the archives, she mused. I remember Celestia laughing at my enthusiasm. She didn't see why a big room of books and tax records and such was so amazing, but it only took a couple of years for her to come around. She'll come around this time too, I'm sure.
The little group set out towards the forest. They traveled at a good pace, and it didn't take long to pass through the farms and fields around town and reach the woods. As they moved through the trees, Twilight came up beside Luna.
"You look very cheerful."
"I feel very cheerful!" said Luna.
"You've decided to leave with them, haven't you?" said Twilight glumly.
Luna stopped in her tracks, blinking. "What in the world makes you think that?!"
"I don't know, I just... you've been so obviously upset about having to decide, and now you're not, so I know you've decided, and I just was afraid..." she trailed off and coughed. "I... nevermind. But I am right, aren't I?"
"Actually no. I have decided, but my choice was to stay."
"Somehow I thought you would," said Elspeth. The whole group had stopped in the middle of the forest. "I guess we both thought our fears of being second choice would be true." But Elspeth said it with a smile, she didn't seem upset. "Can I ask what made you decide to stay?"
"Let's talk while we walk," suggested Luna.
Once they started walking again, she explained. "There were a lot of reasons, really. One is that I realized the thing making me most want to go was fear of my duty here. Fleeing your responsibilities rather than facing them isn't right. But another reason is something that Dale pointed out to me. Heralds do some very important things. And they're things that Equestria needs just as much as Valdemar! In some towns, such as Ponyville, there are brave ponies like you and your friends, Twilight, who are stepping in without being asked and doing those things. But there are other places where they're not. So we need an organized system, like the Heralds, of ponies who will defend towns and help ponies in need. I've said it myself that I'm already doing half the duties of a Queen's Own for my sister. I think that's what I was chosen for, so I could become the first Herald of Equestria, and establish the Heralds here. I mean, obviously some things would have to be different, but we could come up with our own solutions to all those problems, I just know it!"
She looked around at Elspeth, Skif, the Companions, Twilight, and Fluttershy. "Of course I also would miss my friends, and there are... there are other things I'd miss out on too," she glanced at Twilight and tried not to blush. "But I'll miss you Valdemarans, and I know I'll be missing out on experiences I'd have if I went. So in the end the idea of Equestrian Heralds is the real reason I'm staying."
"Heralds in other kingdoms." Elspeth sounded thoughtful. "That's something that never occurred to me, and maybe it should have. You're right, Valdemar isn't the only place that could use Heralds. I think you're making a good decision, Luna. Much as I might prefer to have you come along. Valdemar needs all the Heralds it can get right now. But at least we're not at war anymore. And establishing the Heralds of Equestria is a very admirable goal. Though without Companions here I'm not sure you can ever have an actual equivalent."
"We'll call it something else then. The idea is to have people who are trustworthy, isn't it? There are other ways to judge that. If nothing else Celestia can select new Heralds herself."
"Ah yes, you have an immortal ruler. Having a trustworthy queen or king is probably the most important thing that Heralds do for Valdemar. No one but a Herald can take the throne."
"I see." Luna smiled. "Yes, choosing a trustworthy ruler isn't something we need to worry about. Celestia isn't going to be going anywhere for at least a few thousand more years."
They continued on until they reached the ruins. Soon Fluttershy was cooing at the giant wolpertinger, who was purring and nuzzling her happily, while the others filed past it to the ruins themselves. "There" said Elspeth pointing. "That's the arch we came though."
"Do you want to go over the spell one more time?" asked Luna.
Elspeth nodded. "We should, much as I want to get home right this instant. I've enjoyed it here, but it's more than time for me to go back."
"Right." Luna seated herself. Twilight trotted over and pulled a book from her saddlebags, and the three of them pored over the spell one last time.
"I guess I'm ready," said Elspeth.
"I guess that's goodbye then," said Luna.
"Yeah. I'll miss you crazy ponies."
Luna hesitated, then hugged Elspeth. Fluttershy, who'd come in from cuddling with the wolpertinger, hugged Gwena and Cymry. Everyone said goodbye, and Luna hugged Skif and the Companions too.
Then Elspeth rose and faced the archway. Her horn began to glow. The glow grew as she built up the spell, weaving it with expert care. Her eyes were shut and her whole being was focused on her horn. The archway began to glow too. Suddenly a rainbow shimmer passed over it, and on the other side was a view of Companion's Field. "Go now," said Elspeth, "I can only hold this so long!"
Skif, Cymry, and Gwena galloped through. "Goodbye!" called Elspeth one last time, and followed them. The gate winked out as she passed through it, and she was gone.
-----
The half-dozen Companions who's seen the Princess and the others vanish were exchanging nervous glances. Somebody was going to have to tell the Queen, and soon. But nobody wanted to deal with contacting her, or even her Companion, directly.
:Someone could tell Roland?: offered a nervous mind voice.
:Yes, someone could... wait:
They all stared as the portal snapped open again. There was a blur of motion, and Skif came tumbling out of the portal, somersaulting to end up on his feet with athletic grace. Gwena and Cymry galloped out after him, and then Elspeth tumbled through, less gracefully than Skif, though she managed to not quite fall on her face.
She wobbled to a halt and looked down to see human hands and a Herald's white uniform. She'd had one horrible moment right as she was passing through of worrying that she'd come out naked, since she hadn't been wearing any clothes as a pony. But apparently whatever magic had removed them while going one way had restored them when coming the other. Thank goodness.
"I'm me again!" said Skif with a grin. "Lovely, wonderful, dextrous hands! Though I will miss flying, a bit."
"I'm sure. I'm afraid I won't miss anything at all. Nice as that place was." She looked around, seeing the somewhat shocked Companions looking on. "None of you saw any of this, right?" she said to them.
:You heard her,: said Gwena, standing behind Elspeth and glaring at her fellow equines.
There was a mental chorus of assent and several nods, and Elspeth smiled in satisfaction. She would make up an edited account for the archives, with appropriate notes about the spell scroll, so nobody else would end up repeating her little adventure. But she was not going to actually tell a soul. Especially not her mother. Queen Selenay had gotten much better about treating her daughter as an adult, but she still occasionally reverted to protective mother hen mode when she thought Elspeth might be in danger. And what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.
:What happened to Dale?: ventured one of the Companions timidly.
"It's a long story," said Elspeth. "And one that I'll tell Roland, because he needs to know, but I don't think anybody else does. He's happy and safe where he is, I'll leave it at that." She took a deep breath and changed mental gears. Her visit to Equestria had been a little bit like a vacation, a welcome calm in the midst of the storm sweeping over Valdemar. But now she was back and there were more problems than people to deal with them. She had work to do, it was time to do it.
-----
Luna sat at her desk, in her room in Canterlot. Already she missed Elspeth and Skif and the Companions. But Dale was with her. And Twilight was only a short flight away in Ponyville. There would be many hours of stargazing with her friend in the future, and perhaps other things as well. Or perhaps not, time would tell.
Meanwhile she had work to do. She surveyed her desk. Sheaves of paper, several reference books, her trusty abacus, everything she needed to do what she loved best. Eventually there would be other things, talking to her sister, recruiting ponies, setting things in motion. But first came the bit that made everything else after it work. First came the part that was the most satisfying, as she brought order to a realm of chaos, and created something new from nothing. A whole new life stretched ahead of her, and she needed to be ready for whatever might come.
