1 Week Ago
Luna sat with the cool night air blowing against her back, the wind gently whistling between the dappled leafs rustling in the moon light. For a moment she closed her eyes and simply listened to the whisper of the wind mixing with the soft, hushed discussion going on below her.
She wasn’t entirely sure whether the Royal Astronomers Society was something that had formed organically or whether it was something Celestia had ‘encouraged’ during her banishment. Her sister claimed it was the former but in the end did it really matter? Her subjects below her excitedly looking through their telescopes genuinely, whole heartedly enjoyed looking at her nights sky; and while she had tried to move past her old demons of jealousy and envy, sometimes it was nice to be indulgent and enjoy a little adoration now and again, especially at planned events like this..
Opening her eyes Luna scanned the small crowd below her, clustered in small groups around their telescopes. It was a good night for stargazing, the sky clear and still with the heavens twinkling away in all their glory. As Luna looked down she spotted one pony who seemed to be working a little more fervently than the others, her telescope positioned separate from the pack.
She had an odd looking telescope, all wires and magical crystals welded on around the outside. The pony, Luna believed she was named Moonglow, was checking a number of papers strewn about her fold-out table and fiddling with her impressive device. Curiosity piqued Luna, tracked the telescopes position up into the night sky, trying to figure out what had her subject so intrigued.
“Let’s see,” Luna murmured to herself, “The Hyperion Nebula? The Antares Cluster? Oh…..I wonder….” Luna hopped off her balcony and carefully glided down to the garden. Ironically none of the ponies below noticed the Princess of the Night descended, too wrapped up in their own star gazing and Moonglow barely suppressed a yelp of surprise as Luna dropped down in front of her.
“I dost like thy telescope Moonglow,” Luna smiled, taking a moment to inspect the contraption up close, “The magical crystals increase the resolution?”
“Umm…ummm…yes you highness.” Moonglow stuttered, “The Crystal Empire crystals also allow me to artificially change the focal length. It’s only a prototype but already it’s many times better than anything with just glass cut lenses.”
“And, if I may hazard a guess,” Luna continued, “Using your new telescope you have spotted a small tetrahedral object orbiting at the extreme edge of our system?”
Moonglows eyes grew wide with awe as she stared up at her princess. “What is it?”
“An ancient device built by an ancient being. Placed above out world countless millennia ago. A beacon into the great unknown. In truth I had forgotten about it until just now.” Luna said, leaning in and dropping her voice. She was enjoying this rare opportunity to truly converse one-on-one with a subject.
“I’ve never seen anything like it…” Moonglow whispered, one again peering through the eyehole, up at her discovery. “Why are there no records of such a device? Or whatever was powerful enough to put it there?”
“I suppose it was unimportant in the grand scheme, as funny as that may sound.” Luna mused, peering to where she knew the object was. “It hasn’t worked in a very, very long time. And apart from being like myself it’s almost impossible to spot. The last pony to have even detected a hint of it lived over a thousand years ago. You should be very proud.” Luna felt like she was watching history in the making, of course she had known about the device since well….since the beginning. But did she really count? Let Moonglow have her moment in the sun (as it were).
“it’s very pretty.” Moonglow sighed, “Blinking away up there.”
Luna’s train of thought came screeching to a halt. “What?”
Alarmed by the Princess sudden shift in voice Moonglow slowly peered up unsure of what was now happening. “Its….got blinking lights on it and….”
With a sudden loss of all manners Luna pushed the smaller pony out the way and jammed her face into the telescope. After a few long moment Luna drew back, took a deep breathe, checked that no pony else had noticed what has going on (they hadn’t), and calmly addressed the quivering Moonglow. “I need you to quietly pack this telescope up and take it up to the palace for me ok? I will have guards direct you to the right spot but I need you to go there now and wait for me ok?”
“But….but…”
“I know. I’m sorry. I will explain if I can but I am commanding you to do this. And you must tell no one of what you have seen. Understand?”
Moonglow gulped. “Yes Princess. I understand.”
Luna turned to go but halted for a moment and turned back. “You are a brilliant pony Moonglow, and your discovery has helped us a great deal. I will remember this.”
“Yes princess!” Moonglows eyes filled with determination as she set about moving her equipment. Luna jumped and took off back into her glimmering skies. She needed to find her sister as soon as physically possible
The Wardens had returned.