Twilight had noticed that the three stars spirits were throwing off considerable heat, as one would logically expect from the manifestation of a great ball of fusion and plasma. But some facet of her Alicorn Magic was automatically compensating for the intense heat. She didn't quite know why but the sensation seemed eerily familiar.
Deja vu almost....weird...
She would have really liked to ask more about them. The Spirits presented paradigm shifting discoveries to theories and life and Magic but now didn't seem like quite the right time.
Especially given Celestia's reaction, she had an excellent regal demeanour but Twilight knew her well enough to notice the ticks. Something about was rubbing her quite the wrong way.
She couldn't quite figure out what was bothering her mentor. Her eyes briefly met Cadences, she could feel it too.
"So you three are Wardens?" Twilight asked, Brushing the adorable baby star away.
"No," Sirius answered, looking back. "The stars of this realm were...are their allies .
"Were?"
"it’s been a while...even by our standards." Polaris replied stepping in. "Eons since last direct contact. Even beings if our power couldn’t maintain contact with them after..... the war." Polaris trailed off, voice going quite.
"And you believe they can still be trusted after so long?" Celestia asked.
"Well H....Celestia." Siruis replied, something slipping into her voice. "You don't just stop trusting someone if they've been forcibly kept from you for a few thousand years do you?"
************************************* ********
Within the Tethers central chamber the lone Warden looked down at the planet before him as he acclimatized to this reality. The planet looked so peaceful, billions of happy little mortals pottering away with their lives. They deserved that peace.
The last time he had seen this world it had been shrieking under the throes of the Greater Chaos. Fire and ice bombarding the surface while smoke and blood saturated the air. The skies beyond it being torn to shreds as space and time came undone; and terrible monsters came screeching through the cracks.
Looking along one of the more southerly landmasses he could still just about make out a line of cragged islets all but worn away by time. They were the last remains of the island The King Under The Mountain had destroyed when he suplexed a Broken God into it. His friend had always been effective if a little direct.
An ache was building up inside the Warden like a phantom pain. This world deserved peace.
He would make sure they got it.
************** **************************
No-one had spoken up in about five minutes.
Twilight was fairly glad of that. Sirius had apologised for a comment, citing extreme nervousness in causing her to speak before thinking. However the fact that an immeasurably ancient star spirit was apparently that nervous did not sit any better with her.
Luna walked ahead with the Stars, conversing in a language no-one else understood. It sounded suitably grim however.
In the rear Celestia and Cadence whispered to each other. Celestia was no longer staring daggers at Sirius and instead just looked down trodden. Somehow that was worse, Celestia was Celestia. She was supposed to be a bastion of control; even in the face of Discord or Tirek or whatever that week’s crisis of state she maintained an air of absolute authority.
She was THE Princess. She always knew what she was doing. She certainly never looked downtrodden…and so…normal.
Twilight supposed that Cadence and Celestia were talking about diplomatic options. Twilight also supposed she was part of that conversation, she might have murmured some vague agreement a few time. She wasn’t really paying attention.
She still couldn’t quite shake that feeling in her gut. Not Déjà vu. But close.
*********************************** **
Eventually the ponies found themselves in what they could only assume was the meeting room for this increasingly foreboding meeting. Though still extremely utilitarian and military looking some attempt at making the room look more habitable had been made; several pony anatomy appropriate chairs had been arranged facing towards the closed doorway that would presumably reveal their host. The chairs were old looking with faded upholstery but as Twilight tested one it was still soft and pretty comfortable. At a loss for anything better to do she hopped up on one and sat herself down to wait.
Glancing up Twilight noticed there appeared to be a sword embedded in the ceiling. No not embedded, fused. As if the surrounding metal had swallowed up the blade. If they had taken the time to add chairs for the princesses why hadn’t they removed the creepy ceiling sword?
“So,” Cadence said, pulling up a chair but not sitting. “Do we just wait?”
“Yes.” Vega rumbled.
“For how long?” Annoyance starting to creep in.
“As long as it takes I’m afraid.” Polaris responded. “He’ll be ready when he’s ready.”
“Hmmpf. Look I know these are far from ordinary circumstances but we do not appreciate being lead around like this! Can you please tell us something of what is going on?” Cadence asked, eyes then narrowing. “I don’t believe you three are trying to make this more difficulty but it’s getting…frustrating.
Twilight glanced at the two elder princesses but their expressions were unreadable. Twilight might have been the princess of solving friendship problems but this was well out of her normal scope.
Sirius seemed to let out the stellar equivalent of a frustrated sigh, head drooping. “Sorry. We’re not trying to make this difficult…its complicated.” Drawing back up to full height she continued. “There’s only one Warden here. His name is Umbra, the Drakon of Midnight. And as I remember he’s one of the Wardens big guns.”
“And that is saying something.” Polaris added. “As for why he’s here…”
In turn each of the Star Spirits turn to face solemnly face Luna. The Princess of the Night drew in a long, deep breath and started speaking as if she was reading her own eulogy. “My sisters, this day has been coming for a long time. When I fell, and became Nightmare Moon I allowed a great power of our world to be corrupted and put the entire planet at risk. The stars and I believe that the Wardens have come here as they think I am no longer fit to wield the power of the moon.”
“Sister no…” Celestia breathed.
Luna stared at the ground, breath coming in with the rhythm of one on the verge of tears. “When I fell. I betrayed...the trust that had been put in me. And I am ready to accept the consequences.”
“But…but….” Celestia murmured, eyes misting over before suddenly snapping back to reality before snapping back to reality, voice hard as diamond. “No, you have already paid for your mistakes. Thou willt not be taken from us again!”
At that moment the wall dividing the room fading to nothing, the apparent entryway seemingly meaningless. Beyond lay inky blackness; the light from their side of the room seeming to stop before it reached the void. Then something moved in the darkness.
Looming above them a pair of solid indigo eyes opened, each angular and glowing like coals. The light from these burning slits barely illuminating of a being as black as the void itself. Shifting in the penumbral darkness the ponies could just pick out a short muzzled head and the barest top of its body and shoulders.
Luna stepped forward. “I know why you have come here. You have come to take my Alicorn power away.”
“No.” Umbra replied, “I have not come for you Night Bringer. I have come for you all.”