For Twilight Sparkle, the stars were impossible things, beautiful and out of reach. Night had fallen like a shroud, a welcomed, comforting shroud, and Twilight was pleased to see that they had all come together. Even Dandelia was here, off a distance away with Twilight Velvet. Princess Luna, who had just returned, looked very much like a nervous conductor. It was time for the stars to shine and the night sky was empty.
“Why do the stars have to be lit?” Sumac asked as he sat down at Princess Luna’s front hooves. “The stars are always there, right? Why can’t we see them? I’m dying to know.”
Much to Twilight’s surprise, Princess Luna began to chuckle, a big full body laugh that filled the surrounding area with the sounds of princessly mirth. The Princess of the Night was happy, Twilight realised, and why shouldn’t she be? Blinking, Twilight felt her eyes watering, and the corners of her mouth twitched as her own happy smile was besieged with her emotions.
“The stars are always shining, but you do not always see them.” Princess Luna’s reply was cryptic, and she seemed to enjoy saying it. She stood before Sumac, looking down at him and the dragon perched upon his horn. “The real power in the Lulamoon bloodline is their keen ability for illusion, a subset of the dream magic that We possess. It is a rare and powerful magic.”
There was a sniff from Trixie, a familiar and haughty sounding sniff. “I tried to tell you, Twilight, illusion magic is far, far superiour.”
Grinning, Twilight said nothing in reply, but she gave Trixie a warm, affectionate glance for just a second, and then returned her attention to Princess Luna.
“But why?” Sumac asked.
“Each star has its own magic signature… the stars are magic, but that is a complicated and involved lesson. In brief, the shining of the stars is important here. The light comes here to where we are in the form of thaumaton charged photons. These have their own charge, their own frequency, and our planet, it too, has its own frequency and magical charge. The starlight collides with the thaumasphere, the magically charged upper layers of the atmosphere.”
Princess Luna paused to make sure that everypony had kept up with her. She looked around, smiling, and then returned her sharp, keen gaze to Sumac, who was staring up at her with a fierce, unwavering intensity.
“The starlight, with its own magical frequency, hits the thaumasphere, which also has its own magical frequency, and the light is scattered in all directions, leaving everything looking dark. The starlight magic falls like rain upon our planet, leaving behind its own special magic, which contributes to the overall magical balance that we need for life to continue to function.”
Tearing her eyes away from the joyful looking Alicorn of the Night, Twilight craned her head and looked upwards. Above, the unseen stars were shining, and the starlight was refracting everywhere. It was there, but it needed focusing to be seen from the ground. Twilight’s keen mind began filling in the gaps, the science withheld from Princess Luna’s words.
“To make the stars shine, one only needs the most powerful and capable ability for illusion. Starlight carries dream magic, the very thing We need to perform our great task. With but a thought, We can fill the night sky with the illusion of stars, using the very magic that the stars themselves have to offer. Every pony that lives on the ground, or in the clouds, when they look up, they will all see the same illusion, the refocusing of starlight back into a visible form that can be seen by the eye.”
“I think I understand about half of that.” Sumac tilted his head back and looked up at the stars. “So the stars are always there, always shining, and it is utility magic that makes them visible again. With the same sort of magic, if one could make light visible, one could also make light invisible, making the sun appear to go dark.”
Fearful, Twilight snapped her head down and looked into Princess Luna’s face, waiting for signs of trouble, of anger, of hurt, but she saw none of these things. Luna’s smile never wavered and her happiness didn’t falter. If anything, Luna looked impressed.
“Correct. It is possible to have a warm, pleasant night, where the sun gives its life giving heat to the world, but no visible light pierces the shroud of night. It is a simple matter of diffusing the sun’s own thaumaton charged photons and scattering them in the thaumasphere. The sun would continue to move around the world, providing heat and life, but it would not be seen until the illusion was dispelled.”
“So Caper’s ability to light the stars, that was just illusion magic, the absolute pinnacle of illusion magic.” Trixie, sitting in the grass, looked thoughtful and perhaps just a little absent minded as she reminisced about the past.
“The ability to manipulate dream magic is no small thing. Caper had but a mere fraction of what We are capable of. In the past, mine own offspring were gifted in magic and illusion… more so than the offspring of mine sister, Celestia. It has become a sort of good natured competition and perhaps, one day, We shall begin again.”
And with Princess Luna’s words, Twilight knew the truth of it. Princess Celestia had needed the Elements of Harmony to level the playing field and to stand a chance against Princess Luna’s magics. In Luna’s words, other wisdom could be found, she spoke without bitterness, without anger, she spoke without regret. Twilight’s eyes narrowed and she focused upon Luna’s face. The Princess of the Night was getting better, of this there could be no doubt. Curious, Twilight wanted to know how Gosling fit into all of this, Gosling and his mysterious rubber ducky cutie mark… Gosling and the irrepressible happiness that he seemed to bring everywhere he went.
Gosling needed to be lured into a proper laboratory and studied. With extreme science.
“Twilight, come close and sit with your sister,” Princess Luna said in a low voice that was almost a whisper. Luna too, sat down in the grass, then began removing her crown and regalia. She tossed them into the grass in an almost careless way. “Twilight Velvet, Dandelia, come and sit with us. Dandelia, keep your tongue civil.”
Excited, trembling, Twilight moved closer to Trixie, but wondered why Luna was having them all gather. A rough circle formed, with Sumac trapped in the middle, and excitement, like magic, crackled in the air all around him. Twilight could feel the latent magical energies of this place thrumming through her teeth.
Dandelia, red-eyed and a little weepy, ended up between Trixie and Twilight Velvet. She looked hesitant, unsure, there was something on her face that was not often seen—fear. Perhaps sensing her mother’s discomfort, Trixie reached out and gave her mother a brief, gentle touch. The unspoken communication seemed to have a profound effect, Dandelia’s ears drooped a little, but she seemed a little more comfortable.
“We wish that Shining Armor was here to join us,” Luna said, her voice now casual and relaxed. “Perhaps later… no matter. Gather round, so that we might touch the stars.”
“What? How?” Twilight, confused, shook her head. “I’m not a Lulamoon.”
“Twilight, darling, don’t be dense,” Twilight Velvet said.
“Mom!” Blinking, the left corner of her mouth twitching, Twilight was galled by the sound of Trixie’s laughter. “Did I miss something?”
Twilight Velvet looked into her daughter’s eyes with an intense, piercing stare. “The stars will aid in her escape.” The cryptic words were spoken in a flat, feelingless deadpan. Twilight Velvet then pointed at her own cutie mark and gave her daughter an expectant, pointed stare.
The revelation hit Twilight the younger like a freight train loaded down with anvils and bricks. There was an actual physical sensation that felt as though the wind was knocked out of her lungs, and she struggled to breathe. Gasping, Twilight thought about her cutie mark, her own stars, and then she felt Luna’s eyes upon her. In that moment, she knew.
“For all of you, with the exception of Sumac of course, there is the potential to light the stars. Trixie, Dandelia, you are the recognised portion of my bloodline.” Luna paused and went silent as she focused upon Twilight Velvet. “Many, many years ago, Vega Lion Lulamoon fell madly in love with a brilliant minded commoner, an astronomer that loved the stars. It caused quite a scandal and no end of controversy. A duel was fought to restore honour to the family, Vega and his brother, Alphard, they battled it out to determine who was wrong, and who was right.”
Twilight listened with rapt attention.
“Vega won of course, he thrashed his brother with magic and steel. His victory was costly. He had won, but had also lost. His rank, title, and everything he was, all of it was stripped from him. One might think this to be an unhappy ending, but this is where the story starts. Vega, a very vigorous member of mine bloodline, of whom We are most proud, he gave his wife fourteen foals, nine of which survived into adulthood.”
At the mention of fourteen foals, every mare present blushed and their cheeks darkened as they squirmed.
“Vega, now called Ignis Amor, was the pony—”
“Who kicked off the entire romance period of the latter era,” Twilight Sparkle blurted out, interrupting Luna. “He wore a mask because he had been horribly burned, but his wife still loved him. Ignis Amor was the champion of romantic love and it is because of him that we ponies today marry for love. An entire new era happened because of him!”
Nodding, Luna smiled. “Yes.”
“And we’re related?” Twilight asked as she looked at Trixie.
Again, Luna nodded.
“So that makes us related.” Twilight went still and silent as her brain overloaded.
“And the stars aided me in mine escape, freeing me from Nightmare Moon.” Luna’s words were a subdued whisper and she closed her eyes for a second as her emotion overtook her. “I was redeemed and made whole by mine own offspring, and what colourful, interesting lives they had. I thought I would be happier not knowing, but We… but I, was mistaken.”
Twilight Velvet had the most fantastic smirk upon her face as she looked at her daughter.
Sumac, rubbing his neck with the back of his fetlock, sat in the middle of the circle of mares, looking thoughtful and contemplative. On his horn, Boomer appeared to be half awake, and her glittering, curious yellow eyes went from pony to pony as she studied the world around her, taking everything in, and trying to learn from it. A short distance away, Lemon Hearts and Night Light were speaking together in hushed whispers, so the circle would not be interrupted.
“And now, we gather together as one family...” Luna’s words were husky and there was a faint crack in her voice as she spoke the word ‘family.’ She looked around her at the ponies gathered in the circle, ponies so very much like her. “Just as I once did with mine own offspring so long ago… and it has been such a very long time since I last foaled…” Luna’s words trailed off and she let out a bittersweet sigh before she was able to continue, “But as it was long ago… gather close, my precious ones, and I shall teach you how to light the stars.”
A single tear rolled down Luna’s cheek as she smiled.
Twilight Sparkle felt an immense amount of magic building, it was like a rumble within the earth, but then she became aware of other magic, not the magic that came from the ley lines, but the magic that rained down from above, the magic from the stars, she felt it as it permeated her being. The first time awareness of something new felt very much like the first time she had successfully cast a spell, Twilight’s eyes betrayed her, and tears began to trickle down from the wrinkled corners where her eyelids met.
“I’m feeling kinda weird!” Trixie’s words were a worried, almost foalish whine.
“It is just the sensation of new magic, do not be afraid.” Luna’s maternal voice held warmth and wonder. “Who else feels it?”
“I do,” Twilight replied.
Trembling, Trixie nodded. “I feel it.”
“I feel nothing,” Dandelia confessed.
Twilight Velvet, who had her eyes closed, whispered the words, “I feel peculiar.”
“Dandelia, clear your troubled mind and think only of the stars,” Luna commanded. “Remember that I love you and that you are worthy.”
In the middle of the circle, surrounded by magical giants, Sumac cowered, overcome by his magic sense. Unable to speak, hardly able to move, he sat in one spot, transfixed, trying to deal with sensation overload as his sorcerer’s magic sense tuned into something new, and discovered another source of magic that it could tap into. Such was the nature of a sorcerer—infinite adaptation to any readily available source of magic. Unknown to those who formed the circle, Sumac was changing, being reshaped, repurposed by the raw magical energies being focused.
“I feel something!” Dandelia’s voice was excited, happy, almost foalish, and she let out a squeal.
“Now, pay attention, my precious ones, and I shall light the first star this night, so that you might know how it is done. Attune to my magic and listen to the lullabye of the stars.” As Luna spoke, the circle of mares gathered with her shivered and trembled.
The ear of every mare present perked and several gasped. Fuzzy ears now twitched in time to the music that few could hear. The chorus of billions of stars, each with its own voice, each with its own resonant frequency, each star unique. So swept up in the moment were the gathered mares that they didn’t notice that Sumac also appeared to be hearing something.
The colt’s mouth fell open and he murmured the words, “Black star, come come again,” as he swayed in time to music that only he could hear, terrible music, the choir of those who lived beyond the stars. There were terrible, unspeakable things beyond the stars, the banished entities of old, the devourers of civilisation—and Sumac’s magic sense had felt their magic intermingled with the magic of starlight.
With a jerk, Twilight felt the intrusion, but it was Luna who reacted. A glittering blue shield sprang into existence around the group as Luna lept to her hooves, spread her wings, and let out a fierce cry. Now cut off from the magic of the stars, Sumac’s eyes rolled back into his head and he fell over into a limp heap.
Trixie screamed.