The Sun Whispers Your Name

by Mystic

Chapter III: The Truth - Part I

The two mares sat amongst the temple’s ruin, staring at the crumbling walls around them. The battle didn’t change the fact that they had a job to do, and they were probably running out of time back in Equestria. It couldn’t stay night-time forever. Not again.

But first, they needed to rest. Both ponies were absolutely exhausted, and Twilight felt spent both magically and emotionally. She let her body relax on the cracked stone floor, and it was the best she could do not to let her eyes fall shut and submit to the fatigue.

“I…” Luna began softly, breaking the silence that had fallen since she had stopped crying. “I apologise for my behaviour, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Oh,” Twilight said, blinking her eyes open. “That’s not a problem, Princess. Not at all. This is not something everypony has to face. I... It was... hard. Anypony would cry after that.”

The Princess shook her head, her expression slightly annoyed. “No, not that, Twilight. I apologise for my behaviour during the battle. I… The past has a hard time of leaving me alone.”

Twilight frowned, not a little confused, and Luna looked away. “Oh. That’s… that’s not a problem,” Twilight said again. “I… it was nothing. Considering the circumstances, I completely understand. I mean-”

“Twilight,” Luna interrupted, unable to properly meet the unicorn’s gaze. “I appreciate your… discretion, but hear me out. Please. I have to say these things, or else they go unsaid.”

Twilight nodded.

“I… lost control. I shouldn’t forget my temper, yet I did. I beg of you, Twilight Sparkle, that you don’t think any of less of me because of this. I… the enemy was… unsettling, and I let that fester within my thoughts.”

Twilight smiled a smile that she hoped was warm and reassuring, a feeling that was totally at odds with how she really felt. “Don’t worry, Princess. I understand. I know what you mean; the magic was so…powerful. It felt so natural… so strong. I imagined what I wanted to do to those skeletons, and the magic almost seemed to show me the way… like it wanted me to do it... it was terrifying.”

“Yes,” Luna said, her expression concerned. “Therein lies the dangers of war magic. Magic is power, Twilight Sparkle, a fact you of all ponies should be aware of. And power corrupts all of us completely. Noble hearts have tried to control that potential for destruction, and I have watched them crumble, falling prey to the power they possess. Gods themselves have succumbed. Do not fear that feeling. Just do not forget it.”

“But it was so… potent,” Twilight said, shaking her head. “Normally, I get so tired when casting big spells, but I felt like I could cast these spells forever. The power felt insignificant. I just reached in and it was there waiting to be used.”

“Such is often the case with war magic in the heat of battle. The fear, the adrenalin, and the cause give ponies a strength beyond their preconceived natural limits. Power as great as that was how magic was used in the beginning of time, Twilight. Perhaps that is magic existing naturally. Perhaps not.” Luna smiled mischievously. “But then again, you are the element of magic, after all.”

“And the shadow… the shadow liked it when I lost control. It liked it when I was… vicious.” The unicorn shuddered, remembering how it danced around her whenever she let the power direct her actions.

Luna nodded, her expression distant. “The shadow is indeed malicious. It always has been, ever since the dawn of time.” Twilight remembered the world of shadow she had seen in the pool of moonlight, and the creatures it had spawned, and she had to suppress another shudder. “And I believe it always will, till the end of time itself. The shadow looks upon anything connected with harmony with scorn, and stops at nothing to see its destruction.”

“It’s terrible.”

“It truly is. Much has been defeated, but there are always shadows, Twilight, within our minds, within the dark places in creature’s hearts. It always has a voice. We must choose to listen, or to fight its influence.”

“But…” Twilight said, thinking hard. “We are in Celestia’s mind, so what does that mean? This ‘shadow’ doesn’t even really exist within Equestria’s mythology – though it makes sense when examining the dark forces. I mean, just look at Discord-”

“Or me,” Luna interjected, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

Twilight smiled at Luna kindly. “Or Nightmare Moon, yes. They reject harmony, just like you said. This ‘shadow’ could definitely exist, even if it isn’t all that noticeable. But why is it here? It’s so powerful, in so much control. It must mean something.”

“Well,” Luna said, her expression thoughtful. “I have noticed the saturation of my sister’s magics throughout Equestria since my return. She has woven power from the elements into the very fabrics of the ecosystems and societies. It is subtle work, but its effects are profound. Perhaps that is why you see little of the shadow. As for why it is here, perhaps it is fear from the past? We spent the better part of several millennia fighting the shadow. We… we lost much. It would be a part of her.”

Twilight had to forcibly close her jaw; she was still reeling from Luna’s throwaway comment about the integrated nature of Celestia’s power within pony society. It was… downright terrifying! “The Princess… she changed the entire world with the elements of harmony?” Twilight said slowly, stressing each word.

Luna looked at her and shook her head. “Not changed. Influenced. Pony nature has changed subtly, as has the mindsets of all beasts and civilisation. It is subtle that any being without the perspective of millennia would not notice it, but it is there. The very air is filled with a gentle power.” Luna stopped, looking at Twilight’s mortified expression with sudden apprehension. “Oh! It is not forceful! In fact, it is the opposite. It does not change things; it encourages change. It facilitates peace and love. It strengthens ponies’ hearts, gives them the peace to live happy lives in harmony with the world.

“It is vast improvement, Twilight Sparkle. I saw your rehearsal of the Hearth’s Warming story. The world was very different than what you showed. Your view has been skewed by a cultural perspective of years of peace and tolerance. The reality was darkness of a most malicious nature. Life was different back then, Twilight. It only started to resemble what you would recognise as pony life after Equestria was formed. Even then, it was not until after Discord fell that we were able to shape the social fabric to something you would be familiar with today.”

Twilight stared at Luna, completely dumbfounded. Sure, academic theory supported Luna’s claims, but on a far more limited level. Life was harsher back then, but technology and the peace treaties helped facilitate growth… not magic!

“But always remember, Twilight, it was the strength of the pony’s soul and love for peace and harmony that drove change. Throughout history, pony folk wanted to live in peace, and it was this desire that led to the formation of Equestria. It led to the fall of Discord, and it created the society that you live in today. Celestia controlled a magic that ponies gave to her. It is their dreams and desires that fill the air, that shape the world. My sister... or at least I believe it is her, just seems to help it along.”

Twilight nodded, not a little confused at the faint bitterness that filled the Princess’ last statement. “She… does that?”

Luna nodded, her eyes warm, but her lips were pulled taut. “She does. She desires nothing but harmony for her subjects.”

Twilight shook her head slowly, trying to process the information. She wondered whether or not the Princess even noticed the alarming flippancy with which she threw potentially entire-perspective-altering statements at her. Sighing gently, the unicorn realised that no, she probably didn’t.

“But Twilight, you have not told me what happened to you while we were separated!”

Twilight blinked. She hadn’t, had she? They had been so distracted by the skeletons and their battle that she hadn’t even thought of her previous adventures. “Um...” She wasn’t entirely sure where to begin. “Well, when I... ‘woke up’ I was standing in front of a massive city...” Twilight launched into her tale. She was a little unsure at first, but she quickly warmed into her recount. Luna was silent throughout, her eyes the only outward sign of emotion. She frowned when Twilight told her about the sped up aging, looked distant at the mention of the palace and its inhabitants, and looked downright furious when Twilight told her how the whole world had fallen to pieces.

“You did well, Twilight,” Luna interrupted. “That was some quick thinking to get out of the city alive...”

“I just don’t understand why it was like that!” Twilight said, exasperated. “You said it has to mean something, so what did the city mean? What did all of it mean?!”

Luna was silent for a long time. “I’m not sure, Twilight. I’m not sure at all. The city you described sounds like the cities of old. Perhaps that is what they have been modelled on. The rest... I am less sure. I don’t understand the aging, or why the world turned on you so.”

“Maybe the aging has something to do about Celestia’s fear of Canterlot crumbling?” Twilight suggested with a shrug.

Luna thought on it for a moment. “Perhaps... Perhaps it is how she perceives time.”

“What do you mean?”

The Princess looked on the unicorn with a clouded expression. “Time passes by effortlessly, Twilight. It must be so hard for you to truly appreciate, and I am sorry for that.” She paused. “Then, I am not sure that you actually are unlucky in that regard.”

“But what about the city burning? I made a connection to the sun and it’s Celestia’s mind. Why didn’t it work?”

“That I do not know, Twilight. That makes little sense to me at all – the city destroying itself even less. Such a violent reaction to the wrong choice...” Luna stopped, her eyes clouded by doubt.

Twilight frowned. “None of this is making any sense.” But didn't it? Twilight thought. Why didn’t it make sense? The Princess had thousands of years worth of history. Most of which Twilight knew absolutely nothing about. But everything in here was so... dark. Yet, if it was in Celestia’s, then Luna should know too, shouldn’t she? They were together for such a long time; at least that’s what the pool of moonlight had shown her. But the alicorn wasn’t saying anything directly, so Twilight couldn’t be sure.

“Sense? This is a dreamworld. It means something, yes, but it does not have to make sense. And besides, the dreamworld can show us things that even the host's mind does not want us to see, things that may not always be obvious.”

“But where does that leave us?” Twilight asked after a short pause, staring around at the ruin.

“Well,” Luna said, seemingly coming out of her own reverie. “The temple stands while the other aspects of the environment… fall. It must hold something of importance, I believe.”

Twilight nodded, getting to her hooves. “That seems logical enough.” She started to walk around the stone dais in the middle of the temple, staring at the stone carefully.

Luna descended the steps from the stage and peered closely at the small, nondescript stone altar set along the back wall.

Twilight examined the alicorns carved decoratively into the floor. They were in the exact same style as the ones she had seen in the city and back on Equestrian flags – monochromatic with long, thin bodies, devoid of any other defining characteristics. There were two of them, each one facing the other, heads held high. Twilight frowned; there was nothing special about any of this at all.

“Twilight!” Princess Luna cried out. “Come! I believe I may have found something!”

Twilight dashed over to the alicorn, who was staring intently at the altar’s side. When the unicorn reached her, she pointed to where she was looking. “What do you make of that?”

Twilight looked and saw a small symbol carved hastily in the side. It was a crude-looking mountain, and a full moon rising behind it, the spire of the peak seemingly balancing the celestial body on its point.

“Hmm,” Twilight murmured, tapping a hoof to her chin. “A mountain and the moon…?” The lavender unicorn looked toward the moon hanging within this world, and she froze. There it was! The moon hanging above the mountain!

There, perfectly framed by a large, open window, was the real-life version of the symbol. Twilight ran over to the window, followed by a still slightly confused Princess Luna.

“Ok,” Twilight said, examining every inch of the window sill. “It should be around here somewhere…”

“What?” Luna asked, her head tilted to one side.

“A clue!” Twilight cried out. “The image visible in this window is identical to the symbol! Something has to be here!”

“Oh!” Luna said, comprehension dawning on her face. “Of course!”

Twilight smiled and returned to her searching. “Ooh!” she murmured. “I’ve found something!”

“What is it?”

The unicorn frowned. “It’s a sentence. It says, ‘The Truth is inside’.”

The Princess of the Night blinked. “‘The Truth is inside’? What does that mea-”

But she never finished, for as soon as the phrase left her mouth, the world disappeared in a vortex of darkness that instantly destroyed the world’s structure. Before either of them could tell what was happening, they were floating in an inescapable void.

It was the third time Twilight had experienced the phenomena, and it was just as hard to accept as the first time. She was present, but she didn’t exist. She was moving, but she had no mass. All facts were just as true as the others, but yet they couldn’t exist together.

And then there were the sounds. She didn’t remember them being all that prevalent in the second transition, but she had been leaving a world literally tearing itself apart at the time, so it wasn’t hard to believe that she had been otherwise preoccupied at the time.

Yet now, she could hear them – the whispering, laughing, and the screaming. The latter was particularly loud; it reverberated within the nothing, filling up Twilight, making her want nothing more than to crawl in her bed and hide underneath the covers. They were shouts of anger, of fear and of pain, and they echoed with the weight of ages and emotion.

Then, just like before, as soon as Twilight could feel it begin, the entire experience was over. Her body materialised around her, and she fell to the hard, baked earth with a thump.

Twilight groaned, fighting her surging stomach. Three times, and each time she had to struggle to keep her dinner inside.

The unicorn rolled over to her front and stopped, suddenly frowning. It was hot… really hot. Really uncomfortably hot.

Twilight finally forced her eyes open and gasped.

The brown and scorched landscape stretched around the pony for as far as she could see. The terrain was broken by huge, deformed boulders, and the charcoaled skeletons of trees standing a lonely watch over the wasteland.

But that’s not what Twilight was looking at.

A monstrous volcano dominated the horizon, tearing forth from the wasted earth, soaring into the ash-ridden sky. Fire erupted from its peak, spewing a deluge of ash and flame into the atmosphere. Torrents of lava flowed down its cracked and barren slopes, filling the rivers of fire that criss-crossed the landscape around them. Low rumbles occasionally filled the air, and the ground shook as the volcano discharged more molten rock and ash.

Yet that was not all. Visible even despite the shroud of smog and ash, the sun burned like a furnace in the sky, its body a dark red, not the warm golden yellow like back home. This sun was old, but it filled the air with an oppressive heat. It pressed down on Twilight like a physical weight, and she could practically feel her skin baking beneath her coat.

Twilight stood up, and she saw Luna stand next to her in the corner of her eyes. “What is this place?” Twilight asked, staring around the world with wide eyes.

“I… I do not know,” Luna admitted softly, also staring around at the world with poorly concealed trepidation and awe.

The two mares were standing on the remnants of what looked like a stone path. Most of the cobbles were gone, and the remainders were caked in soot and baked dirt. The path curled its way through the badlands towards the mountain, often drawing close to rivers of fire.

About fifty feet down the road, standing in the pathetic shade provided by one of the dead trees, was an old wooden signpost. Twilight and Luna both looked on it simultaneously, before turning to each other, the same question written in both their eyes.

Twilight tried to teleport over to the sign, but was met with another invisible and impossible barrier preventing her from moving through space. Sighing, she turned to Luna, and they started to walk the old fashioned way over to the marker. While it didn’t seem like much, in a world as constructed as this one, something as blatant as a road and a sign post had to be important.

Together, they stepped up to the road marker. It was a weathered and scorched lone wooden post, a single direction marked like a banner at the top. The sign pointed toward the mountain, and it was labelled, ‘Truth’.

“Well, that message is certainly subtle,” Luna muttered darkly, frowning at the sign post.

“Well it’s definitely better than nothing,” Twilight said hopefully.

Luna shot Twilight a sideways glance. “Yes, that it is. I just fear what the nature of this so called ‘truth’ may be.”

“Only one way to find out.” Twilight turned toward the volcano, peering at its looming, bulky shadow. Luna nodded, and they set out once more.

As they walked, the landscape changed little. The earth was scorched and devoid of any life. Boulders sat like the artwork of surrealist sculptors, the basalt set into twisted and jagged patterns. Rivers of molten rock bubbled slowly around them, and more than once Luna was forced to fly them over sections of the road where the lava flows had flooded the path.

And it was scorching hot. The heat seemed to suck any moisture out of the air, leaving nothing but the dry, dehydrated carcass of the atmosphere in its place. Concerned about what the heat would be doing to their bodies, Luna summoned forth two cups and filled them pure, sparkling water from the ether. The speed and ease with which she did this left Twilight awed, and she vowed to dedicate a few weeks of extra study to creation magic when she got home. There was a simple elegance with the way the Princess created the water in the air, letting it form out of nothing and flow in currents created by her whim.

When Twilight’s throat no longer felt like a piece of charcoal, they set out again. A slow-moving river of lava flowed about fifty feet to their left, and Twilight could feel the heat radiating from it like it would from an oven.

Feeling an inexplicable need to break the silence, Twilight spoke, “Princess, back in the night world, I actually met somepony.”

“You did?” Luna said, taken aback.

“Yeah. I was walking through the forest before I met up with you and I came across this bridge. But before I could cross, a pony stepped out in front of me and asked me questions before I could pass.”

“What did this pony look like?”

“Well, he was dressed in this weird, flowing black cloak. His coat was a really pale white colour and he had a light-grey mane and tail. I couldn’t see his cutie mark, but his eyes were pure white. He didn’t even have any pupils!” She shuddered slightly at the memory.

“Hmm.” Luna frowned, staring ahead at the volcano, her expression occupied. “Did you ask his name?”

“Well, no,” Twilight admitted. “He spoke in strange riddles half of the time. The other half he was either asking me questions or being extremely vague.”

“Questions like what?” the Princess asked.

“Well, he asked why I wanted to cross, and I told him about Princess Celestia and wanting to find you. Then he went on about ‘falling from grace’ and something about the balance and order of things. I honestly didn’t understand most of it.” Twilight frowned a little at the thought. “Then he told me to ‘beware’ if I crossed the bridge – something about how he didn’t control the other side.”

Luna nodded slowly, clearly deep in thought. “Interesting. It is rare to find sentient beings who operate with some degree of autonomy within dreamscapes. But this one sounds disturbingly conscious of his environment, claiming to hold some level of control is intriguing to say the least.”

“But does that mean he wasn’t a figment of the Princess’ mind, and that he was actually something else entirely?”

“It is hard to say,” Luna said. “Without meeting him, it is nigh impossible. Perhaps he is my sister’s representation of an individual being, or perhaps he is here of his own free will. With this type of magic, it is always complicated.”

“He also told me that there is ‘more than meets the eye’. I am not sure what he was talking about, though.”

Luna snorted. “In here, there is always more than meets the eye. There are always meanings hidden within meanings, gears within gears, wheels within wheels, Twilight Sparkle. One must simply look to find them.”

“So what does a volcanic wasteland mean?” Twilight asked, only joking a little bit.

Smiling, the Princess of the Night answered her, “Just because I know that there are truths to be found does not mean I actually know them.”

Twilight thought the Princess’ words over for a moment. “Well, I just hope Celestia is here. Even though I feel completely back to normal after coming to this world, this place is hard work.”

“Yes,” Luna agreed. “That it is, Twilight Sparkle, that it is.”

The two ponies had started to climb the volcano in earnest now, following the path as it corkscrewed on itself in a series of switch-backs. On each turn, a rough stone pillar stood as sentinels over the walkway, watching the world with their tired, crumbling gaze.

Every now and then, the earth would rumble as another explosion tore its way through the rock deep within the bowels of the earth. These triggered cascades of rubble and scree to fall tumbling down the mountain slopes.

To their left, the entire flank of the mountain was becoming consumed by a blanket of lava that was spewing forth from the peak. Thankfully, a small ridge was directing the flows away from the path, forcing it down the mountain toward the plain instead. Down on the surface, Twilight watched the skeletons of the trees combust in balls of orange and red flame whenever the lava drew too close.

About halfway up, Twilight noticed exactly where the path was heading. A great black opening was set into the mountainside like a gaping wound. Twilight pointed towards the cave, and Luna nodded.

“Into the depths of a volcano that is literally erupting every few minutes,” Twilight said with a grumble. “Great.” She looked away. Her stomach twisted at the sight of the jagged hole in the earth, leading towards the dark and the unknown.

Luna said nothing, choosing instead to adjust her wings against her body.

As the cave drew closer, Twilight was able to see just how big it actually was. It looked to be almost fifty feet wide and almost thirty feet high. Massive stone supports flanked it on both sides, the pillars literally merging with the rock of the mountain behind it. Twilight thought she could see some statues standing near the entrance but wasn’t completely sure just yet.

The two mares crested the last switch back, and there it was. The path widened out to a large ledge directly in front of the cave. Twilight saw that she had been right; there were two statues standing guard by the entrance, tall and proud in their demeanour. Both were alicorns, just like the ones she had seen in all of the worlds previous. Looking closer, Twilight could see that one the word ‘Truth’ had been engraved on its base and on the other was the word ‘Learn’.

The cave itself fell away into a dark opening that sucked the visibility from the tunnel. Twilight thought she could see flickering red glows within, though, so hopefully that meant there was some light.

“Well,” Twilight said to the Princess who standing next to her, staring into the darkness. “Do we go in?” The darkness seemed to beckon to her, and the unicorn gulped.

“We have no other choice,” Luna said evenly.

Twilight took a deep breath, trying to prepare herself for whatever may lay ahead. With these dream worlds, it could be just about anything. Crazy living monsters of lava? Definitely not impossible! Something darker... something dangerous? Something... 

Luna turned around and gave the unicorn a look of concern. “Are... are you coming, Twilight?”

Twilight opened her mouth but closed it. Staring at Luna’s eyes, a ball of steel formed itself in her spirit. Resolve, Applejack would call it. Rainbow would call it loyalty. Smiling slightly, the unicorn nodded and followed the Princess into the darkness.

As always, my eternal gratitude to my editor, Sessalisk, without whom this story would be a bigger mess than what it already is.

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