//------------------------------// // Perfect Day, part 6 // Story: Sons of Damas // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Shining felt his entire body tense at that question. He narrowed his eyes at the pony across the desk from him, mantling his wings as he prepared for battle if necessary. "And how do you know of Eco?" he asked coldly, internally checking his magic and Eco reserves. Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Really Shining, is this truly appropriate? I asked you first, after all. And it's not like I'm your enemy-" "Are you?" Shining interrupted. "Shapeshifters already replaced one Equestrian Princess, and the Changelings aren't the first race of shapeshifters I've encountered. So how do I know you aren't one of them, waiting to find another source of Eco to ravage and harvest, and twist to darkness? After all, nothing I know from this world gives any reason someone native to this world would know of Eco." Celestia sighed softly. "So you encountered a Hor'qwa Lord as well? No wonder you are suspicious..." "And yet another term I have no reason to think you should know," Shining growled, starting to draw his swords defensively. Celestia's eyes narrowed dangerously, and her horn glowed. To Shining's stunned shock, Green Eco construct crystals erupted to either side of him, entrapping his swords. "There is no need for that, Shining," she scolded coldly. "An Eco user you may be, and a new alicorn at that, but I know how to use magic to wield Eco techniques, and I have eons more experience than you. Beyond that, I mean you no harm. Now, are you going to behave and get answers, or do I need to show you why - now that I know that you know - just how far out of your league you are?" Shining's gaze grew flinty. "The only one who gets to talk to me like that is Samos," he growled, gathering his power. With a flick of his head, he shattered the crystal constructs and sent the shards flying at Celestia. Celestia caught the shards in the golden glow of her magic. "Well, it seems you are quite skilled," she murmured softly as the shards coalesced into a crystal sword that caught the swing of both Shining's Eco Blades before absorbing them. "And a good deal of power. But I know far more tricks than you do. Now, do you want the answer to your question, or would you prefer we clash viciously for no reason and tear up miles of Equestrian countryside in the process?" Shining frowned as he stared at Celestia. After a time, he lifted a hoof to his chin thoughtfully, tapping away. Celestia burst into gales of laughter. "Goodness, you have changed, Shining. If you weren't already engaged to my niece, I'd be trying to set you up with my sister now." Her beatific, motherly smile returned, and she sent Shining's swords back over to him. "Sheath your blades, Shining. You won't need them today." Shining did his best not to pout as he did as instructed. After all, that clash had gotten his blood pumping, and he was eager to see what he was capable of now that he had unlocked a Light Eco form. His eagerness doubled as he realized that meant he should have complete control of his Dark Eco form now. Idly, he wondered if he'd develop a Shadow form like Jak did? He doubted it, as Jak was a Prism Sage... "If it helps mollify your battle-lust, Cadence would probably be very disappointed in you if you picked a fight with me just before your wedding and coronation," Celestia pointed out dryly. "Especially if said fight caused enough damage to Canterlot that you had to hold the wedding somewhere else." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "And since Luna would definitely want to join such a fight once she woke..." Her expression turned wistful. "Then again, it's been a long time since we fought side by side or sparred, and the castle could use some renovation..." Shining sheathed his blades with a smile. "Maybe we could do an exhibition match later," Shining offered. "After the wedding. After all, one of my guests would want to join in, too. Now, how do you know about Eco?" Celestia sighed as she sat back, her eyes staring into nothing. "Long ago and yet to come at the end of time, a race of pure energy beings were all that was left of life in the universe. The universe had come to end when it shouldn't have. Something had gone terribly wrong. The energy beings studied all available knowledge, trying to discover what had went wrong, and if it could be fixed. In their studies, they learned to master time, space, and living energy in all its forms. "They did not discover one sure way to fix the universe. In the end, three factions developed. One felt that the use of planetary energy - which they called Eco - could be used to travel to the past and shape planets such that they could prevent the disaster that ended the universe. You likely know this faction as the Precursors. A second faction had embraced the power of Darkness, and they felt that what should be done was to travel back through the universe's history, harvesting resources from all time periods in reverse order and use that to build a universe that could not be destroyed." "The Dark Makers," Shining interrupted, having recognized the description. Celestia nodded confirmation. "The third faction had found a source of energy that the beings of the race hadn't even known existed, the power of quintessence, the only energy besides the beings themselves that still existed at the end of time. They felt that the use of planetary energy was a flawed stratagem, as no matter what was done it would always be a finite resource. Quintessence, however, was not bound by such laws, and was in theory limitless. They felt a world should be built where quintessence could be nurtured, thrive, and then be spread to the entire universe, rendering all worlds immune to the disaster that destroyed the universe." She smiled softly. "When the three factions went their separate ways, that faction made this world, shaped such that quintessence - what we call magic - would grow endlessly. It is why this is the only world in all the cosmos where sun and moon orbit the planet by the will of its inhabitants." Shining's eyes widened as he took that all in. "Then...what would be this world's equivalent of Sages? Precursors? Precursor Spirits?" "So somehow you wound up on a Precursor built world long enough to learn all the terms, then?" Celestia concluded. "That would explain why there is so much Eco - Light and Dark - inside of you." She got to her hooves. "As for Sages...well, we call them Sages as well. They're those of any of the equine races whose mastery of their inherent magic puts them orders of magnitude beyond their peers. Your little sister is well on her way to being a unicorn Sage...though long ago the title was decided to be reserved until a pony's fifth decade, to prevent one from going mad with power. As for Precursors..." She flared her wings, lowering her head. "That would be us, alicorns. Those who have the magic of all three races inside us." Shining's jaw dropped, and then he burst into laughter. "Good lord...Daxter's a Prince too..." Celestia chuckled softly. "Actually, the 'Prince and Princess' bit is a mistranslation back from the time when the world was becoming civilized. See, the term for an alicorn back then - or any other being from one of the other races to reach this level of magical mastery - was 'Magesti', as 'Magi' was our term for a Sage." Shining's laughter reduced to a chuckle. "And...the equivalent to Precursor Spirits?" he asked curiously. Celestia's expression immediately became far less jovial. "Only one being on the world has reached that level. At least...we assume that's what the transformation was, and he thought it would be...or so he told Luna and I before it happened." She slowly walked to the window, glancing down towards the Royal Statuary Garden. "It...did not turn out well for him. It is my hope that someday he will recover enough so we can learn if something went wrong, or how to stabilize the process..." Shining cleared his throat awkwardly, deciding to change the subject. "Well, I should probably go see what I can do about the wedding-" "Your efforts would be better put handling all the Changelings who had infiltrated Canterlot that the guards have brought in," Celestia interrupted. "If I know my niece, your sister, and her friends, the wedding will be completely restored and ready to go by sunset, if not before." "Then I'll leave it in their capable hooves," Shining allowed, getting up and heading for the door. As he opened it, the guards outside immediately bowed to him. He glanced over his shoulder. "How long until they cut that out?" he asked petulantly. Celestia chuckled softly. "Shining, I have been an alicorn - a Magesti - for millennia. Ponies began bowing to me the moment my ascension completed itself." Shining nodded. "...and? When do they stop?" "I'll let you know," she offered with an impish grin, only to burst into giggles at Shining's disgruntled snort.