Chapter 12 Lights in the night
After about an hour of waiting, Luna opened the doors to her balcony to let Twilight Sparkle enter. The youngest of the Princesses flapped her wings for a soft landing and stepped inside, the sinking sun behind her. Luna noticed the frown buried deep into the alicorn's brow and with more concern saw the beginning panic in the purple eyes. Even though she knew Twilight leaned towards extreme emotions under stress, Luna had learned not to underestimate those signs. If something would get the Element of Magic this worried, even with the other Elements and friends around, it was certainly not pleasant.
"Twily."
Both Twilight and Luna looked at Cadance now. The pink alicorn smiled softly to her sister-in-law and took a certain pose Luna immediately recognized. Twilight did as well and her frown vanished, the fear in her eyes replaced by a smile. She mimicked Candace' pose and together, they followed their familiar song and dance
Sunshine, Sunshine,
Ladybugs awake!
Clap your hooves
and do a little shake!
Luna didn't hide her smile at the cute display and watched the two young alicorns hug and giggle a little at their own silliness. When Twilight sat down next to Luna, the panic had vanished from her eyes and only the smile remained. Cadance returned the smile and sat back on her own pillow
"Much better. Now you can tell us what got you this worked up."
The frown returned, but not as bad as before. Twilight took a deep breath
"I noticed something strange in Canterlot today. There was a strange pattern in the destruction that came over the city, and I think I know what it is now."
Both Luna and Cadance now shared a worried glance
"I'm afraid I don't understand, Twilight."
Twilight levitated a scroll to the table with her magic and unfolded a map of Canterlot
"Here, let me show you. I didn't see it at first, but from an higher altitude I finally noticed."
On the map Luna and Cadance could see strange lines that spread out straight through the city in different directions. They all had their origin at one point though: The Royal Palace in the centre of the city.
Luna looked closer and pointed at several spots at the map
"Canterlot Hospital. The eastern bridges. City hall. All the placed that have been destroyed are on those lines."
Twilight nodded
"Not only those places. Along the lines, the destruction has been considerably worse than elsewhere. Which is strange, since it's been an earthquake. The epicenter is at Canterlot Palace,"
she pointed at the centre where all lines met,
"... that actually makes a lot of sense when you think that the portal was the reason of the earthquakes. But any normal earthquake would have sent out shockwaves in all directions that loose power the farer away they get from the epicenter. In other words: Close to the Palace, the destruction should have been far worse than here."
She pointed to the spot on the eastern outskirt of the city again, where the bridges leading into Canterlot had entirely broken down.
Luna nodded but Cadance looked at the map with a skeptic expression
"But, the Palace is still in good shape. If what you say is true, it should have been hit the worst."
The blue alicorn shook her head and explained
"The Palace is protected by magic wards my sister and I have set up over the years. They are meant to protect this building against all kinds of dangers, including quakes."
Cadance nodded and looked back at the strange lines
"Okay, that does make sense. But couldn't the pattern just be explained by magic as well? The earthquake was anything but natural after all."
Twilight nodded and grinned, although it looked very forced
"That's the same thing Sunset Shimmer said. And it turns out, you're both right. Do you have a magic encyclopedia at hand, Luna?"
The older alicorn nodded and levitated a huge tome from her personal library to the table. Following a suspicion, she opened the book and set up another map of Canterlot with similar lines drawn over the city. Those lines spread out evenly over the whole city almost like a spider's web though and each line was named and had a detailed description.
Cadance tried to read but Twilight placed her own map on the tome. Luna frowned and nodded and the pink alicorn gasped
"The lines! They match almost exactly with the ones in the book. What are they?"
Both alicorns answered, Twilight with slightly more excitement than Luna but both worried nonetheless
"Ley lines."
Cadance looked between the two mares and sighed
"I'm afraid you need to explain it to me with more than just two words."
Luna tore her gaze away from the map and looked a Cadance
"Ley lines are natural paths of magic that spread over all of Equestria. They exist in various different sizes and origin from places with large amounts of natural magic. The Everfree Forest for example, but also Mount Canterlot or the Heart of the Crystal Empire."
Twilight nodded and continued
"Ley lines soak up any leftover magic from spells and such and spread that magic evenly over Equestria. Unicorns can sometimes tap into ley lines when they need additional magic for a powerful spell, but it's rather dangerous. The ley lines also provide earth ponies and pegasi with enough magic to refill their internal magic within. Crystal ponies as well, of course. That's why cross points of ley lines or origin points usually tend to attract many ponies. Manehatten, Trottingham, Fillydelphia... any city or town has at least one big ley line nearby."
Cadance nodded and returned her attention on the map
"So the destruction followed the main ley lines in Canterlot. But why?"
Twilight frowned
"I'm not entirely sure yet. My first guess would be that the energy from the portal somehow was absorbed into the ley lines and travelled some distance before it unleashed into the earthquakes. Maybe the energy is attracted by magic or something."
Luna nodded and rubbed her chin with a hoof
"That sounds plausible. But I can't shake off the feeling there's more to it than we can yet see."
She stared at the map for a little longer, then turned to the mare next to her
"Twilight Sparkle, you should bring these information to the Royal library at once. I've sent your students there to begin the search for anything related to the portal. They should benefit greatly from this knowledge."
Twilight looked up and smiled
"You mean Sunset and Starlight are doing research together? I knew they'd make an excellent team. They are both very talented when it comes to magic."
Luna giggled softly at Twilight's enthusiasm and agreed
"Indeed they are. I've sent them and their friend Trixie to the forbidden archives to gather as much information as they can."
Twilight's happy smile faded and turned into a grimace of disbelief
"You did WHAT? Princess Luna, do you have any idea what kind of pony Trixie is? Giving her access to forbidden magic is probably the worst we could do."
Luna stared at Twilight with barely hidden anger. Before any of it would unleash on the young alicorn, a gentle voice called out from behind her
"And why would you say that, my dear Twilight? Last time I remembered you've forgiven Trixie, twice in fact."
Luna anger instantly faded when she saw Twilight's expression fell apart and was replaced by shock as she now stared at her sister standing in the doorway.
The Moon Princess turned around and nodded at Celestia in greeting and poured her the last cup of tea as she took her place next to her.
Twilight still tried to compose herself but could not meet either Celestia's eyes nor Luna's
"You don't understand. She hurt my friends."
Celestia tilted her head with a gentle smile
"So did Starlight Glimmer. Yet you took her as your student and even let her stay at your home with you. And aren't Starlight and Trixie even best friends now?"
Twilight shook her head with some hesitation
"Starlight and Trixie are not the same."
Luna nodded and stomped her hoof on the floor which made the young alicorn flinch
"Most definitely not. Trixie was influenced by an artifact of dark magic and not fully in control of herself. Starlight Glimmer on the other hand was well aware of her actions when she stole your cutie mark along with those of your friends. That is a very significant difference."
The purple alicorn now stared at her in despair, until she heard the giggle next to her.
Cadance tried and failed to keep a severe face and just giggled louder when Twilight now stared at her as well. She was soon joined by Celestia and even Luna couldn't suppress her grin any longer. The two sisters used to perform all sorts of pranks when they were younger. Luna had easily spotted that Celestia was in this particular mood and followed along. It felt good that being closer to her sister again also helped her bring back some of the easygoing mannerism in Celestia.
Twilight blinked a couple of times, then sighed and dropped her head on the table in front of her in an admit of defeat, both to the prank as well as the meaning behind it.
"Okay, fine! I may just overreact a little when it comes to Trixie."
The three alicorns giggled gently and soon Twilight was smiling again.
Celestia nodded proudly at her former student
"A valuable lesson, even for the Princess of Friendship. We might not like everypony as much as our best friends, but we should still forgive them past mistakes and be sincere when we give out second chances instead of falling into doubt."
Twilight nodded and looked back at Luna
"She's trying very hard to be a good friend for Starlight. And since Starlight and you trust her, that's good enough for me."
She stood up and picked up her map with her magic
"I'll go check on them now. Will I see you three at the throne room later?"
Celestia nodded and finished her tea
"I will be there as soon as I've finished my duties for today. It is almost time, Luna."
The blue alicorn nodded
"I have not forgotten, sister. However, Cadance and I will not join you until later. We've decided to fly to the delegation of crystal ponies and make sure they reach Canterlot safely."
Celestia nodded and smiled
"That's a good idea. I'll make sure they'll receive a warm welcome. It's not everyday we get a visit from the Crystal Empire after all."
With that, she stood up and walked to the balcony, followed by her sister. Cadance and Twilight shared another hug, then the purple alicorn left for the library.
Cadance stood in the balcony door and watched amazed as a powerful golden and blue glow surrounded both horns. The sun set in the west and a full moon rose, shining bright enough to almost rival Celestia's star tonight. Celestia nodded and Luna smiled contend as the additional light would help the crystal ponies with their nightly travel.
Luna turned to her sister and like the younger alicorns, they shared a hug, each one wrapping a hoof and a wing around the other. Cadance smiled at the display and gave the sisters another minute.
Celestia finally let go and nodded to them both before she left Luna's rooms through the doors. Both Cadance and Luna noticed the spring in the white alicorn's step and the sincere smile that barely had faded since Sunset Shimmer's return.
Both smiled and exchanged a knowing glance, then two pairs of wings spread out. With practiced ease, both Princesses propelled themselves high into the night sky and flew north.
Luna closed her eyes and allowed herself a happy sigh. There were few things she enjoyed more than nightly fights, the cool air around her, the melody of the stars above and the world bathed in the soft glow of her moon. In an easy glide, she passed through the starry sky, simply enjoying this peaceful moment for a while.
When her eyes opened again, she saw Cadance enjoying the flight as well, but for different reasons. The pink alicorn had her wings stretched out wide and used powerful strokes of her wings instead of relying on the air current that carried Luna. Ever so often, she would gain or loose altitude or add in a playful twirl of her body, sometimes even a loop. Luna watched the younger Princess and former pegasus pony dance and frolic through the air, admiring how Cadance managed to do so without forfeiting her natural grace and elegance.
Cadance flew closer to Luna again, a big smile on her face
"I missed this so much! I used to fly a lot in my first year in the Empire, but with Flurry so much changed. I barely get the chance for a nice long flight anymore."
Luna smiled and nodded
"You should take Flurry Heart with you soon then, so you can share your love of flying with her."
Cadance giggled and winked
"You know what? I will! As soon as we're back in the Empire, I'll show her everything. Have you ever seen the northern aurora from close up?"
Luna looked up at the moon as she summoned up the distant memory
"Once, a very long time ago. Tia and I visited the Crystal Empire for the first time. I remember how excited I was to finally fly into the night after a long day of meetings and audiences. I was so fascinated I almost forgot to set the moon the next morning. We went back home that day, but I promised myself I'd come back to see it again. Before I had the chance though, Sombra forced his way to the throne and our relations to the Empire fell apart. And when the Empire finally returned, all my visits had been highly political. I didn't want to jeopardize them with a foalish expeditions, so I only watched the shifting colors from the ground since then."
Cadance grinned and gently poked her with a hoof
"Then it's decided! As soon as this is over, you're going to visit Flurry and me. No royal business, just a family visit. And we'll go see the aurora again."
Luna smiled and wholeheartedly agreed.
The Princesses flew for a while, when Luna pointed downwards and sunk towards the ground. The group of maybe 50 crystal ponies stood out against the dark streets and fields around them, the light of the bright moon reflecting on their crystal manes and coats.
Cadance and Luna flew down in a soft curve and landed in some distance to the group, spreading their wings as a gesture of greeting. Luna waited but Cadance quickly approached the ponies. From the front of the group, a white unicorn stallion came towards them. Cadance smile grew wider when a small white figure jumped of the stallion's back and zoomed towards the Princess. Cadance stopped and spread out her forehooves as her daughter threw herself against the pink alicorn, half flying and half using her magic. The tiny filly pressed her body against her mother who held her tightly in her hooves, close to her heart. Soft pink wings cocooned the young Princess and although Luna could not understand the words, she could feel the love of the young mother strike a cord in her own heart.
The Moon Princess smiled to Shining Armor as he joined his family and stepped towards the group to give them some private moments. The crystals ponies had bowed down as soon as the Princesses approached and now that Luna came closer, their heads sunk down towards the ground again. Luna giggled softly addressed them with a calm voice
"Welcome to Equestria and Canterlot! We're very happy to see you all, although I wish the reasons for your visit would be happy ones. I wish to express my thanks to everyone of you for coming in our time of need."
Luna waited for all the ponies to rise up again and then bowed to them, her forehead touching the ground as it had been tradition in the Crystal Empire in the times long before King Sombra's rule. She looked up and as she hoped, most of the reservations and nervous glances had passed with this familiar gesture. The group of ponies made the short distance towards the alicorn and gathered around her. Luna could see every pony was heavily loaded and looked tired
"I know you took a lot of efforts on yourselves to make it here so soon after our call for help, but I'm afraid you have to hold on a little longer. Canterlot is close, we should be able to reach it in another hour. Princess Cadance and I came to make sure the last passage will be safe"
The crystal ponies gave out a wave of sighs, some tired and some relieved, but then a pony of the crystal guard smiled and saluted
"We couldn't be safer than traveling in the light of the moon beside you, your Highness."
At this point the royal family of the Crystal Empire joined the group again. Flurry Heart now sat on her mother's back, tucked warm under a wing.
Shining Armor nodded at the words of his soldier
"I just wish we would have been here sooner. And could have brought more ponies to help."
He frowned but Luna just shook her head
"Your worries are not necessary, Shining Armor. It would be unwise to leave your own city unattended. Besides, everypony's contribution is valuable, even the smallest ones."
The crystal ponies and their royal family continued walking down the road towards Canterlot, Luna walking in the middle of the group. When they climbed a small hill, the blue alicorn had her horn glow as she sent a beam of focused moonlight up into the sky in a bright flare. The ponies around her blinked surprised but Luna just kept walking, her horn still glowing with moonlight to brighten up the path they were all walking on.
Soon one of the crystal guards called out and pointed to the sky. All ponies except Cadance and Luna stared up surprised as a large number of pegasi ponies flew towards them. Luna could make out members of the royal guard, the Wonderbolts from Cloudsdale and some pegasi she'd seen in the city the other day. They landed and greeted the travelers from the Crystal Empire with loud calls. At Cadance's order, the crystal ponies handed their luggage and cargo to the pegasi who took off again soon after to head back into the city.
Without their load, the group of tired ponies fell into an easy trot down the moonlit road, Luna still adding the magic of her horn to the natural glow of the moon. Soon they climbed up the last small hill before Canterlot, but as soon as the ponies in front reached the top, they suddenly stopped. Luna was still walking in the middle of the group and couldn't see past the hill yet, so she flapped her wings to get a better view. What she saw made her smile and let go of the magic glow on her horn so the other ponies could see as well.
In front of them lay Canterlot in the dark, but from the edges of the city a trail of small lights set up a path through the streets leading towards the Palace. Luna smiled as she remembered the first time she had been to the Crystal Empire about a millennium and five decades ago. There hadn't been a railway to the city back then and Celestia and herself had to fly for almost a week to get the city. They had arrived late night as well and where greeted by the crystal ponies with lanterns, lightening up the path into the city for them. Luna could remember the beautiful sight of the glittering city and the soft lights as if it had been just yesterday.
Apparently Celestia could remember as well and had send the ponies out for a similar greeting. Although Luna could see that the ponies of Canterlot didn't use lanterns this time. At each side of the road, ponies stood in a line and waved to the foreign visitors, every other pony was a unicorn with a ball of light and magic floating on the tip of their horns.
The crystal ponies slowed down as soon as the reached the lights but the calls of greeting and happy smiles were enough to ease their hesitation. They walked down the road between the lights and stared in awe as they approached the Palace slowly. Luna smiled happily and watched the lights of different colors of magic being reflected on the crystal ponies' shiny coats and manes. She nodded to the unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies of Canterlot and once again was pleased to see nobles standing side by side with commoners and others.
At some point, Flurry Heart had woken up from the loud cheering and poked her head out from under her mother's wing. Luna grinned as the filly's eyes grew almost comically large and she climbed on her mother's head to see more of the pretty lights.
The tiny filly looked around in all directions, then she noticed something. With a hop and a quick flap, she landed unceremoniously on Luna's back and climbed up the slightly taller alicorn, her tiny hooves grabbing the blue horn to hold herself.
Luna blinked surprised but Cadance just laughed cheerfully
"Say hi to Auntie Luna, Flurry."
The tiny filly gave a happy gurgle and Luna felt her head being hugged by the tiny filly who just babbled happily. Luna laughed and held her head up high to give her niece a better view and soon the filly was lost staring at the colorful lights again.
They reached the Palace after a few more minutes, followed by a sea of lights. As they climbed up the stairways to the main entrance, the crystal ponies started to single file. At the top of the stairs, Celestia and Twilight had taken the last spots in the line, the golden and purple lights on their horns joining in the others. Sunset and Starlight stood next to their teachers with their lights, next to them the remaining Elements of Harmony with Trixie, her horn glowing along with Rarity's.
The crystal ponies each bowed deeply before the Princesses before they stepped into the Palace and were guided to the throne room. Twilight joined Cadance and Shining Armor who were second to last to enter, followed only by Luna. She was joined by her sister who laughed wholeheartedly at Luna's new head adornment.
The white alicorn leaned down to gently nuzzle to squealing filly and now Luna found herself laughing as the young Princess clung on Celestia's muzzle to nuzzle back. Their laughter was joined by the ponies following them in. The filly giggled happily as she was surrounded by golden magic and gently placed on Luna's back. She spread out one of her blue wings and the filly nestled in under the feathery blanket. Luna smiled as she felt the tiny warm weight nuzzling into her flank and walked slowly to the throne room next to her sister.
The room was crowded once more as the Princesses made their way to the podium with Celestia's and Luna's throne. This time, Cadance addressed her subjects and the other ponies, talking about what had happened during the last two days. The other Princesses took over from time to time to add their own thoughts and to thank the crystal ponies for their assistance.
For the sake of the tired ponies, they kept their speeches short tonight and Luna once again finished by wishing them all restful sleep and pleasant dreams.
Just like the day before, after talking to the ponies the Princesses spread out again. Celestia headed towards Starlight Glimmer just as the lavender unicorn introduced the scholar of the Crystal Empire, a unicorn stallion named Sunburst, to Trixie and Sunset Shimmer. The five ponies shared a few words and then headed through the doors leading into the Sun Princess' wing.
Twilight meanwhile gathered the other Elements of Harmony around her who soon started a rather lively discussion. As soon as Twilight noticed the attention they received from the ponies around, the purple alicorn lead her friends back outside into the palace gardens.
Cadance made her way through the crowd towards the group of crystal ponies and talked with her subjects some more, so only Luna remained standing in front of her throne. Her blue eyes scanned the room but after a day of hard work, most ponies had already retired by now, only a few guards and some dedicated staff ponies still on their hooves. She already could feel more and more dreams appearing in the dream plane though none of them seemed to need her immediate attention yet.
As tiny wiggle at her flank broke her concentration and she gently lifted her wing a little to reveal a very tired alicorn filly. She smiled and leaned down to gently nuzzle Flurry Heart
"You mother missed you very much, my niece. You should be with her."
The tiny filly didn't seem to understand the words, but when she saw Cadance, her tiny horn glowed. With a soft poof, the filly vanished and reappeared next to Cadance who embraced her softly again. The pink alicorn excused herself and headed towards her rooms with her daughter while the crystal ponies finally sunk down on the improvised beds of blankets and pillows.
The room soon fell silent except for the soft breathes of sleeping ponies and the occasional snore here and there. Luna still remained sitting in front of her throne, not feeling the need to sleep after a mostly restful day. She decided to follow the other Princesses' examples and focused on her tasks. She closed her eyes and let her mind slip into the dream plane while her physical form remained in the throne room, should anypony need her assistance during the night.