//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 - Princess Luna // Story: Option Three // by Mirta //------------------------------// Princess Luna's hoofsteps were dampened into dull thuds by a plush red carpet. Her eyes wandered around the deserted throne room, from the floral-patterned pillars to the blue and yellow stained glass windows to her right, as she trotted towards the gilded seat. The lingering remnants of sleep still addled her mind, but not so much she couldn't think of her sister. Perhaps she had left a note on the throne, like she sometimes did when she was busy. She looked upon the noteless throne when she heard the rapid clop of hooves from the corridor behind her. “Princess Luna, you've got to come quick! Something's happened to Princess Celestia!” She turned around to see a gray unicorn in gilded armor galloping towards her. “What is it?” The unicorn, whom she now recognized as Silver Spear, slid to a halt in front of her. ”I don't know, Princess Luna, it was over in an instant.” “What happened to my sister?” Luna narrowed her eyes and leaned in. “I- I really don't know, she was there and then he did something and then I don't know!” The guardspony shied away from her, looking away and leaning backwards as much as he could without moving his hooves. She lifted a hoof off the floor, put it on his chin and forced him to look at her. “Where is she. Tell. Me.” His lips quivered as Luna felt him feebly fight her hoof and try to look away, but she held firm. “I... I don't... She's in his room, with the alien, she's... I don't know!” He squeezed his eyes shut, and Luna felt him shake. She let go of him and spread her wings with a loud fwam. The castle's hallways were a blur as she sped through them, her speed second only to the very best of the Wonderbolts. Furniture and ponies alike were caught in the maelstroms she left behind, but those were both equally unimportant to her. There was only one thing on her mind as she flew up the stairs and came to a sudden stop on the landing at the top. The solid stone of the floor between the bed and the desk had been bent and stretched into a shape of an upside-down funnel, ending in a sharp point at about Luna's chest level. It looked like the very reality itself had been drawn towards the point, like everything had become liquid and there had been something sucking that liquid towards itself at that spot. The sheets on the bed had ripples on top of them, as did the wood of the bed itself, and the floor and the windows and- Celestia was lying on the floor close to the door. She was on her side, all four hooves sprawled out on the stone tiling, and her eyes were closed. “Sister!” Luna rushed over to her. She swiped the mane off her face and pressed an ear on her chest. Ta-thum. Ta-thum. Ta-thum. Hearing the heartbeat sent a tiny bit of a relief through her. “Celestia?” She called again as she gently shook her sister, but did not get even a twitch out of her. Then she noticed Celestia's limbs slowly move and nearly cried out in joy, but the smile died on her face as they limply returned to the positions they'd been before, pulled down by gravity. “Wake up, sister.” She nuzzled her sister's soft cheek, then put her cheek next to her muzzle and felt the slightest of air currents tickle her fur. She took a step back, and watched. Celestia lay there, the barely visible movement of her chest being the only sign of life. Her mane and coat were as pristine as ever, giving no hint of what had happened to her. There was no trace of the alien or his device, even the paper bag of spare parts was no longer on the desk she'd seen it on, nor was the soldering iron Twilight had lent him. Luna wasn't sure if she should bolt down the stairs and call for help or stay for a while and try to figure out what had happened. It was possible that her sister was in the need of medical aid, but she had a feeling the doctors of Canterlot General couldn't help her – something about the disturbed floor formation and the ripples in solid wood, glass and stone told her that. Silver Spear could have had something more to tell, but he probably wasn't in the best state of mind for more questioning. She decided to investigate for a while, and trotted to the upside-down funnel made of floor tiling. It was perfectly symmetrical no matter which direction she looked from, and reminded her of some mathematical shape she couldn't remember the name of. She tapped it lightly with a hoof, and confirmed it was solid with a swift kick. It was like she kicked solid bedrock, it neither yielded nor budged. A moment later she left the curiosity alone as it held no immediate answers and turned to look at the glass of the window. It looked like a pond after a sudden gust had created ripples on the surface. She slid a hoof on the pane, feeling each bump of a wave. What could've caused such things? The alien and his device sprung to her mind, but neither was present – unlike her sister. She'd let Twilight take a look at the room later, maybe she could figure out something, but Luna had more urgent matters on her hooves.