//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 // Story: Internal Darkness // by Silver Sorcerer //------------------------------// Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all associated characters, settings and stories are the rightful subjects of Hasbro, the HUB, Studio B, and Lauren Faust. Chapter 14 "Is that…is that really our Twilight?" asked Fluttershy as the huddled around her. "It sure is," answered Applejack. "But why didn't she recognize us? Why did she attack us?" asked Rarity. "From what she said it sounded like we were invading her territory," said Pinkie. "And why was she pretending to be Celestia and not even a realistic Celestia at that?" asked Fluttershy. "I think Twilight reverted herself into the old Celestia," answered Rarity. "From what I've heard from scholarly ponies in Canterlot Princess Celestia only became truly warm and friendly once she banished her sister. Before that she had been unmerciful and uncaring to ponies. From the looks of it, Twilight found comfort in that old Celestia and took on her personality." "Ah guess that was her way of dealin' with the emotional stress," remarked Applejack. "She couldn't handle the kind Celestia that was just taken from her so she took the old Celestia that disappeared long ago." "And she didn't even recognize us," commented Pinkie. "She fully attacked us. I felt so uncomfortable tackling her. I tried to do it gently and was so lucky that she didn't put up a fight. I couldn't live with myself if I had to fight her hoof-to-hoof." "You did what you had to do, Pinkie," said Rarity. "At least she's alive and with us." "But why didn't she recognize us?" asked Fluttershy. "My guess is that Twilight was so emotionally stressed that she blocked all memories of her current life. She just couldn't handle them. So with blocked memories and a compassionless personality, it makes sense that she would attack us," stated Rarity. They were silent for some time as they stood there looking at the barely-conscious unicorn on the floor before them. "So, what now?" asked Pinkie quietly. "Well, for one, let's bring her over ta the fire," said Applejack. "Two, get her some food and water. She looks like she hasn't eaten in days, probably longer. Three, keep an eye on her. Ah need to check up on my Dashie." The girls did as instructed and dragged the barely-conscious purple pony over to the small fire and laid her down gently. Rarity rummaged through her bag and produced a canteen of water, pieces of bread, and an apple. It wasn't much, but it would help Twilight. Applejack sat directly across from them with the now sleeping Rainbow Dash, slowly stroking her mane and keeping her warm under the blankets. She looked so peaceful in this state and the site of the two girls would make anypony feel warm and content inside. It was an "aww…" moment. "Is there anymore we can do?" asked Fluttershy. "Ah'm sorry, Fluttershy, but no," answered Applejack. "Ah've worked with sick and injured ponies and Ah know that the best thing that can be done for them is give them good food and a comfortable bed. We don't got either, but we ain't struggling." "We'll have to let them rest," added Rarity. "What are we going to do when they wake up?" asked Pinkie. "We'll just have to figure it out," answered Applejack. "We don't know what'll happen when they'll wake up so we'll work with them when they do." "At least we're all here and safe," said Fluttershy. "Yes, our struggles weren't in vain. We found Twilight, just like we promised. Now we have to help her," said Rarity as she began slowly setting up camp. They had found her, their Twilight. She wasn't what they expected, but it was definitely her. They didn't know how dangerous she would be when she woke, if she woke, and they didn't know if Rainbow Dash would be alright. But they knew one thing: they were together and going to help each other no matter what. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Magicon's mind was in a blur as he tore through the halls of the palace. He didn't notice who or what he passed as he galloped down the halls, nor did he care. He was solely focused on one goal: Shining Armor. Forget the royal duties, this was personal. Storming into his bedroom Magicon thrust open the door to find his chamber completely deserted. Even worse, the parchment with the instructions was missing. About to gallop out of the room, a small parchment caught Magicon's eyes. Telekinetically lifting it and brining it over to him, it read: Magicon, Hope all went well with the doctor. Found the instructions on how to raise the sun and moon. I went to gather the strongest unicorns in Canterlot. Meet me in the tallest tower of the palace as soon as possible. Shining Armor Magicon stared at the letter, unsure if he should be scolding or praising Shining Armor for his actions. His royal duties were flushing back to him and this was the most important one. Glancing at the clock Magicon saw that it was too late to raise the sun, but still too early to raise the moon. There was time, and he would need that time to train those unicorns and himself. Everything had to go right for the benefit of all of Equestria. Smoldering from the royal duties now forced upon him, Magicon grumbled to himself and tore the parchment and burned it over one of his candles. Shining Armor was right; his duties came first but he hated the very fact of it. He wanted to hurt Shining Armor, force him to understand what he had done but he couldn't. It was his responsibility to sacrifice his personal ambitions for the safety and comfort of all ponies. He had no choice; he had to help Equestria. Shining Armor would have to wait; Equestria came first. Realizing that, he left his room, quieter and calmer then before and slowly walked up to the tallest tower. He didn't know what he would find but he hoped Shining Armor knew what he was doing. It was a long and slow climb, and being forced to contain his personal ambitions didn't help in any fashion. Magicon was sour and each step towards the top only further deepened him into bitterness. By the time he arrived at the door at the top of the spiral staircase he was visibly annoyed. He wanted to make Shining Armor pay and Shining Armor was unknowingly torturing Magicon by making him perform his duty for Equestria. Taking a deep breath, which only removed the annoyance on his face, Magicon knocked and opened the door. Inside the large circular room sat a group of two dozen unicorns with Shining Armor and Starry Skies among them. Some were professors from the university, others scientists, still others advisors, and even some generals. 'Quite a mix of unicorns,' Magicon thought. 'Let's hope they're all quite good in the magical arts or Shining Armor's work would've been in vain. I would hate for that to happen.' "Welcome, Magicon," said Shining Armor as all the unicorns turned to him. "I see you received my note. I'm glad you were able to make it." "I would not miss this, Shining Armor. Whether it was my duty or not, I would be here helping Equestria for all ponies." "Very good, come over here and have a seat. Since you were the one who discovered the method of raising the sun and moon from the ancient unicorns, you will instruct us in it." "Yes, Shining Armor." 'Why do I still feel attracted to him?' Magicon thought as we walked over and sat beside Shining Armor. His radiant heat made Magicon's heart flutter but he resisted it. Now was neither the time nor place for those feelings. He knew Shining was hiding his true feelings as well, even if he never admitted to Magicon or himself. But Shining was also a military man; he knew how to hide personal feelings and replace them with duty. That's where his mind was solely focused on: duty. Magicon's mind needed to be focused there too. Handing him the parchment Magicon silently read it over and reacquainted himself with the instructions. "Alright. So I don't know if Shining Armor read over the instructions to you or not but here's the basics of it: raising the sun required approximately 20 unicorns while the moon required approximately 15. Often than not, the same unicorns rose the sun and moon. When Celestia and Luna came to power and raised the celestial bodies all by themselves the skill was lost over time, not before it was recorded and rerecorded on this parchment. "But moving on, we're not going to just raise the sun and moon, we're going to put them on a natural cycle that will allow them to rise and fall on their own. In addition, they will work within the seasons and the orbit of the planets so that Equestria will maintain its seasons and natural cycles that have existed for thousands of years. It is my belief that even before the unicorns learned the skill the sun and moon rose on their own, in balance and always providing life for Equestria. The sun and moon already fall on their own, so half of the job has already been done for us. Why am I doing this? Because of the simple fact that we all have lives to lead and maintaining the sun and moon is just too heavy of a burden for any group of normal ponies to maintain." "Now then, we'll have to be extremely delicate and meticulous with this process. There are slightly more than two dozen of us here so we can't afford much error. Though I am sure you are all gifted in the magical arts, I'm not taking any chances. If we screw this up it could spell disaster for Equestria. So we're going to start with the moon because it is smaller, denser, and easier to control than the sun. It will give us good practice before we raise the sun. "Don't think we're just going to do this head on, oh no. We're going to practice first. I want each of you to conjure up a fairly large rock right now." The unicorns including Shining Armor obeyed and within seconds two dozen large rocks filled the room. "Good, now I want you to imagine that these rocks are the moon. You are to slowly and delicately bring them up off the ground and hold them in mid-air." The unicorns did so with ease. "Keep them in mid-air. Just hold them. Shining, drop your rock. I want you to choose a rock and cast this spell on it." Magicon showed Shining Armor the parchment and pointed to a specific section of it where the spell had been written. Shining Armor carefully read it over and mumbled the incantation to himself. "Whenever you're ready, Shining." Shining Armor looked over the incantation one more time and then picked a rock, spoke the incantation, and cast the spell. The rock immediately began to rise on its own and move in a circular motion above the unicorn who had cast it. He struggled to regain control of his rock until Magicon instructed him to stop casting it. Every unicorn watched as the rock slowly circled, sometimes the circle was longer, more like an oval, while other times it was a complete circle. In addition the rock was spinning in the opposite direction to its orbit. "Good, so the spell works," said Magicon as he cast a spell that stopped the rocks movements and it fell to the floor with a thud. "That rock was Equestria and the new spell was its orbit around the sun. The world rotates and orbits around the sun and the moon orbits around Equestria, astronomers have proven this. But with Celestia's and Luna's unfortunate deaths Equestria has stopped rotating. We are in a permanent state of darkness without the sun or the moon. We're going to fix that by giving the sun and moon the ability to rise and fall on their own but always in balance with each other. It'll be exactly like Luna and Celestia had never left." "Now we're going to do some more practice until we are confident that we can raise the moon. If we look at the clock now we see that the sun would be up right now so we have a few hours to practice and prepare ourselves. So let's begin." All of the unicorns practiced their magic with rocks and other objects, both large and small to understand how the sun and moon worked and how Equestria fit into it. As they all practiced Magicon and Shining observed them and helped them. It wasn't going to be easy for any of them but they had to do it; for themselves, for their families, for Equestria. As the hours ticked closer to moonrise Magicon asked to speak with Starry Skies out on the balcony. The air was cold and the darkness still cloaked everything. Only the twinkling stars of the night gave any light to dark countryside. "You've done well so far, Magicon," said Starry Skies. "Thank you, Starry Skies, but I'm still very worried. What if we can't do it? What if it's just too big?" "There is nothing bigger than the sun and moon. If you can do this, you can do anything. I have complete confidence in you and these unicorns. You will not fail." "Thank you." "You're welcome." "It'll be nice to see the sun again." Starry Skies chuckled, "Yeah, but first we'll have to see the moon." "Haven't we had enough of the darkness?" teased Magicon. "Yes, well. The good news is that the darkness has allowed me ample time to observe the stars and changes in them." "Has the stars said anything about the sun and moon?" "As a matter of fact they have. When it comes to anything in space the stars are extremely accurate. They foresee the sun and moon's rise and have adjusted themselves accordingly." "Well let's hope that is true." "The stars in the heavens have said it, Magicon, you will be successful. I'm not saying it will be easy but you will be successful. You will be heralded as a hero and a savior to Equestria." Magicon chuckled and thought, 'You don't know how right you are,' as he spoke kinder and gentler words. "Oh, thank you, Starry Skies, but I don't deserve all the credit. Shining Armor and the unicorns in there deserve it just as much as I do. Besides, we haven't even started yet. Though the stars may tell us, fate can always step in and change everything." Starry Skies chuckled, "Ah, fate. You believe in it?" "Very much so. Fate and I constantly interact like two dancers." "Alright, Magicon, no need for poetic readings and thoughts now, you have a kingdom to save." "Yes, we do," said a voice behind them. They turned around to see Shining Armor standing in the doorway slowly walking out onto the balcony. His gaze was fixed and determined, the mark of a military man on duty. "I have a found and trained the group you asked for," he said. "Oh you did, Shining? Well, fantastic. They're all talented, I can see that, but I needed those with the extra drive and talent." "Well, I did my best and I think you'll be very pleased with the results." "Magicon, I must remind you that it's nearly time for the moon to rise," interjected Starry Skies. "Thank you, Starry Skies. Go inside and instruct the unicorns to prepare and get that group Shining Armor selected ready. They are the ones who will be helping put the moon on its natural cycle." "Very good, sir," said Starry Skies and quickly went inside leaving Magicon and Shining Armor on the balcony alone. They stared at each other. Shining remained hardened and focused, his eyes dark and mechanical while Magicon looked soft and nervous, his eyes trying to hide his fear and subtle anger. "What do you wish of me, Magicon?" Magicon was silent a few moments before he spoke, "Shining, I just…I just want to thank you for everything you've done for me and for Equestria. You don't know how much this means to me." "Judging by your appreciation, I would say quite a bit." "Well, yes. Listen, if all goes well with the sun and moon, I would like to talk to you privately afterwards. I have some…personal matters that I would like to discuss with you." "Of course, Magicon. If you need advice, I'm more than willing to share it and help you. But like you said, later. Right now we have a moon to raise." "Agreed," said Magicon as they shook hooves and returned to the room. Inside Starry Skies was just finishing his talk with the selected group of unicorns while the others quietly chatted amongst themselves. They all hushed as Magicon and Shining Armor entered the room. Taking his stand at the head of the group Magicon cleared his throat before speaking. "First of all, I would like to thank each and every one of you for your time and devotion to Equestria. Your service will not be forgotten. In our hour of need you all rose and agreed to help your kingdom. Our dearly departed Celestia and Luna are smiling down on us as we sit here right now. We will never forget what they did, or how they helped Equestria countless times. But now is not the time for reminiscing, now is the time for action. "This will not be an easy task but I am confident we will succeed. Each of you has a unique skill that you bring to the table and, although I didn't get to know you all very well, I am thankful to say that I worked with the best unicorns in all of Equestria. I can feel that our triumph is near at hoof. Equestria will be saved all thanks to you. Now, our time is nearly upon us and you know your task. So let us right the wrongs and save Equestria! For Celestia! For Luna! For Equestria!" The unicorns mildly cheered with Magicon as they all proceeded onto the balcony. It was tight fit but every unicorn managed to squeeze in. Starry Skies remained inside looking through his telescope and the clock, ready to tell them when to begin the process. Everything had to go right and everything came down on the line here. Fifteen unicorns lined the railings of the balcony facing the dark horizon. The moon would rise form there. Behind them stood the rest of the unicorns, Magicon and Shining Armor included, to help if needed and to cast the spell that would put the moon on its own natural course. They waited in uneasy anticipation for Starry Skies's cue. Magicon tried to calm himself but was unsuccessful. Shining Armor stood tall and defiant, his breathing heavy, like a soldier right before the march into battle. Magicon closed his eyes and thought about the moon and the pony who bore it as their cutie mark. He knew Princess Luna was not smiling down on him, she was probably hoping he would fail. He had betrayed her and for what? Simply because he believed in an ancient and secret philosophy. Was it worth it? A part of him said 'yes', another said 'no'. The pros equaled the cons, yet Magicon did not feel the balance that should be there. Perhaps pros and cons weren't supposed to be balanced. Perhaps one side always held an advantage over the other, just waiting to be discovered. It was a great internal mystery that had yet to be solved. "Ten seconds," called Starry Skies behind them snapping Magicon out of his philosophical thoughts. "Horns at the ready," called Shining Armor as every unicorn's horn began glowing a wide array of colors. "Five seconds," called Starry Skies. "Get ready," prepared Magicon. "Three, two, one, Go!" called Starry Skies. Instantly every unicorn in the front began to put their magic towards the moon below the horizon. It was immense, dense, and still. They felt the craters that dotted its surface, the rough and uneven texture, the thickness and density of its massive rocky whole. Putting every ounce of magic they had in them, they slowly combined their magic into a whole that encircled and engulfed the moon. While Shining Armor observed the fifteen with his eyes Magicon observed them with his magic as he saw them successfully capture the moon. Now was the time to get it moving. "Good, now slowly move the moon upwards," instructed Magicon. The unicorns obeyed and, as a whole unit, began slowly moving the moon forward. Everypony was silent as every magical skill they ever learned coursed through them. Many closed their eyes from the strain while others felt intense pressure on their horns and bodies. "Don't give in," encouraged Shining Armor, noticing some of their postures weakening. "Do it for your princess! Do it for Luna! She was able to do it and so can you! Do it for your families and for your Equestria!" They continued, and Magicon threw his magical weight into the process. Closing his eyes and focusing his magical energies into the fray he felt the massive weight and the difficulty of moving it but he wasn't giving up. His pride refused to give in and he continued to pour everything he had into the celestial object now just below the horizon. "That's it!" cried Starry Skies as he observed the first rays of moonlight shining over the horizon. "Keep at it," ordered Shining Armor. "You're nearly there. Just keep pulling." They did and with a large tug the first tip of the moon was over the horizon. But they didn't stop, they had to keep going. The pulled and pulled, nearly breaking their horns and destroying their magic but they continued. Shining Armor, Starry Skies, and the remaining unicorns were now giving full on cheers and words of encouragement. They had added fuel to the fire of determination and the sixteen pulled harder and harder. But the moon was moving too slowly, Magicon was now searing in pain. His forehead screaming for an end as his magic began to flicker. 'No! No…this can't be. I'm failing. We're failing. We're failing Equestria. It's all going to end here. I'm a disgrace. I failed. I-' "That's it!" cried Starry Skies. "Release and disarm!" order Shining Armor as the unicorns slowly took their magic off of the moon. Once they did, many collapsed onto the ground and each other, completely wiped from the exhaustion. Even Magicon felt the intense strain as he swayed and rocked before opening his eyes. What he saw brought the greatest success a pony can feel. There, fully above the horizon was the moon in all its quiet glory, its white light bathing Equestria in the muted glow of the true night. Magicon was beyond ecstatic as a child's smile of joy brightened onto his face. The other unicorns felt the same thing as some jumped for joy and hugged each other at their success, while exhausted ones simple raised their heads and smiled. "Hold the celebrations just for a minute," called Shining Armor drawing the attention of everypony as he with his group of remaining unicorns stepped forward. They loudly cast the ancient incantation in unison and their horns shot out a blinding golden beam that converged into one single beam before hitting the moon. The golden spell enveloped the moon and shone around it for a minute before fading into the natural white of the moon. "Let's hope that worked," said Starry Skies as he emerged from the indoors and looked up at the moon. "It did, I felt it," said Shining Armor confidently. "We'll have to wait for the next moonrise to see," said Starry Skies. "Well, at least for one night we have the moon and tomorrow we will have the sun," said Magicon. The three of them exchanged small smiles as the unicorns celebrated in the moonlight. One mission had been a success, the other was waiting. Nopony knew if the sun would be a success but they had time to practice. If anything could be learned from that night it was this: regular ponies could do the work of alicorns. Equestria had really changed.