//------------------------------// // Midnight Skies // Story: The Ash of Fallen Stars // by Wings of Black Glass //------------------------------// We stand at equidistant points around the Crystal Heart, spinning slowly atop its plinth. This is our best shot at removing the curse crippling the Crystal Empire. “Is everypony ready?” Sunburst is nearby, holding the infant Alicorn out of the way while we work. “Ready.” I nod. Starlight makes an affirmative noise, her voice still affected by the memory theft spell. “Yeah!” Twilight‘s confidence is infectious, and despite my reservations, I feel stronger already. “Begin!” As one, we each launch a beam of energy at the Heart. Our plan; to use the Heart to amplify our magic and dispel the runes manipulating the emotions of the Crystal Empire. The runes all glow crimson red, with each passing moment the threads of power connecting them smoldering brighter as the power coursing through them starts to burn them away. It’s working! The curse fights back, sending some of that energy back towards us, towards Twilight in particular. Her focus begins to falter, but that’s why Starlight and I are here. We weave our magic into a protective net, bolstering Twilight’s strength, and the curse hits back at us like bricks to the face. Energy crackles in the air, electricity snaps and sparks as the first runes reach a breaking point. It’ll only take a moment more… “Twilight! Look out!” Sunburst saw it first. New runes on the stone above us! These aren’t like the others, not part of the curse. These are here to prevent the exact thing we are doing. Ropes of magical power swirl down and grasp the purple Alicorn at the core of our ritual. Starlight stumbles as more energy rebounds off her but holds her place. My fragile nets are no match, it’s too much, too much! They snap and hurl me out of the spell. I can’t see the flow of magic anymore, the ritual too complicated to re-enter, especially with the trap above surely gaining in intensity. Additional energy ropes emit and tie themselves about Twilight. She screams but forces herself to remain standing. Come on, power through it… “It’s going to rebound!” Sunburst calls out the warning. If it does, all Twilight’s magic will be burned away, or the searing energy ribbons will reduce her to ash. I wasn’t good enough. I failed, again. The house in the valley flashes in my thoughts, buried in mud and rubble with my family inside. No! No. Not this time. I will not let more die because I wasn’t good enough! Not Starlight, not Sunburst, and not Twilight! I reach out with my magic, tying my own ropes around the energy ribbons from the trap and pull. If I can disrupt the trap, break her free, then she can finish the spell! The ribbons resist, straining against me, but I grit my teeth and pull harder. I pulse what magical strength I have all a once and rip some of the strands of energy free from Twilight. But now I’ve made them mad. All the remaining runes turn on me, letting Twilight go in the process. I guess that works… whatever it takes, right? I don’t have a chance to catch a breath before the bindings wrap themselves around me, scorching hot even through my coat, acrid burning fur fills my nose. “Keep going!” All my nerves ignite, my limbs writhe without instruction. I think the ritual is still going, I can’t see past the pain. “Don’t stop!” More pressure on my chest, was that a rib cracking again? I can’t even tell, there’s just static in my mind, burning flesh in my nose, and my own screams in my ears. Something bursts nearby, not a palpable pulse, but an emotional one, like a wave of euphoria. All the burning pain dissipates and I’m left standing, panting. I creak an eye open with some difficulty. There’s something strange with the light… there are so many colors on her face, like dozens of rainbows. Is that normal? She’s smiling… isn’t she? So pretty… The world tumbles to the side and slams into me. “Sable!” Is that Twilight next to me? It sounds like her. “Sable, say something!” “I think… I need to lie down.” Something brushes against me, or off me, I can’t tell. The motion sets off singed nerves again. I can’t even know if I grimace. “Why did you sacrifice yourself like that?” Is that what I was doing? I guess it was. “Had to.” True enough. “We were losing the spell.” The one breath is too much, and I cough, almost retching from the pain. “Couldn’t let everypony down again.” Never again, it doesn’t matter the price I pay… “Needs of the many, you know how it goes.” “No jokes, you need to stay still. We’ll get you some help soon.” “Not… going… anywhere.” I try to focus on her, I can still see that smile on her face, or is it only a memory? The pain is too much, then only sweet painless unconsciousness. “Of her ally, Sable, I have seen nothing.” Luna sits in the garden late this afternoon, speaking with her companion. “I don’t understand why he is never present. Twilight tells me he was essential to her survival during the actual encounter. He should be there, fighting alongside her. Even the memory of him should be a support. There is something I am missing in all this…” Her companion tilts his head one way, then the other, listening intently. “Of course, none of this you understand, because you are a swallow.” The little bird on the nearby branch hops from place to place, listening but providing no useful commentary. Unfortunately, the tree swallow is unable to give an answer for her. Although he does chirp something that sounds encouraging. Luna sighs, looking at the trees and flowers around her. It’s a pleasant enough afternoon, marred only somewhat by the fact she has once yet again found herself without another pony to speak to. Fortunately, the little bird from the other day is here once more, and she has been thinking aloud about Twilight’s dreams. “Luna?” A voice calls out nearby, and the tree swallow darts away, startled. Luna’s eyes track the feathered one until it vanishes, frowning at the interruption. “Are you out here?” Celestia walks around the hedge and smiles brightly when she spots Luna sitting in the shade. “I thought I heard you speaking with someone.” “Good afternoon, sister. I was just conversing with a little animal friend. I thought you were meeting with the Canterlot historical society today?” “I did. The meeting went smoothly, and I find myself with some free time to spend with my sister.” “Please, sit with me.” Luna sweeps a wing open, indicating a place for Celestia to sit. The taller Alicorn places herself nearby and takes a long deep breath. Something bothers her, Luna can tell, something subtle about the curve of her neck and the posture of her wings give it away. “I thought the meeting went well?” “Ah, that is not which lingers on me.” “You wish to know how your student fares?” “Twilight’s wellbeing does concern me; she hasn’t sent me anything new regarding her adventure. Are you willing to discuss her dreams with me?” “You know that I do not violate the privacy of those whose dreams I enter.” Certainly not with any creature which is liable to speak it, but she doesn’t say it aloud “Not even in this case? She is a close friend of mine.” “It is the principal of the thing. If I break it for this, then why not again?” Luna pointedly shakes her head. “No, I am sorry, her dreams will remain private unless she gives me permission to share them herself.” She doesn’t say it, but there is a point beyond which she would be willing to violate that privacy. It would take a life on the line, or worse. “What can you say, then? No specifics, I understand.” Celestia affixes her eyes on the princess of the night, who takes a long moment to consider. “I feel as though her progress has been slow. Every night so far, she has suffered…” she pauses to find the right word, “the event again.” Celestia’s face twinges and her eyes dart momentarily off towards Ponyville. “To her credit, she resists it longer and longer each night before I feel the need to intervene.” “Assuming I am reading the metaphor correctly, am I to believe it means she is beginning to overcome the trauma?” “I agree. Although one can never be quite certain with imagery of the unconscious mind.” Luna giggles softly. Celestia lets out a held breath, and her wings subtly shift as she lets the tension free. “I see your mind is settled.” “I wish there was more I could do for her.” “If you wish to go see her, that is your prerogative.” “Maybe, I will. Tomorrow maybe.” Celestia smiles. “For now, dinner?” Her shoes click softly on the stone floors with the steady rhythm of a metronome as she glides through the hollow halls. The sun has set, and the moon lights her way in silvery shafts where the windows are open, she needs no candles tonight. The city outside lets out a silent breath as ponies drift quietly away to slumber and dream in peace. Luna wanders the palace, mainly without aim. Her path takes her to the throne room and the magnificent stained glass windows depicting the great moments in Equestrian history. She pauses before one celebrating Twilight Sparkle’s ascension to princess-hood. The past nights have not been easy despite what she told her sister earlier. True, Twilight fights back against the ashen monster, but she still requires help to fight it off entirely. Now that Luna knows how to face it, the creature should pose no threat anymore. “Why then, do I hesitate to enter the dream realm?” She turns away, looking up at the other stained glass artworks as she passes. Most of the time, the dreams of ponies are happy fantasies or nonsensical and formless. Even when she does need to step in to shift a nightmare to a softer scene, she rarely has to approach the dreamer directly. There are too many dreams to spend more than an instant or two on any single instance. Only when the dreamer is most distraught does she enter and intercede with force. Even then, they are mostly uncertainty about some social interaction in the days before or upcoming events ahead of them or concern about a troubled family member. Often a simple message of encouragement is enough to dispel those. Only the most terrifying and traumatic night terrors require her complete attention, and these are thankfully quite rare. Unfortunately, this is what she has faced repeatedly, Twilight continues to suffer night after night. In some respects, it might be easier for the princess of friendship than for Luna. Some part of the little purple Alicorn grows stronger with each encounter, only for the nightmare to be largely lost by the dawn. Luna, on the other hoof, witnesses the entire event unfold in perfect clarity, forced to watch her friend be nearly violated nightly, and remembered with the same such clarity. “It is an ugly thing to see.” A slight sigh escapes her lips as she steps out onto the balcony behind the twin thrones and lets her eyes rest on Canterlot, quite dark and still in the pale moonlight. “How lucky you are, to be not troubled by your own mind.” The remark is not directed to any single pony or creature, or anyone at all really. Her gaze comes to meet the moon above, her lovely argent orb in the sky. “At least you don’t need my constant attention.” The moon has no response for her, not with words. “I can’t put my duty aside for too long.” Still… she hesitates, procrastinating for no explicable reason. Her hoofs bring her back inside, through the halls lined by marble pillars. Everything is in order, except for Luna herself. Out each window, she can still see the moon hanging in the sky. She slows to enjoy the moonlight for just a moment longer, before heading up to her chambers and her high balcony. Just as she arrives, something flickers out of view out the corner of her eye. “Hmm? What was that?” She looks back up at the silver orb, something had disturbed its surface. There’s nothing there now, nothing unusual she can spy at a glance. It had been like when a bird quickly passes above and its shadow clips the sun. Not really observed, but… seen. “Maybe just a passing bat.” The distraction provides her only a moment longer before her duty calls, and she steps over to the railing to ready herself for the world of dreams. Then she blinks, and sees it. A tiny black figure perched atop a wisp of cloud, just at the very edge of the moon in the sky. Had she stood even half a stride to the side, she wouldn’t have seen them. It’s a pony. “What are you doing up there, so late?” No answer, and she doesn’t expect one; they are very distant and couldn’t possibly hear her. She realizes now it was the blip of shadow she had seen over the moon, flying past to land upon the distant cloud. They probably are not aware she’s spotted them. For a moment, she watches them, curious and still reluctant to go into the dreams. A thought passes before her to go see who they are. Her wings spread wide, and she puts one hoof on the railing to leap off before she stops herself. “No, Luna. Why else would they seek solitude under the stars, other than to be left alone?” No, she will not intrude on them. She shakes her head to clear it and resolves to her duty, folding her wings again. Before she finally goes into the world of dreams, she takes one last curious glance at this intruder in her midnight skies.