Silence...
Other then the sound of the ancient, yet functional, Dwemer machinery, whose humming and grinding reverberated over the still corpses of the recently slain Ash Creatures, Dagoth Ur Facility was as quiet as the grave.
The only living souls that occupied the ancient structure, deep in its innards, were as stiff as statues, the only movement being the ethereal waving of Princess Luna's mane and tail, and the Divine fingers caressing through her flowing locks. Azura still stood before them all, the only one that wasn't wearing a look of overwhelming shock, but considering what they had all just heard, anyone would take awhile to process it. After all, how would anyone react to being told that they were the offspring of a Daedra?
"I never thought I would see you again, little one," said the Mother of the Rose, her crimson eyes trailing Luna's figure up and down. "And I must say, you are beautiful. Your elegance is rivaled only by your prowess over the night."
Luna stood stock still, paralyzed in place.
"Have you nothing to say, little one?" inquired Azura without any change in expression,"aren't you at least going to greet your mother?"
That finally got a reaction.
Whatever was halting Princess Luna's thought process finally got the final piece to allow the jumbled puzzle within her mind to come together. Finally, she fully grasped what had been told to her just recently. And what it implied.
And to say she was willing to accept it would be a lie.
"No..."
"No...!"
Luna batted the hand caressing her mane away and shot the being hovering before her a nasty scowl, her eye twitching.
"NO, IT'S NOT TRUE!"
Azura didn't react to Luna's sudden outburst, she just withdrew her hand and continued to hover before them.
"You...!" Luna's eye continued to twitch as her frustration and denial increased. "You aren't my mother..."
Luna's distressed tone snapped the others out of their stupefied states and drew them to their Night Princess's defense.
"HEY!" shouted Applejack, trotting up next to Luna, who did not seem to notice the farm mare's presence or words, just continuing to stare up at Azura with a trembling scowl. "Who do you think you are? Just casually saying that you are her mother?"
"Yeah?" said Rarity, also trotting up next to Luna. "How uncouth. Among other things, you only just met us all a few minutes ago."
Azura regarded Rarity with her piercing red eyes, and the fashionista couldn't suppress a shudder at the amount of power she exuded just from her simple gaze. "Everything is not as it seems, little one."
"Even still," said Pinkie, her usually chipper attitude absent after Azura's implausible statement. "How can you just say you are Princess Luna's mom? Besides the fact that we are all from different dimensions, you're not even a pony! Your a...a... whatever species you Deadric Princes are."
"Mmhmm," mumbled Fluttershy in agreement, though it was obvious she was dredging up all her courage just to make that simple sound.
But Pinkie's brash statement didn't seem to affect Azura negatively, in fact, she seemed amused.
Suddenly, before all their eyes, the elegant blue gown Azura wore crumpled to the floor, empty. The Equestrians and Sarian gasped in unison with shock and awe. In the blink of an eye, Azura had transmuted from a tall, elegant Dunmer woman, to a shapeless mass of waving ribbons of light, emitting every color of the visual spectrum.
The ribbons swirled and weaved through each other for a second, before focusing into a single point and melding into a gigantic orb of multicolored light. Then the orb began to flex and mold, taking on a more definitive shape. The Equestrians could only watch as a very familiar form began to emerge.
A flowing mane and tail...
Long, slender forelegs and hind legs...
A muscular, yet feminine body...
Long, powerful wings folded at the sides of broad flanks...
An elongated, equine muzzle...
A spiral horn...
The sheen of multicolored light that was obscuring their vision dispersed from the new figure's body in a shower of twinkling sparks, and everyone present gasped as they beheld the new beauty before them.
Azura now bore the unmistakable resemblance of an alicorn, her new stature allowing her to tower over all of them in a way even Princess Celestia could never achieve. Her grace was unrivaled, possessing physical prowess that emitted both beauty and brute strength all in one. To say nothing of her physical characteristics.
Azura possessed details on her body that represented her title in a way similar to Celestia and Luna, but made both Equestrian Matriarchs look like pale imitations in comparison.
Her mane and tail seemed to perform a similar function as Luna's, being that they represented the night sky. But where as Luna's mane and tail were just her midnight hair flowing freely in a non-existent breeze, and with magical twinkling dots that resemble stars, Azura's mane and tail, for lack of better term, appeared as if someone had torn fractions of the night itself away and attached them to her body, the stars so real that one would think they could dive into them. Before their eyes, a miniscule crescent moon appeared at the tip of Azura's tail, moved up through the many constellations and clusters to her dock and vanished, only to reappear in her mane, trailing up until vanishing at the wispy edge, reappearing on the tail again to repeat the process, passing shooting stars occasionally as it mimicked the cycle of night.
Azura's body was similar in build to Celestia, but taller and with more grandeur. Whereas Celestia's coat was pale white in color, Azura's was sky blue, but that in itself would be a gross understatement of her description. Azura's coat, like her mane and tail, appeared like someone had scooped up a large portion of the daytime sky and molded her out of it like clay. There were even tiny tufts of clouds gliding across her figure, forever changing shape and splitting off from each other like actual clouds.
Azura spread her majestic wings, that while unfolding, looked like they might take up the entire cavern and form an actual sky of their own. They all could only watch as a miniature sun appeared along the feathers of the elegant right appendage. It moved up the wing before gliding across the muscular equine chest, resting in the very center for a total of half a second, but resembling some kind of Divine brooch in that small amount of time, then continuing on to the next wing, to vanish out of sight and repeat the process again.
Pony Princess Azura even possessed a Cutie Mark. A perfect image of Azura's stone effigy that her followers often reconstructed in her honor lay visible on her sky coat, her arms stretched to the horizons, her right hand grasping a crescent moon will her left grasped the sun. Garbed in a magnificent rode of veils, the image of the statue sat against the fur that resembled the sky, as though it were floating through the very heavens themselves.
It was all quite a sight to see, and even despite how slighted the Equestrians had been before by Azura's bold claim, they all couldn't help but be transfixed by the beautiful being that now stood before them for all to see.
But that didn't mean that they didn't eventually come to their senses.
"This... this doesn't prove anything," said Spike, shaking his head to clear his thoughts then walking up to stand with Luna, Rarity, and Applejack before Azura, pointing a claw at her accusingly. "We've read about you Daedra, we know you can transform your appearance at will. You could make yourself an alicorn even if you weren't Princess Celestia and Luna's mother."
Twilight and her friends gasped in realization. If Azura was claiming to be Luna's mother, then by extension, she was claiming to be Celestia's mother as well. No, this would not do at all.
"Listen, lady," sneered Rainbow Dash, flying up to hover above Luna, Applejack, Rarity, and Spike. "Whoever you think you are, there's no way you are the mother of our princess. Besides, Celestia and Luna have real...HEY!"
Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Spike were suddenly shrouded in a dark blue aura, which then pushed them behind Luna, and back among Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Sarian, much to the former group's annoyance and the latter's confusion.
"Hay, what's the big idea!?" complained Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah, Princess, what's the..." Applejack fell silent at the sight of Princess Luna, the same as her friends. Luna stood before the imposing figure, who still regarded her with a gentle expression, her crimson eyes the only part of her unchanged by her transformation, no longer wearing a defiant scowl, but a look of pure vulnerability. She was trembling, trembling so much that she reminded Applejack of that rickety old cider barrel stand that could no longer handle the burden it had held for years, finally succumbing to the weight at the last cider season she had attended before her immersion into Apocrypha.
Luna herself was struggling with an intense internal conflict.
She didn't want to believe that the egocentric being she had heard so many disturbing tales about was indeed her mother, yet the sensation that had emerged as soon as the Daedra appeared had only grown in intensity since Azura had said who she was, pulsating through her body like a second blood. It was intense and indescribable, but with this new information Luna had a suspicion of what it was. For the first time in her life, Luna was feeling a maternal attraction.
And though her heart was leaping in her chest at the sensation she had always been denied, her head was telling her not to accept it.
"I... I can't..." she mumbled, lowering her eyes away from Azura to stare at the floor. "No... it can't be true..."
Suddenly, an encompassing warmth shrouded over her back, and Luna looked up to see that Azura had bent down and covered her with her left wing, the miniature sun leaving a trail of warmth when it glided over her coat.Twilight and the others gasped. There was no denying that the scene before them looked exactly like a mother and her child.
Luna didn't resist the embrace, but neither did she attempt to return it.
"Why do you deny your lineage, my child?" asked Azura gently.
Luna involuntarily shuddered at 'my child', but pressed forward with her denial. "Twilight has told me all about you. You... me... we're nothing alike..."
"Oh...is that so?" replied Azura to Luna's rebuttal.
"You are vain," accused Luna, her scowl returning to her face. "You are selfish. You punish many for the actions of a few, you abuse the devotion of those who worship you... you... are cruel..."
Luna's rant could not continue as she broke down into a fit of hyperventilation.
But Azura's gentle expression did not change.
"I don't deny any of that, my child," she said, Luna involuntarily shuddering at the sound of those words again. "But can you honestly say you are any different?"
For a fraction of a second the universe froze from that statement.
"How... How dare you!" shouted Rarity.
"You no good varmint!" said Applejack.
"There's absolutely nothing remotely similar between you and the princess!" said Rainbow.
"Yeah!" agreed Pinkie. "Princess Luna isn't a meanie pants who curses multiple people for no good reason. She is a kind pony who raises the moon for all Equestria, and she gives EVERYPONY sweet dreams at night!"
The others hurling accusations didn't seem to be affecting the exchange between the Lunar Matriarch of Equestria and the Daedra of Dusk and Dawn of Nirn, who continued to stare at each other, Luna from under Azura's wing.
"No..." Luna mumbled, "we... we are not the same..."
Is that so, my child?" said Azura, tightening her wing over Luna. "Were not you the one who rebelled against your older sibling, my oldest daughter, and threatened to shroud the land in eternal night? Was it not you that threatened to deprive your own people of the sun's life giving rays, apathetic to the suffering it would undoubtedly cause? All because of your envy towards the way your people admired your sister and her sun in a way they didn't show towards you and your moon?"
Luna felt as if a rock had been lodged in her throat.
"No..." she choked, "that... may be true... but neither I... nor Celestia, are like..."
"And as for my oldest daughter," continued Azura as if Luna hadn't spoken. "Celestia, is that her name? As benevolent and nurturing as she is, didn't she revel in the adoration of your subjects, completely oblivious to your bitterness and loneliness? And when she had no choice but to banish you, did she not neglect her duty as protector of your kingdom, too overcome by her own regret and self loathing to notice that her refusal to take up the sword against her enemies was allowing harm to come to her subjects?
"And above all, don't your subjects worship you, much like how my disciples worship me?"
Luna no longer had the will to provide an argument. The similarities, now that they were pointed out, were too convincing to just be dismissed. Luna could not help but let the possibility that Azura might be telling the truth take root...
"OKAY, that is enough!" shouted Rainbow Dash, her outcry making Luna jump under Azura's wing, and causing Azura herself to actually focus on her as she approached Luna from behind. "Your Majesty, don't listen to her. Sure, the similarities are there, but there is one thing Miss High and Mighty here has forgotten that makes her claim not true." She shot Azura one of her signature smug smirks. "You and Celestia had real parents back in Equestria!"
After all that is known about Azura, and how swiftly she can smite you, one would think this would be the final straw for Rainbow Dash and her attitude thus far. But her amusement only grew as she leaned her neck slightly closer to tower over Rainbow Dash, who moved up next to Luna, still under the encompassing wing, like she was suspicious she might attack her princess. But her focus was only for the prismatic pegasus right now.
"Is that so, little one?" she said, her tone sounding like she was barely restraining her laughter. Then enlighten me...who are their parents?"
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to reply smugly, but the words never left her lips and her expression dropped into a look of confusion.
"Well... go on," urged Azura, actually giggling at Rainbow drawing up a blank. "Tell me, what ponies have been historically famed for siring the legendary Royal Pony Sisters? Surely the parents of such offspring that can move the sun and moon respectively are sung throughout history, forever remembered for bringing the ponies who would one day become the first alicorns into the world... over a millennium ago."
Rainbow Dash... could not answer.
All of her life, it had never occurred to her who the parents of the princesses might be. In fact, until a few years ago, she didn't even know Celestia had a younger sister. Celestia had just always been there.
"Uh... girls?" said Rainbow, turning to the five other ponies present. "Do... any of you know who the princesses' parents might be? I'd be the last pony to say she paid attention in history class, but from what I do remember, I don't think I ever came across anything that mentioned the Princesses' parents."
"Me neither, sugarcube," admitted Applejack regretfully. "Though I admit, I only ever paid close attention to economics and the history of farming when I was but a wee little school filly, I don't remember anything about the princesses' parents either."
"I am afraid I am coming up short too, darling," said Rarity with slight shame. "Though I doubt I am any more fluent in history than you or Applejack."
"I got nothin," said Pinkie Pie, knocking on her head with a hoof and producing a hollow sound. "I'm knocking on my brain for an answer, but no one is there."
Fluttershy only shook her head, signifying she didn't know either.
Frustrated, Rainbow turned to the one pony who might have an answer to this conundrum.
"Hey Twilight," said Rainbow, turning to her studious friend. "Help us out her. You are the most well read of us, do you know who the Princesses' parents are? Maybe Princess Celestia told you herself, you are her personal..."
Rainbow Dash stopped when she noticed Twilight's unresponsive expression.
In fact, they all realized that, other then gasping in shock at Azura's transformation, Twilight hadn't said a word, or even moved since Azura announced that she was Luna's mother. She was just standing there, staring at Luna and Azura, like she was lost in thought.
"TWILIGHT?!" they all said in unison, Luna finally coming out from under Azura's wing to check on her friend.
"Twilight, darling what is the matter?" asked Rarity, her worry mirrored by all the others.
Twilight just continued to stare into space.
Out of nowhere, Pinkie lifted her left hoof and held it out, putting her right to her muzzle and blowing into it with puffed up cheeks. One by one, four stubby little finger popped out of her hoof. Normally, such a thing would be considered strange, but hey, that's Pinkie Pie.
"Yoo-hoo!" said Pinkie, snapping her new appendages in Twilight's face. "Nirn to Twilight, anypony home?"
Twilight snapped out of her daze with a surprised gasp, looking at her concerned friends surrounding her.
"Oh, sorry girls," she said, giving them all an apologetic look. "I guess I spaced out."
There didn't appear to be cause for alarm, Twilight appeared fine now that she was aware of her surroundings again.
"No problem, darling, it was quite unexpected, what Miss Azura said," said Rarity, not forgetting her manners, even if she held no higher regards for the Daedra than the rest. "But we really could use your help, as it were."
"What, what's wrong?" asked Twilight.
"We need your help proving that she is full of hot air," said Rainbow, pointing a hoof at Azura behind them.
"RAINBOW!" gasped Twilight at her friends disregard to one of the most powerful beings to ever exist.
"Don't start with that," said Rainbow in response. "I know already, but no one makes such a claim towards our princess when we know they are wrong."
Twilight didn't like where this was going. "Wrong?"
"There is no way this snooty lady is the mother of our Princesses," said Applejack angrily. "Not only are the princesses from Equestria, they had real parents back in Equestria."
"Yeah, Twilight," added Rainbow, "and since you and Princess Celestia are so close she had to have told you about her parents at some point."
Before their eyes, Twilight actually deflated in typical Pinkie style. Her face fell as she sat down on her haunches.
"Twilight?" asked Fluttershy worriedly. "What's wrong?"
"Oh darling, what has gotten you so upset?" said Rarity, putting a supportive hoof on her fellow unicorn's shoulder.
"Was it something we said?" asked Pinkie worriedly.
"She is distressed because she knows I speak the truth," said Azura, drawing all attention to her once again. "For she has suspected it herself for some time now."
The still silence returned.
"That's not true!" said Rainbow definitely.
"Twi would never suspect our beloved princesses could ever share blood with the likes of..." Applejack was halted by a lavender hoof on her shoulder.
"Stop Applejack, it's true," said Twilight, much to all their shock.
For the next few seconds the air was filled with overlapping retorts from Twilight's friends, asking if she had lost her mind, or how she could think such a thing, until Luna silenced them with a single command with her Canterlot voice.
"SILENCE!"
The ponies and baby dragon all fell silent at the Lunar Matriarch's reverberating order, who regarded Twilight with a stern gaze that she shrank under.
"Is it true, young Twilight? asked Luna simply, but with no less authority expected of a princess. "Have you had these suspicions of our origins?"
"Yes, Princess," said Twilight immediately, not holding the truth back.
Luna appeared distressed at the fact that Azura was right, Twilight was suspecting she was telling the truth. "How? How could you believe that we could have originated from such a creature as petty as the Daedra?"
"It..." stammered Twilight, trying to force the explanation out. "The behavior of the Daedra are some of the most vile acts I have ever had the misfortune of researching. But... while I was researching the Daedra... I could not help but notice the similarities between you, your sister, and the Daedric Prince Azura."
Luna's scowl deepened. "Similarities?"
"Yes, but not the acts you committed as Nightmare Moon," said Twilight hurriedly, Luna's expression telling her to explain. "While I was researching Azura, I noticed something about her title over Dawn and Dusk that didn't fit. Unlike Equis's sun, this world's sun is actually the hole the et'Ada Magnus tore in Mundus to escape the power drain Mundus's creation was having on the other et'Ada, and the moons Masser and Secunda are the sundered halves of Lorkhan."
"Great, a history lesson," moaned Rainbow in annoyance.
"Let her continue," said Luna sternly.
"Well, I was wondering how Azura could be Lord of the cycles of day and night, when she had nothing to do with the creation of the sun or moon, most Daedra created the object of their rule themselves," Twilight went on, looking past Luna to the graceful alicorn that sat on her belly a short distance away. "Then I remembered how our days and nights work in Equestria, and I thought, what if Azura didn't create the sun or moon, but has the power to manipulate them, just like the Princesses."
"Congratulations, little one, you have solved the great mystery regarding my involvement with the celestial bodies of my world," said Azura, bowing her head respectfully. "Most heretic critics claim I actually have no involvement with the night or day at all. I can see why my daughter took you under her wing as her personal student."
Twilight had to involuntarily swallow.
It was a rare occurrence for a Daedra to praise anything.
"But once I comprehended that," continued Twilight, looking back at Luna with regret for what she was about to say. "I also realized something peculiar about you and your sister. You can both move the sun and moon without effort, where every unicorn before and after you could only accomplish it at the cost of all their magic, rendering them unable to cast spells for the rest of their lives."
Luna could see where this was going. In fact, it was just as much a mystery to her and Celestia that they could prevail were nopony else could. Even before they earned their alicorn wings so long ago, their magic was without equal.
"And then you both were the first ponies to ascend," said Twilight, following the Princess's mindset. "Your skills in magic, your longevity, I couldn't just believe that it was all a bizarre coincidence. Azura reassembles you in a way no pony in history ever has... I couldn't help but suspect you were related somehow."
Luna was actually starting to see the logic in what Twilight was saying, but her reluctance to accept it was still strong.
"None of this proves what Azura says is true," she said defiantly.
"I thought that too, your Majesty," said Twilight, a regretful tear trickling down her face. "But then, I remembered what Celestia told me about your origins."
"Finally!" said Rainbow smugly. "So who were their real parents?"
"Rainbow," said Applejack, putting her hoof on the pegasus's back. "I don't think this story is going to pan out that way anymore, sugarcube."
Rainbow blinked and looked at Twilight and Luna along with the rest of them.
"So she told you, then?" asked Luna.
Twilight nodded. "Just after your return."
"Me too," said Spike.
"Told you what?" asked Applejack, "Twilight, do you know something about the princesses you haven't told us?"
Twilight looked to Luna, who nodded.
"Go ahead, Twilight," she said. "They are our closest friends, I am sure we can trust them."
"Of course you can trust us," said Pinkie, bouncing in place. "If this is some kind of national secret, our lips are sealed."
And Pinkie full blown 'zipped' her mouth shut, and even Azura arched her eye at the ridiculous antics of this bizarre mortal.
Twilight's friends stood before her expectantly, but rather than start, she looked down at Spike.
"Spike, you know this story as well as I do," she said, putting a hoof on her number one assistant's head. "Do you think you can inform the girls?"
Spike looked shocked. "Really Twilight?"
Twilight nodded. "After all that has happened, I don't think I can handle dropping another bomb on our friends. I hate to ask, but I would appreciate it if you could share this burden with me."
Spike almost never got asked to assist with something as important as this, so sprang to a salute.
"Aye aye, mine captain."
Twilight rolled her eyes and laid down, letting Spike take the floor.
"Well come on, little scaly buddy," said Pinkie, just as eager, if more so, than the rest. "The suspense is killing us."
Pinkie fell limply on her side, C's over her eyes.
"Alright already," said Spike, looking at them all and steeling himself. "Girls, Princess Celestia and Luna are pretty much orphans."
Multiple gasps filled the air.
"REALLY?"
"OH MY WORD!"
"That's so sad!"
"TARNATION... that... that's..."
"Oh, the poor dears!"
"It's true," continued Spike. "According to Celestia, after the founding of Equestria, when the windigos were vanquished, Star Swirl the Bearded... just... stumbled across her while she was an infant."
There was a moment of silence, were the ponies all stared in awe at how simple yet extravagant that fact was.
"Just... just like that?" Asked Rarity. "Star Swirl just...'found' Princess Celestia while she was still a baby?"
"Uh huh," confirmed Spike. "And not two years later, he came across Luna in a similar fashion, and he raised them both himself."
"But... but didn't he try to find their real parents?" asked Applejack, not accepting Azura was the princesses' mom yet, so to her it sounded like a stallion, Star Swirl or not, just decided to keep two lost foals he stumbled upon.
"According to Celestia, he never stopped," said Spike. "She even said he created a spell that can track a pony's blood relatives specifically for them, but other than confirm that the two were indeed related, the spell found no other ponies connected to Celestia and Luna by blood."
This bit of information seemed to strike a chord with Twilight's friends, and they all have Princess Luna a sympathetic look.
"We're so sorry to hear that, your Majesty," said Rarity, the others mimicking her sympathy. "It must have been so hard, to not know who your parents were."
"Do not trouble yourselves over it," said Luna with a supportive smile. "My sister and I made peace with that long ago." She brought her attention back to Azura and her expression became accusatory again. "But all this proves nothing."
She approached the great alicorn that symbolizes both day and night and stood before her once again, Azura's only response was to stand to her full, impressive height and continue to smile gently.
"All the facts that you and even young Twilight have drought forth may be plausible, but they aren't substantial proof you are mine and Celestia's mother, and until I am see anything of the sort..." Luna stopped when she felt something on her fetlock.
Looking down, she noticed she had trodden on Azura's discarded dress, and a veil had suddenly drifted up by its own accord and brushed against her skin. Her breath left her in a silent gasp, and she looked up to see Azura's gentle smile gaining a semblance of support. Trembling once more, Luna sat on her haunches and lifted her forelegs, allowing the elegant blue dress of veils (wasn't it just a simple gown when Azura first appeared?) identical to the one she wore in her stone effigy to hover before Luna at chest level.
Overcome by shivers, Luna ran a hoof up and down the smooth fabric of the divine garment, getting a good feel of its texture. Something inside Luna broke. The proverbial dam had burst and Luna could no longer hold back the glistening tears that now streamed down her face, still caressing the fabric of the dress almost subconsciously.
"PRINCESS!" said all the others in worry, surrounding their Matriarch as soon as the first tear was shed.
"Darling, what is wrong?" asked Rarity worriedly.
Luna didn't answer, only clenched her eyes and gritted her teeth, sniffling pitifully.
Rainbow shot a look of accusation at Azura, but joined the others as they surrounded Luna in a supportive group hug, which finally convinced her to stop touching the dress just so she could melt into it. Scorn could come later, now a friend was in need. For the next few minutes, the only sound was Luna's sniffling, though she never openly sobbed.
After a while, Twilight decided to investigate, to see what had caused her princess such distress, taking a hoof of her midnight blue coat and laying down on the still hovering dress. She instantly knew what had upset Luna so.
"It can't be," she said, letting go of the princess completely to feel Azura's gown with both forehooves. "No... no way..."
"What is it, Twilight?" asked Spike, running up to feel the dress himself, gasping in surprise at the feel of the fabric. "No way!"
"What are you guys on about?" asked Rainbow Dash, feeling the dress herself, but she didn't react nearly as dramatically. "Yeah, it feels... soothing...? But right now I think we should look after the princess."
"I am afraid that I agree with Rainbow," said Rarity, stroking Luna's mane. "As a fashionista, it is indeed the most fetching garment, but Luna is distressed."
"And it's understandable why," said Twilight with a submissive tone as she turned towards them. "Girls, this dress proves it, Azura is Celestia and Luna's mother."
It couldn't have been said, it just couldn't have...
"Twilight, like we all have been saying, that is ridiculous," said Applejack.
"How could a dress prove that Azura is our Princesses' momma?" asked Pinkie.
Twilight faced the dress again and gestured for them to come stand beside her, which they did, but they were reluctant to let go of the grief stricken Luna, though she made no move to try and stop them.
"EVERYPONY touch the dress," said Twilight, not commandingly, but with a tone that brooked no argument.
They all caressed the dress with a degree of confusion, but all noticed that it was a light, durable, and flexible material.
"It's a divine material, Twilight," stated Rarity, but she looked to the silently weeping Luna with worry. "But I don't see how this proves anything."
Twilight looked at each of them. "Have any of you ever seen a fabric like this before?"
They all exchanged a look between the fabric and themselves.
"Can't say that I have," said Applejack.
"Me neither," said Rainbow.
"Noperoonie," said Pinkie Pie.
Fluttershy only shook her head.
"The only thing remotely close I have seen is that Ayleid fabric," said Rarity, looking at the dress and admiring how extravagant the texture of the fabric was. "But this puts even that to shame."
"I still don't understand," said Rainbow impatiently, "Even I have to admit it's a beautiful gown, but what does it have to do with Azura being the mother of our princesses?"
Twilight and Spike exchanged a look one last time.
"The only clue remotely related to Princess Celestia and Luna's origins is the blankets they were bundled in when Star Swirl found them," explained Spike, plucking up a pinch of the dress. "And this is a perfect match. It's the same material."
The blankets Celestia and Luna were bundled in?
That was a depressing image, to picture an infantile Celestia and Luna laying somewhere in the wilderness with nothing but a blanket for company. They gasped and looked at the dress again, knowing where this was leading.
"That don't prove nothing," said Applejack, though nervously. "There are countless dresses, countless material throughout all of Equestria. Those blankets could have come from anywhere."
"That would be true, Applejack," started Twilight with a forlorn look. "Except, other than those two baby blankets, no trace of the material they are made of can be found in all of Equestria."
They blinked in surprise.
"What... what do you mean?" asked Fluttershy.
"What she means is the blankets Star Swirl found the princesses in are the only ones of their kind," said Spike.
"The... only ones?" inquired Rarity. "Nothing else like them has ever been found?"
"No, and believe me, they tried," said Twilight, entering lecture mode again. "Celestia told me that Star Swirl believed that the blankets he found her and Luna in were at least the first step in finding out where they came from, so he spent a good amount of time searching for their point of origin. He scoured not only Equestria, but other surrounding Kingdoms, and found nothing. Not a trace to where this unique fabric came from.
"And when Celestia and Luna grew up and became the Rulers of Equestria, they invested time of their own into solving the mystery, but they decided to analyze the material to see if they could find out what it was made of and then track it to its source. But whatever made up the material remains unidentified to this day, and whenever Equestria's forensic science has an advancement in technology Celestia sends the blankets to be analyzed, but the results have always been the same, unidentified. And yet, here it is."
Twilight's friends and looked at the dress once more.
"And... this dress?" stammered Rainbow Dash.
"There is no mistake, it's the same material," said Twilight, though far from happy about it. "I have seen the blankets myself, they're a perfect match."
It could still be untrue. There was still a possibility that the dress may be the same material as the baby blankets Princess Celestia and Luna were found in, but wasn't where they came from. But they knew it was pointless to try and convince themselves otherwise, when the truth was staring them in the face.
They had no choice, it had to be true.
"So... so it's true?" Stammered Fluttershy.
Twilight only nodded in response.
"I... I can't believe it..." gasped a distraught Rarity.
"Our beloved princesses..." moaned Pinkie.
"They... they came from..." Applejack was interrupted when Twilight spoke up.
"NOW, HOLD ON," she shouted. "Girls, I am just as disturbed by this as you, but what does it change for us actually? We know where the princesses came from now, but does it make them any less the princesses we have always been loyal to?"
That actually seemed to snap them out of their horrible realization.
"Why, of course not," said Rarity determinedly. "Even after this, they are still our princesses."
"Tarnation, what was I thinking," said Applejack, striking the air with a hoof. "Granny always taught me to value family, but she also taught me to never judge someone for the actions of another. It's not the princesses' fault where they came from."
"Even if they did come from a meanie mean pants, who curses people who never did anything wrong, Celestia and Luna are two of the nicest ponies I know," said Pinkie with her goofy grin. "Nothing is going to change that."
"What was I thinking," said Rainbow ashamedly. "Celestia and Luna are awesome. Just as awesome now as they always have been."
"And we should tell her that," said Fluttershy, influenced by her kind nature to speak up. "Luna is obviously very upset about this. We need to tell her that this doesn't change how we feel about her. She is still our princess, and more importantly, our friend."
They all agreed, but when they turned to their distressed Lunar Matriarch they found to their surprise that someone had already taken up the task of comforting her. Azura had apparently moved in while they were all in shock, and draped her imposing form over her daughter and was shrouding her in her wings. Luna didn't resist this time and buried her face into Azura's chest, the representation of the sun making her tears glisten like liquid diamond whenever it passed by her face.
Twilight and the others decided they would reassure their princess later. However this went down, an exchange between a mother and daughter should never be interrupted, now matter who it is. Even if it was between an all powerful entity of the sun and moon, and a Royal Princess of the Night, a mother and child relationship is sacred.
"Why?" asked Luna when she finally had no tears to shed. "If we are your children, why did you abandon us?"
My child, I didn't abandon you," answered Azura.
"Horseapples!" cursed Luna, pushing off Azura and staring up at her with a fierce scowl. "If you are our mother, then it means my sister and I don't even come from Equestria! We... are outcasts from this place!"
"Outcasts?" inquired Azura. "You have got it wrong, my child. I didn't send you away, I sent you where you and your sister belong."
A spark of confusion mixed with Luna's aggressive expression. "Belong?"
"You and your sister have always wondered why only the two of you have been able to move the celestial bodies of your world without great cost," explained Azura, withdrawing her wings and standing over Luna with her imposing height, but carrying no less a gentle expression. "The answer is simple. It's why you exist."
"WHAT?!" gasped not only Luna, but the others as well.
Azura turned her gaze to all present. "I created Celestia and Luna precisely so they could govern the moon and sun of your world, this 'Equestria'."
The news was a complete and total shock.
On some levels it was an astounding feat, but on others, it was completely immoral.
"How... how could you?" asked Applejack, trembling with disgust. "How could you bring two ponies into the world to perform a specific task? We aren't machines."
Azura regarded the apple farmer with an arched eyebrow. "The things you mortals frown upon is a mystery to me. But if you must know, if I hadn't created your precious princesses, your world would not have survived."
That was too much for the most studious of them, whose curiosity had grown strong enough to overcome the surprise of this revelation and demanded to be addressed.
"Celestia and Luna were born for the purpose of controlling the sun and moon of our world?" She asked, slightly uncomfortable talking about her mentor in such a way, but she couldn't think of any better way to say it. "Why would you care about our world, we have had nothing to do with yours until recently? And how did Celestia and Luna even get to Equestria, if you are indeed their mother?
"Our worlds are separated from each other by an aether that even Daedric Princes can't break through. And in that case, how do you know about Equestria, period?"
Azura looked to Twilight, and for the first time, her expression changed. Her eyes became serious and warning, and the Equestrians could not help but back away a little in fear.
"You are entering dangerous territory, little pony," she said, her tone just as warning as her expression. "For you to understand you have to understand more than you do."
"What do you mean?" asked Spike.
"What I mean, little dragon," answered Azura, Spike shying away behind Twilight as she brought her attention to him. "Is that the origin of your princesses is tied to more than just the origin of two ponies. They are tied to the beginning of your entire world."
The sentence was simple, but the meaning was clear, and they all could only stare in surprise.
"If you are to understand the origin of your princesses, you must understand how your world came to be!"
It was an overwhelming concept.
The beginning of the world?
They knew how the world that they were standing in was created by the Aedra long ago, but what of the world they call home? What was responsible for their very existence? It was a concept that was both alluring and terrifying at once.
"Princess?" inquired Twilight.
Luna knew what her friend was getting at. Was it worth finding out why she and her sister were born if it meant finding out where they all came from? Luna was at a loss, this was big even for her.
"So be it," she said decisively.
The others gulp nervously and sat down around the imposing form of Azura, knowing it was mostly likely going to be a lengthy tale. After all, what could create a world that can be described casually?
"As you wish, my child," said Azura, apparently not even going to bother trying to dissuade them from this, turning to Twilight. "You wanted to know how I know of your world, despite the ether that separates us?"
Twilight nodded.
"It's because I caught a glimpse of your world, back when the ether had a hole that I could look through."
Twilight blinked. "You mean the ether wasn't always completely impenetrable?"
"Not at first, at one time there was a breach in it that anyone could enter through," answered Azura.
"But... but if you saw us, the other Daedra must have," said Rarity worriedly.
"As I have said before, my brethren have no inkling of your existence," said Azura with slight impatience at the white unicorn.
"But how?" asked Applejack.
"Because I was the only one looking correctly when the hole was made," explained Azura. "To the other Daedra, it appeared as nothing more than another star in the sky."
They really needed to take Azura's word for it. If she said that the other Daedra were not aware of Equestria, she meant it.
"But I still don't understand what this has to do with the creation of our world," said Luna.
"Patience, my child," said Azura calmly. "I assume you are all familiar with the War of the First Council?"
The Equestrians blinked in surprise, exchanged looks, before nodding their confirmation.
"Yes, we know of it," said Twilight. "The religious conflict between the Dwemer and the Chimer. When the Dwemer tried to ascend to godhood using the artificial god, Numidium."
Rainbow laughed and looked behind them at the door that led to Akulakhan's Chamber. "And we kinda smoked Numidium Mark 2."
"During this conflict between the Dwemer and Chimer is when I stumbled across a star in the heavens that wasn't there before, and that led it to your world," explained Azura further. "When I investigated further I discovered that Kagrenac had changed his tactics in the war."
What did that have to do with Equestria?
"Kagrenac?" inquired Pinkie. "The screw loose scientist who was messing with Lorkhan's ticker?"
"Yes," continued Azura. "History claims that he followed his delusional dream to raise himself and his people to godhood and take the Daedra's place ruling Nirn till the end... it is untrue."
While most of them simply found the fact slightly amusing, Twilight, who had a weakness for history of any kind, was floored."You mean he no longer wished to transcend the physical plane, along with the rest of his people?"
"No, that part of his plan never changed," answered Azura. "But when General Nerevar took command of the Chimer forces and began gaining ground against the Dwemer, Kagrenac realized that defeat was becoming probable. And not just that, he also realized that if the other races of Nirn were resisting them so strongly, that even if they succeeded in ascending, the people of Nirn would continue to resist. After all, the Dwemer themselves were defying the current Gods, so it was more than likely that others would do the same in regards to them.
"So rather than become the Gods of Nirn, Kagrenac decided to use the Heart of Lorkhan to create a brand new plane of existence, one that he and his people could rule from the very beginning."
The revelation hit them all like a ton of bricks.
"No..." said Twilight, her heart racing.
"It can't be..." said Rarity, trembling down to her hooves.
Luna looked up at her mother, trembling as the others,"You're... you're saying that...?"
"I am afraid so," confirmed Azura. "Your Kingdom, your world, your entire plane... Kagrenac used the Heart of Lorkhan to create it all...so his people would have a realm to rule over."
It was too much.
Equestria, the other kingdoms, they were all created... by a maniac?
"That is why you should not feel different, my child," Azura said to Luna. "While it's true you and Celestia originally came from Nirn, the same can be said about everything else in your world. It all originally came from this world."
"But it can't be..." said Twilight, not willing to believe it.
"You yourself have noticed the parallels of our worlds, little one," said Azura. "The dragons, the minotaurs, and other such creatures. All modeled by Kagrenac after creatures he was familiar with, and even some new ones like the Zebras and griffons, who would act as the Dwemers doctors and warriors respectfully, once the Dwemer had established dominans over this new world they had created."
So that was the origin of their world. The Dwemer, at the height of their power, created them, the same as the Aedra created this world, for them to rule over.
"I guess... now we know what happened to the Dwemer," said Twilight shakily, overwhelmed. "According to the Battle of Red Mountain, Kagrenac used his tools on the Heart of Lorkhan and all Dwemer disappeared. So all along, they have been ruling our world as all powerful entities."
"Not entirely true, little one," said Azura.
"But you said..."
"If the Dwemer truly are the Gods of your world, do you really believe such beings would have gone unnoticed?" inquired Azura. "I can sense it, you have never come across Divine beings until you crossed paths with Hermaeus Mora and myself."
They looked between each other.
"So... these Dwemer guys didn't become deities?"
"After all their defiance and atrocity, do you truly think I would allow them to succeed in such an act?" said Azura. "As soon as I learned of what Kagrenac planned to do, I immediately intervened."
"One of the theories of the Battle of Red Mountain is that you influenced Kagrenac into using the Tools on the Heart of Lorkhan, resulting in the Dwemer's disappearance," stated Twilight. "It's true?"
"Yes." Azura's expression became smug. "While General Nerevar stormed this very Dwemer stronghold, I did indeed influence Kagrenac into forwarding his plans; he used the Heart and the Dwemer achieved the Divine form they so desired."
"I thought you said that you interfered and stopped them from becoming Gods?" said Rainbow, just as confused as the others.
"I stopped them from becoming the Gods of your world," said Azura, "to do so, I only had to let them follow through with the plan."
The ponies and Spike... looked very confused.
"How did letting these guys get away with what they wanted to do solve the problem?" asked Pinkie.
"Because I knew something about it that they didn't," explained Azura gently. Kagrenac put all of his effort into perfecting the process that would transcend his people, but he overlooked one important variable."
The Equestrians waited eagerly.
"That, despite all their accomplishments, the Dwemer were still physical beings." Azura looked over at the entrance to Akulakhan's Chamber, where all this went down. "Once the Dwemer ascended, and fled to this new world through the hole Kagrenac left in the ether he himself created to assure us Daedra would never trouble them again, they soon realized that their minds could not cope with their new forms. I watched as, one by one, they dispersed among your realms cosmos, as scattered bits of lifeless energy."
The air became still as the Equestrians contemplated.
So that was the fate of the mighty Dwemer. They had created an entirely different world for them to rule over as Gods, but never got a chance to instill dominance because they were destroyed by the very power they wanted to achieve. And as a result, their whole world came to be.
"That's it then?" asked a shaken Applejack. "Our whole existence was originally to be subservient to a bunch of egotistical Dwemer, who in the end, destroyed themselves?"
It was a lot to take in.
But Azura had one thing left to say."That is not the case for you ponies."
"What do you mean?" Asked Twilight.
"It's true, the Dwemer created your world and most of the creatures that live on it to rule over, but in actuality, they didn't create you ponies," Azura explained.
"But... then were did we come from?" Asked Fluttershy.
"While the Dwemer were being destroyed by their new power, Kagrenac noticed what was happening," said Azura. "Despite being an egotist and a madman, he realized that at this rate, his people would disappear forever, so he did the one thing he could do. He gathered what few Dwemer remained and reestablished them in physical form.
"But not the form they originally had."
"They became some other creature?" Asked Fluttershy.
"Oh, I bet they became Timberwolves," said Rainbow, laughing at the thought. "What those Dwemer guys tried to pull really stank, and that would explain why Timberwolves' breath stinks so bad."
"If you want to know what form the Dwemer took, look no further than yourselves."
Azura's words reverberated in their pony skulls, and they all slowly looked up at her with great shock. Had... they heard that right?
"It's true, little ponies," she assured them,"the first ponies to walk your world, started out as the Dwemer."
"It... it can't be..." said Pinkie, reaching out of everyone's view and dragging over a full blown copper statue of a Dwemer. "Look at us, we're nothing alike."
Azura quirked an eye at Pinkie again and looked to the others, but they seemed to have been flabbergasted into silence.
"You share more with the Dwemer other than physical appearance, your lack of respect for Daedra for one," explained Azura, looking at Twilight.
"You, little one, your kind excel at magic, and you yourself have mastered even the most complex and difficult magic from Nirn. The Dwemer were no different, they were fluent in magic in a way no other race can boast."
She looked at Applejack. "And you, your kind have a kinship with the earth that allows you to sow crops like no other. The Dwemer were likewise attuned with the earth, it is what allowed them to create these extravagant subterranean cities that only they are known for."
Lastly, she turned to Rainbow. "And, though they lacked the ability to fly, the Dwemer had learned how to harness the weather to their will."
"Now I know that isn't true," said Rainbow. "I ain't no egghead, but I did do a little research on these Dwemer guys, and I never came across anything that said they could control weather."
"Actually... it is true, Rainbow," said Twilight, Rainbow throwing her a look of disbelief. "Shortly before their disappearance, the Dwemer invented a machine called the Karstanghz-Beharn, which translates to Weather Witch. It... is a machine that functions similar to the Cloudsdale weather factory, but according to legend, it could produce multiple weather patterns in the blink of an eye."
Rainbow Dash had no comeback to this, her expression just became more shocked.
"But I don't understand," said Twilight as she approached Azura to look directly up at her. "If what you are saying is true, why didn't I find any references to the Aedra, the Daedra, or Nirn in general when I first met Hermaeus Mora? Ponykind has recorded its history since we could read and write, if we have such an origin as originally being the Dwemer, surely there would be some kind of record about it."
"Kagrenac managed to save himself and a few other Dwemer from dispersing among the stars, like all the others, but not without consequence," explained Azura. "By the time they could reconstitute physical form, all knowledge and memory had been destroyed. It's why they appeared on the very world they created as equines instead of the Dwemer they once were, because they had no recollection of who they were before. Even I do not know why they reappeared as equines, and it's doubtful anyone ever will."
It was a lot to absorb.
The origin of Equestria...
The origin of the pony race...
For a while the Equestrians just sat there, contemplating. They had no reason to believe what Azura said was true, but what did she have to gain from fabricating such a tale? And the stuff she knows about their world, despite the fact of what separates Equis and Nirn from each other.
Could it be possible?
Twilight was taking it the hardest. As a seeker of knowledge and truth, she often fantasized about learning what happened to the Dwemer, a prosperous, highly advanced race of people who just suddenly vanished, but she never imagined this. Never contemplated the answer would hit so close to home.
"You are troubled to learn things?" Azura asked, and Twilight took a second to realize the Daedra was speaking to her.
"Troubled?" she repeated, with a scowl. "I just learned that ponykind originated from the Dwemer! A race of people who, despite their many accomplishments, were known for being petty, greedy, inconsiderate of others, and, oh yeah, almost destroyed the world to obtain godhood!" She scowled behind her at the heart chamber. "All of this was their fault in fact. They messed with that Heart!
"If ponies are like the Dwemer..."
"NO..."
Twilight fell silent and turned back to Azura," what?"
"You and your kind are not the Dwemer."
"But you said..."
"The Dwemer may be your origin, you may even call them your genesis, but the Dwemer as a people are gone." Azura gave them all a gentle smile that somehow eased their stress. "You retain none of their memories or their culture, you are your own people. The Dwemer are in the past and they will never rise again, through you or otherwise."
Azura's words made them realize that she was right.
What did it matter if they originally came from the Dwemer? They were who they are now, and through their own actions. They weren't like the Dwemer and no one said they had to be.
"How do my sister and I come into this?" asked Luna. "You said you created me and Celestia, I want to know why."
Azura looked to her daughter with what appeared to be pride. "Because this new world of equines needed you in order to survive. As you may have guessed from what I have told you, the Dwemer created the sun and moon of your world similar to Mundus, but when they couldn't maintain their Divine power, they lost the ability to move them without great cost."
Luna tilted her head. "According to you, Equestria was created by the Dwemer, a race that was, without a doubt, you and your kind's mortal enemies. Why would you care what became of the world they created?"
"As I have told you, your kind are not the Dwemer, and it was just as true when you first came into being," explained Azura. "After the Dwemer destroyed themselves, like I always knew they would, I watched the world they created through the hole they fled through for a while, curious to see how they would develop and grow.
During that time, I realized that without someone who could move the sun and moon indefinitely, the chance of the people of this world surviving was grim. I had to act fast, the hole in the ether I could see through was closing like a healing wound, and when that happen Nirn would be seperated from this world forever."
Luna gasped in shock, as well as the others.
"You...sent the princesses because you knew Equestria wouldn't survive without them?" asked Fluttershy.
"That's... that's actually pretty considerate," commented Pinkie. "To send your own daughters to another world so that they could save it."
Luna approached Azura again and looked up at her when she was level with her chest.
"Is this true?" she asked. "Did you create Celestia and myself solely because Equestria needed us?"
"You make it sound like you thought I created you for something nefarious," said Azura simply. "Your world needed one more component to thrive, so I provided it."
It was strangely comforting.
Even though she and her sister were 'created' to perform a specific purpose, the fact that it was done out of benevolence put her mind at ease. And now that the initial shock had worn off, Luna felt less burdened with the mystery of her and Celestia's origins solved. Though what was she going to tell her sister?
"Mother?" asked Luna, the other Equestrians gasping, and Azura's expression softening. "Who is our father?"
"Interesting question," said Azura. "Search your feelings, my child. You received something from your father that Celestia regretfully didn't."
Luna was at a loss, but Twilight gasped in realization.
"Vaermina the Dreamweaver!" she said in surprise. "The Daedric Prince of Dreams and Nightmares."