Lines and Webs

by Airstream


Of Statues and Sunlight

The sun that morning was an eerie blood red, a shade that made the early risers in Canterlot just a bit nervous, though they did not know why. The festivals of the day soon warded away the poor omen the sun had given, as ponies from all over Equestria wheeled out strange and fantastical objects that whistled and belched smoke and flame, machines of terrible and beautiful purpose, and potions and spells that boggled the mind and confounded the eye. Science and magic were at war in the streets of Canterlot, and the ponies delighted in the competition.

Twilight Sparkle managed to rouse herself from her unusually deep slumber at a quarter past nine. She realized, as she curled up to her favorite dragon, that she almost couldn't wait to return to Ponyville. The publicity and constant watching of ponies was starting to get a bit irritating, and Twilight longed for the comfort and privacy of her own library at home. Plus there were all of the projects to catch up on, and the ever faithful pursuit of knowledge. She was looking forward most to deciphering those books, Twilight thought idly as she stared at her window, which had been covered so as to allow only a small amount of light. She felt the deep, powerful breaths of Spike as he too slowly shifted from sleep to the waking world.

Turning in bed, she faced Spike, who grinned lazily as he opened his eyes, seeing the purple mare he so adored lying next to him. "Good morning." Spike said, stretching his wings carefully so as to avoid knocking over any of the furniture or other breakables.

Twilight returned his smile. "Good morning yourself. I got your note, how's the library back home?"

The purple dragon yawned, exposing a row of very sharp white teeth. "Same old thing, as far as I can tell. The ponies back in Ponyville are waiting on you to come back, especially the Crusaders. I did my best to quash the rumors while I was there, but I think that you'll have to give your own account when we return. The townsfolk are very grateful to you. Maybe not as grateful as that time you saved Equestria from eternal night, or that other time that you sealed a mad god into stone, but thankful nonetheless."

The unicorn giggled, rolling out of bed and landing solidly on her hooves. She trotted over to the sink, running a comb through her hair quickly. "That's good! I was just thinking of home, actually. I can't wait to get back, there's so much I want to catch up on. Those books come to mind."

Spike nodded, sheepishly meeting Twilight's eyes. "Actually, Twi, I wanted to talk to you about those. They looked to be in really good condition, and I mean extraordinarily good. I was a bit suspicious, so I sort of...tried to set them on fire."

Twilight looked up sharply. "Spike! What in Equestria could have possessed you to do that? They were extremely valuable!"

The dragon held up his claws in defense. "Easy, there. What I meant was I tried to use the magical fire I have to affect them somehow. The worst that could happen is that they'd get transported to Celestia, right? And then she'd return them. But the fire I used had no effect at all. No fire, ink doesn't mark them, I even tried to tear a corner off of one of the pages. Water slides right off. Nothing can hurt those books. They're grade-A magical stuff, Twilight. I don't even want to think about the amount of energy it would have taken to cast that spell. So I took them back to Ponyville, and I locked them in my room in the basement. I just didn't want you to panic when you found them missing, that's all."

Twilight was considerably relieved. "Well, as long as they're safe. Good thinking, testing them like that. It's probably best that you didn't try too hard, though. With that sealing spell removed, who knows how the words will react?" She set aside her brush, and began to clean her teeth.

Twilight heard the dragon shift, lifting himself out of bed. "Are you planning on spending more time with Morning Star today?" he asked, stretching his back and wings to their full extent.

She nodded, spitting into the sink and flushing the mess down the drain. "Yep, but I'm going to be spending tomorrow with you, if that's alright. I'm sure Morning Star won't mind having a day to wander by himself."

Spike's eyes lit up. "I'd like that a lot, actually. I can't remember the last time you and I had a Celebration in Canterlot!"

Twilight smiled, trotting back out of the bathroom. "Well, be sure to be back here early, we'll want plenty of sleep if we're going to tackle the festival tomorrow!"

The young drake strode out onto the balcony of their room. "Will do, Twilight. Have fun today, and I'll see you soon!" he called, unfurling his wings.

"See you, Spike!" Twilight called, as he hefted himself over the edge, flaring his wings and gliding a bit before truly flying. The unicorn was soon out of the room herself, wandering the halls of Canterlot Castle. She began to plan their day tomorrow, a special day just for Spike and her, like old times.

Lost in thought, she somehow found herself taking a few wrong turns, ending up in the Royal Statue Garden. A bit surprised, she decided to press on, as it would be easier to proceed out of the garden and walk around the edge of the walls than to retrace her steps to the front gate. She looked on as she walked, realizing that she hadn't been in here since she had studied under Celestia, before she left for Ponyville. She meandered through the statues, gazing into the eyes of Clover the Clever, Starswirl the Bearded, and many other ponies she recognized. She stopped short, catching a horrendously familiar shape out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she walked cautiously up to the statue of Discord.


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Nopony had cleaned off his statue in ages, Twilight could see that. Though the enchanted stone would not break or wear, it wore a mantle of bird droppings, and it was dirty and covered in ivy. The plinth was chipped and partially hidden by grass. Twilight considered the draconeqqus in front of her. "You may have been crazy, and you may have been evil. But at the very least, we should respect our old enemies." the unicorn thought. Closing her eyes, she used her magic to clear the ivy and droppings from the statue. The dirt was scoured away, and the plinth was repaired and restored. Opening her eyes again, Twilight looked up. Discord still looked ugly, true. But his face also held a certain noble cast to it. Twilight looked more closely. Even if he was the embodiment of Chaos, he was very well made. Each of his parts, though mismatched, was well formed and made, giving him a look of patchwork charm.

"Like what you see, Twilight Sparkle?" an all too familiar voice mocked, echoing in her head.

Twilight gasped, stumbling back. "D-Discord? Is that you?" she asked, planting her hooves defensively.

"The one and only. And don't bother yourself, dear. Your tedious prison is still as strong as ever." the statue seemed to reply.

"Then why can I hear you?" the unicorn shot back, still ready to bolt or fight.

"Because you and I are both bound by Harmony, you stupid twit." the statue said. "Until you so cheerfully hit me with that blasted ray, which hurt, I might add, the only others who could hear me like this were Luna and dear old Celestia. Congratulations, you and your idiot friends are part of a very exclusive club."

Twilight relaxed a bit. If the draconeqqus were to try something, he would have already. "Why are you speaking to me, then?" she asked curiously.

"Because, Twilight Sparkle, nopony comes near me anymore, least of all dear Loony and CeeCee. I am quite bored. One thing about being encased in stone, you are aware of everything, all the time. No sleep, no bathroom, and I had a rather irritating twitch in my nose before you zapped me, which I am now forced to contemplate forever. And besides, most of my power is locked up, which means that I can hardly even nudge ponies in the right direction anymore. When I saw that you were staying in the castle, I simply had to try. So tell me, Twilight Sparkle. Do you have your fairy tale ending? Are you fat and happy? Maybe a 'special somepony', a foal or two? It's been what, ten or eleven years? You wear them well, although you were hardly more than a brat when I saw you." Twilight got a feeling of curiosity emanating from the statue. She checked the sun. She wasn't supposed to meet Morning Star for another hour at least...

"Ah, there is somepony in your life. I just knew Her Royal Perfection would do right by you, what with the last time somepony with your bloodline came along..."

Twilight pricked her ears forward. "What was that about Celestia?"

A sense of almost palpable glee came from the statue. "You mean you don't know? Oh, by the Aether, this is rich! Well, I certainly shan't tell you anything more, although I do sense a wonderful opportunity. Let's see... Yes, yes, alright. The yellow one found a colt? Oh, that is amazing, she was such a wallflower...and this fellow of yours...yes, no doubt about it...well, that was fast. I do believe Celestia might be able to do it this time. Well then, I'll just put a stick in her spokes for her..."

Twilight was nervous, justifiably so. It sounded like Discord was rummaging around in her memories, and there wasn't a thing she could do to stop it. She felt the dragoneqqus focus on her, a vast and terrible unknown being, with all of his existence brought to bear on her. "Very well, Twilight Sparkle. It would appear that I cannot tell you directly, which makes things a bit interesting. I can't even mention why. So, have another rhyme. The first one worked out rather well for you, although I hope you're a bit quicker in solving this one."

"Ahem. 'Candor works to love the land, a kindred spirit close at hand. Mirth spreads wonder, hope and cheer, a lively husband always near. Duty chooses to soar the sky, and so her line shall surely die. Goodness has a loving life, and is a faithful new-made wife. Bounty's lover is rich in heart, and their minds combine in wondrous art. But Magic lives in isolation, feeling quiet desperation. Her line is strong, the time is right, and soon we see the death of night. Dusk is rising, just as planned, and soon the sun shall rule the land.' And that is my riddle for you, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight thought carefully, mulling the words over. The draconeqqus spoke one last time, the voice fading away quickly. "And one last thing, Twilight. A bit of Breaking magic. When you've found your focus, and you are ready to see the truth, all you must do is speak over blood these words. 'Blood and Bone, Wood and Sand. Time of knowledge close at hand. My mind my own, and set me free. Open my eyes, and let me see.' Now, go and meet your Morning Star. Good luck, Twilight Sparkle. The sooner you figure it out, the sooner I am..."

The statue went silent. Twilight felt around cautiously for Discord's presence. Nothing. With a sigh, she got to her hooves, trotting away. His words were burned into her head. What had he meant by the sun ruling the dusk? She was Magic, obviously, and she could pick out her friends fairly easily. One thing was for sure. She was not going to Celestia with this. If Discord had wanted to lie about it, he wouldn't have been so overtly happy about her not knowing, and he had seemed (as far as she could still, he was a statue after all) genuinely surprised. Too much had happened for Twilight to be placing her trust in anypony in the capital. Until she could regroup back in Ponyville, she would not be reporting any of this, to anypony, even Spike.

The unicorn sighed as she headed out of the garden. She shook her head from side to side, clearing her thoughts and trying to look forward to her day with Morning Star. The garden fell silent once again.


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Celestia lay in her bed, where she had been ever since the events of the previous night. Normally, she would be looking right out at the garden, able to see everything from the hedge maze to the statuary. However, this morning she had raised the sun and immediately felt that bone aching weariness she had been experiencing so often. Summoning several of her servants, she had bade them to dispatch several messages to the ponies she was going to have been meeting today. The messages informed then that she would unfortunately be unable to attend their demonstrations today, but they were cordially invited to display them next week at the palace. She regretted that she was unable to attend...the standard letter.

The Alicorn gave a sigh, sinking into her covers. The doors were locked, of course. None of her subjects would be seeing her like this, bags under eyes, mane hanging stagnant in the air. She ran herself a bath, not bothering for servants to prepare it. She heard the guards turn away some pony wishing to clean up her chambers. A smile crossed her face. She loved all of her little ponies, loved them dearly. It pleased her to see them happy, and she spent her time making sure they were exactly that. The bath was soon full, the water steaming perfectly. A pinch of rose salts went into the water, lending it the faintest air of the red blossoms before she settled herself. Surrounded by heat and nothing else, she allowed herself to begin relaxing her body.

Reaching out to the sun, she took some small measure of strength from it. Small for it, of course, for her it was much more than small. So much of her energy had been poured into the Elements, preparing them for the Ceremony. Twilight Sparkle's Element, especially, would require even more energy. Sighing, she began the familiar task of bringing the Elements under her will. Loyalty responded first, of course. Behind Magic, it was probably the most attuned to her, and it answered like a faithful friend would. Next she reached for Honesty, who responded in turn. Kindness followed soon after, and the Generosity. Laughter was often among the last, it being flighty and unpredictable in ridiculous amounts. Finally, it too answered her call. With these powers, she shackled Magic. At last, with all the Elements under her control, she began to cipher some of her Solar energy inside of them.

It spread throughout the Elements, linking them together. Celestia extended her will into them. The five minor Elements were easier to bend, that had always been the case. Idly, she extended her will a bit further. She looked through Rainbow Dash's eyes as she placed one arm around the shoulders of Stormchaser. With a slight nudge of will, she prompted Rainbow to lean in slightly. Stormchaser nuzzled her lightly, and Celestia smiled as she felt the bond between the two grow. She looked through Generosity. Rarity and Golden Heart were engaged in...well, she didn't like to pry. Blushing slightly, she let her surveillance drop. The bond between the two was maturing nicely, and she felt certain that they would make wonderful adoptive parents. She had picked their foal for them, though they didn't know it yet.

The water began to cool slightly as Celestia moved through the Elements, noting that none of their husbands were able to make it. Probably for the best, she thought as she had climbed out of the water. She moved to her bed, laying down in the spotless white silk. She felt for Twilight's Element. If she was to truly be prepared, she would need to both increase the power of emission from the Elements themselves, and funnel more energy into Twilight's Element. Opening herself up further to the sun, she rose into the air slightly, marveling in the power it loaned her as she stored it inside the Element of Magic.

She felt herself drifting off to sleep, a combination of the exhaustion her physical body was bearing, and as a result of her conscious mind switching off as she lost herself in magic. Allowing herself to finally drift off, she sent one last message telepathically, receiving an almost instantaneous affirmative response.


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Princess Mi Amore di Cadenza Allegretta left the sleeping arms of her husband, quietly making her way to the balcony of the home they lived in, near the city walls. Not nearly as tall as Celestia's tower, or even Luna's, it still afforded an excellent view of Canterlot. She bowed her head, finding her center, just as she had been taught. Her horn flared, teal playing along its length. She had discovered from early on that she was exceptionally good at manipulating emotions. Love was her specialty, of course, but she could do sadness or even anger in a pinch, and with considerable effort. This was much less stringent. Focusing, she watched as a gleaming aura of light spilled from her horn, turning transparent in the air. Ponies everywhere would soon be feeling a sense of lazy contentment, tempered with considerable affection and happiness.

It wasn't as big as the more...physical spell she would be casting at the end of the Summer Sun Celebration, but she preferred this healthy affection and light love to the heavier lust she could induce. It was definitely more pleasant to observe the effects of this, she thought as she released the spell, which settled over Canterlot. "I hope you appreciate that, Twilight." she thought, returning to her lover. "We're doing this for you, after all".