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// 117 - Technically Magic 
// Story: Fading Suns: A New World 
// by David Silver 
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He watched the engineers fuss over his ship in a flurry of sparks and motion. They were good engineers, as far as he could tell, but they weren't his. Still, it was also being done for free, and that did much to calm a merchant. "What's the ETA on that work? We didn't work so hard to keep a market open just to not be the first ones parked on it."

One of them, the leader of the engineering force, answered as he welded a craggy break closed, "The way you're torn up, you're lucky you got here. But you did, so I'll get you sailing again in a few hours. Give me a few more and I can do a better job."

The two desires to move and to not explode on re-entry warred a moment. "Go ahead. And, thanks. That was a hell of a scrap."

"Made me wish, just for a moment, I was flying instead of holding a blowtorch." Not that the head repair person looked ready to enlist any time soon.





Laud set a hand on the shoulder of the pony in her bed. "You did a fine thing today."

Starlight smiled a little blearily. "And never will I do that again."

"Was it that far beyond you?" He could see she was quite tired and out of it.

"She didn't hurt herself," helpfully added Twilight. "But she... basically pulled a muscle and needs to relax." Her magic glowed, giving Starlight a soft pat pat. "That was very brave of you, and maybe stupid, but they come together, I've learned from experience."

Starlight inclined her head. "Hey, don't you go passing all the glory there." She wobbled a hoof at Twilight and Lyra who was also in the room if a bit further back. "If you two didn't rush in there, hey, didn't Pinkie help too?" But Pinkie wasn't there, off to other, pink, needs. "You all helped finish it, or I would have just ended up with a lot of nothing."

"About that..." Laud turned and leaned his back against a wall. "That ship, while a complete miracle, was barely functional. The longer we were on it, the more obvious that became. I'm not chastising you, a miracle it remained, but it was a deathtrap."

Starlight barked out a little laugh at that. "It brought you up, that was all I promised." A great yawn split her in a grand gesture of a stretching jaw. "But we did it. We won, right?"

"We did." Laud pushed off back to his feet. "Our presence, I've been informed, was the tipping point, not for combat efficiency, but to convince them the battle had been lost." He raised a hand, wobbling it just slightly. "So close was that balance. Either grand ship could have failed at any instant. Our arrival convinced them not to chance it."

Twilight got out a strained noise that could have been a laugh. "Was it really that close?" She put a hoof to her chest. "Celestia did it again."

"Pardon?" Laud raised a brow. "Oh, she did stop us from plummeting to our deaths, so I am thankful for that."

"More than that." Twilight smiled with a relieved expression. "She sent Luna here, where she needed to be. Princess Celestia has a... sense for these things. She may not be the hooves that perform the final push, but her soft touches get the wheels moving just in time. Speaking of that." She started for the door. "I'm going to visit her. Luna, that is."

"She mentioned she was visiting the dream world." Laud moved to walk with her, Lyra bounding after them. "That is her demesne, is it not?" A curious domain to have, but that it was hers was not contested so far.

Lyra sprang right over Twilight, trotting ahead of her with a big smile. "Sure is! You know, Twilight's the one that saved her."

"Pardon?" He had not heard the story of Nightmare Moon, and Lyra was all too happy to regale him with that telling, going over the finding of the Elements of Harmony and their use in reforming Nightmare Moon.

Twilight was blushing softly. "Please don't go over that where Luna can hear you. It usually upsets her a little. It was not a proud moment for her."

That wasn't a problem in that moment. Twilight peeked into her room to find Luna with her eyes closed, seated perfectly still. "Ah, she's on patrol." She turned back to the others. "Curious though. It's day. Most ponies are awake right now. I wonder what dreams she's found."





"Is this the afterlife chosen for me?" asked the cardinal with a wry smirk. "A curious one. Was my soul too dark to rise properly?"

"Even you do not believe that." Luna sat down and brushed her simple robes smooth, appearing as a nun in that dream. "You have more life ahead of you yet."

"And yet, here you are." Luna inclined her head faintly. "That I could be here means that you are resting, that your mind is free enough to house me."

"A curious blessing you speak of." He pushed up to his feet, a staff in his right hand where it hadn't been before. The two were walking down a cobbled path, gentle scents of spring around them. The sun shone from above, the wind just cool enough. "Why are you here? You have won this day and have little else to gain from me."

"In me you see a demon." Luna walked easily beside him, matching his pace. "In you, I see a mystery. One I would know more of."

"And you will interrogate me for it?"

She perked a long ear, slipping free of her human hair. "Not in the way you imagine it. I invite you to educate me."

"The victor seeks to consult with the defeated?" He crossed his arms, the staff forgotten for the time. "Your ways are as alien as your forms."

"We are approaching your people. To know them is to know what we are dealing with. We would rather approach with offered... hands." The term came to her as she let it flow through the dreaming connection. "Which we cannot if our very existence offends. So, teach me. Tell me of your creator. Tell me of their demands."

"And what of yours?" he inquired, doubt heavy on his breath. "Do you even have higher powers you bow your heads towards?"

"Of course," she replied without hesitation. "Harmony itself shines bright over our people. When we walk with it, our way is made clear. I should apologize."

"For?" He put out an arm, pausing Luna in time for a cart to roll past them. "What have you done wrong that you feel the need to apologize for?"

"I had the most... sinful, yes, that's the word. My mind was full of sin." She frowned softly. "I was prepared to visit great violence on you and yours. It was not an act of harmony, but I thought, at the time, it was the best way." She twitched the ear closer to the man. "Just as you were ready to do the same. We were both ready to battle for what we would protect."

"I will not apologize for it." He shook his head faintly as he led her along towards a cliffside. "I acted in good faith, until the very last." He clasped his hands. "But I was wrong."

Luna smiled faintly. "What would you have done differently?" An admission of any amount of guilt was a step in the right direction.

He sank, his legs going over the side, the brilliant sunset ahead of them, across an endless sea. "I underestimated you. It cost my faithful their lives. For that, I feel regret. In the end, it cost Hawkwood too, but I imagine they're dancing and drinking right now, not praying for their souls."

Luna sank down beside him. "Different creatures have different ways of approaching such loss." She inclined her head faintly, one ear raised. "To celebrate the life, rather than to mourn the death, is a common one. Is it that bad an idea?"

"You have much to learn." And they spoke on, his body healing, but his mind ready to engage with the strange would-be demon that would hear the word of the Pancreator.





A soft nudging awoke her. "Hm?" Celestia sat up to see Raven, her most trusted secretary. "Hello." She yawned delicately into a hoof, her magic reaching to begin gathering her raiment to become decent again. "Am I late to a meeting?"

Raven inclined her head gently. "You were recovering from your heroism. Though we are all indebted to it, I am under strict instructions to awaken you at dawn if you are not already awake."

Celestia's eyes snapped wide, suddenly quite awake. Memory of what she had done before surrendering to slumber came to her. "Oh! Yes... Thank you." She rose to her hooves, stretching her wings as she went. "Please, I must know. What did it come down on?"

"Hmm?" Her eyes went to her floating clipboard. "Ah, the debris. Extensive damage was caused on central line 7. No mechanical damage to any trains." A little smile spread on her face. "Not a single creature harmed. I took the liberty of scheduling the repairs." She dipped her head, giving time for Celestia to counteract the order, but none came. "We've received report from Ponyville that a 95% rescue rate was achieved."

"Some of them... were not rescued?" She had seen a second rainbow, she was sure of it...

"From what I gathered." Raven adjusted her glasses, her horn glowing. "The humans are very delicate creatures. When they were hurt, they could not be moved without risking further injury."

Celestia clopped at the ground, her metal shoes clanging softly. "Better more injured than... dead." But it was too late to do anything about it. "The sun must rise," she admitted with a soft sigh, moving for her balcony. "Whoever lives or does not, that much is always true."

She rose into the sky, her horn alight as she beckoned the celestial object to follow in her motions, rising up above the horizon and welcoming the new day. "Raven, please, arrange something. Put out feelers with them, see what sort of ceremony they would appreciate, to commemorate... to mourn the passing of their fellow humans."

"I have an expert in the field," calmly reported Raven, having predicted Celestia's wishes long before they were spoken. It was one reason among many Celestia treasured them.





Pinkie was reared up, her hooves on the arm of the chair Gregor sat in. "So, I want to plan a party."

"A festival?" laughed Gregor. "To celebrate the safety of your world?"

"Not that kinda party, though that would be a great party, don't gemme wrong!" She shook her head strongly. "This is one of those serious parties, you know? Less streamers." She brought her hooves closer together.

Gregor swiveled the chair, almost knocking Pinkie over in the motion. "What is the event you are attempting to address? That would help me quite a bit, my dear. Different holidays and life events call for very different means of marking the moment."

Her face split into a huge grin. "Somehow, I knew you'd understand the ways of the party." She clopped her hooves together as she bounced backwards and fell to all fours. "So, um, yeah, life event, that's a good term. How about a... end of life event?" She wobbled a hoof in the air. "Some brave creatures. What would be the best way to... you know... do that? My speciality usually calls for cake and a lot more streamers."

"I... could imagine this being far outside your usual realm of expertise, my child."

"I'm the kid of a human?!" she burst. "Cool."

"Not exactly." Though he did reach to pat her. It was good that ponies, overall, seemed alright with a gentle petting. "Tell me of what manner of people passed, and in what way, and we will plan it properly."

Pinkie was entirely invested. Sure, it wasn't the usual kind of party she did, but it still was one, and she'd get it right!