Everfree Forest
Ruins of Castle of Two Sisters
Honestly it felt like cobwebs were taking up space in her head and just smothering her brain. She couldn’t really describe it any other way; cobwebs were in her head and cotton was clogging her throat. Guess it was to be expected, after all, she had been sealed away for over a few thousand years now. Still, now she was awake, free to once again be part of the waking world. Taking a breath, she moved, and as she moved the brickwork that made up her seal started to bend and whisper amongst themselves - as if sensing that she had been awakened from that long slumber of hers. “Oh~” The entity hummed to herself, stepping forward as she broke the chains that bound her. The act was so casual - so natural - it was like she had stepped on blades of grass. “That is so~ much better.” She smiled. Looking ahead to see her counterparts just waiting for her. One kneeling as the other seemed to stare and whistle. “A pleasure to finally meet you both.”
“The pleasure is all ours.” The stallion stated as she looked at him.
“I’ll say.” The mare stated before looking at her employer. “You didn’t tell me she was freaking hot.” She chuckled. “Seriously, I’d come out of the closet for this bombshell.”
“I thank you.” The sealed one stated as she continued to smile before looking skyward, or at least attempting to as she stared at the stone roof that was above her. “Hm~” She returned her attention to the two before. “Bit cramped down here don’t you think?”
“A bit.”
“What do you say we step out for a bit.” The sealed one asked as she walked forward, stepping by the two as she left them to follow after her. “Tell me, how exactly did you succeed in releasing me?”
“We had some help.” The stallion admits as he shows her the hollowed out amulet and a see-through crystal.
“Oh, the Alicorn Amulet.” The sealed one thought as she levitated the amulet into her grasp. “I have not seen this in so long… but the condensed mana within it is no more.” She whispers. “You must have used all of it to free me.”
“I’m afraid so.” The stallion admits. “But it served its purpose nonetheless.”
“As did the mana I took from Luna.” The mare stated as she tossed the see-through crystal into the air for a moment as her counterpart just made a noise.
“Luna… I see.” She fell silent for a moment as she stared skyward as they left the prison and found the moon peeking through a window. “That name… that is a name I hadn’t heard in a long time.” She states. “I wonder how much she’s grown from the filly engraved in my memories.”
“She’s become a looker.” The mare stated. “Gotta say she rocks the whole starlight mane thing.” She snickered as she gestured to her hair. “Sexy.”
“Is that so?” The sealed one chuckled before seeming to think. “I feel…” She paused. “Weak.” She admitted. “Celestia’s seal certainly did it’s job, most of my strength is gone.”
“You’ll need to recover what you lost.” She just releases a chuckle as she hears the stallion's words.
“And I shall.” The figure mutters as she spreads her wings and hums. “Words cannot express my gratitude for freeing me, but I must go, I need to regain what I lost during my slumber.”
“Oh course, that is what we are here for.” The stallion admits with a bow as he walks up and kneels before her. “I offer my services to you; Equestria’s Allmother.”
“I see.” The Allmother mutters as she looks at the mare. “And you as well; do you serve me?”
“I go where the money goes.” The mare admits and gestures to her current contractor. “And he’s paying good coin to keep me around.”
“I see, a mercenary then.” Her counterpart admits as she smiles. “Through him, you shall serve me, and my cause.” She says with that same honey-like tone.
“Then what do you need me to do first?”
“As of now… nothing.” The Allmother admits. “But I do need to do some~” She paused. “Stretches. You don’t mind, do you? I haven’t been moving in one thousand years it seems.” The stallion bowed.
“Please do whatever you desire.”
Canterlot Castle
Celestia woke up with a start, the nightmare getting the best of her tonight. The sound that left her traveled at a volume that surpassed the Royal Canterlot Voice, shaking everything her chambers currently held. Bed, desk, mementos from this century shook from the force of the noise that left her, and continued for the next three minutes before finally coming to a stop. Gasping for breath Celestia pulled her blanket over her as she tried to calm the heart that threatened to jump out of her chest. It wasn't a nightmare, it wasn't a vision either that came to her tonight, it was a memory. One of her greatest mistakes was deciding to resurface and remind her of what she’d done. Not that it needed to, she couldn't ever forget her mistakes, they were always there, lingering in the back of her mind like some parasite and whispering in her ears like the voice of conspirators. "I need something to drink..." Trying to push the thoughts away Celestia pulled herself from her bed as she stepped to the floor, immediately she was met with what could best be described as a ripple running through it.
A precautionary spell; one of several she always set up before she went to bed. Any sound that originated from her chambers was silenced to the outside world. Otherwise every guard in the palace - perhaps Canterlot altogether - would have heard her screaming and broke her double doors down. Each of her steps was rewarded with another ripple as she deactivated the spells and glanced around, seeing which of her things had been broken before heading out. A few vases, the glass on a picture, small things that she could fix later once she had completely calmed her nerves.
Walking down the castle halls she felt the silence that her world presented and found the displeasure of her hooves echoing into the halls. Her sister's moon was hanging overhead, shining with a magic many wouldn't notice and yet one she couldn't replicate no matter how many centuries she had spent taking over her sister's position. A small, tired smile crossed her lips at that thought. No matter what many believed; that she was the better and more talented sister, there were actually a number of things dear Luna could do that she'd couldn't begin to master.
Turning her attention elsewhere she returned her gaze to the empty halls as her smile faded. It was just so… barren. The halls usually filled with guards and staff were etched in silence, not all of them mind you but nearly every hall she crossed into the night patrols had finished going through, leaving her alone. She didn't like it, she didn't like the silence that told her no pony was around to catch her attention. Not to sound spoiled, but she needed the attention right now, because right now without the distraction, however small it was, she found herself thinking. Thoughts that she kept pushed back in the presence of others were crawling forward and surfaced before her. Whispering into her head like something was trying to corrupt her mind. Only these thoughts were her own and not anypony else's.
Unable to distract herself she started letting them play out, thoughts and memories of ten centuries past returning again. She remembered the days she and her sister had started drifting apart, her own flesh and blood - the one who she loved more than herself being lost in the long shadow she had unknowingly created. She could remember the pride she felt when ponies long past called her perfection, and turned her into an idol that many adored and many more wanted to be with. She remembered the parties, celebrations and events that she was invited to and how her sister struggled to gain recognition for her craft. Lowering her head Celestia found those thoughts warping into an image she longed to forget but never would, as rainbow colored light took her over and she lost her best friend.
Generations after generations viewed her as perfect, a benevolent goddess that could never do wrong. But she wasn't a goddess - not in the literal sense anyway. She lived longer than they did but she was still mortal. If she lost her balance she tripped, if she scraped her knee it hurt. She could cry from a broken heart and lose her way. She could make mistakes, and by Faust she had made mistakes. Mistakes that were lost to the abyss of time in everyponies eyes except her own. Her sister’s falland banishment was her greatest mistake but it wasn't her only one. Pausing mid-step Celestia found herself walking by the throne room as she stared at it. Focusing her magic just enough to see through the large double doors she found her bandaged sister herself seated in her own throne.
A throne that was - regrettably - a bit smaller than her own.
She wanted it exchanged, but Luna didn't care. She was home, and they had been reunited, that was all that mattered to her. Looking at her younger sister Celestia found her in a serene state, her eyes closed and her horn radiating the faintest pulses of mystic light that was near identical to what radiated off the moon itself, all despite her obvious injuries. Her sister was dream-walking, her consciousness floating through a world Celestia could never enter and looking out for any nightmares that bothered her subjects. Walking past the closed doors, Celestia returned to the silence so as to not interrupt her sister's concentration. Luna had been unaware of her own, but that was her doing.
One of the spells that Celestia had put in her chambers was meant to keep any outer forces from entering her thoughts. A wonderful spell to counter mind control and it seemed to also help keep her sister unaware of what was going on with her at night… Well it was that or one of the five other precautionary spells she had put up as mental barricades. There were things in her head that she didn't want her sister to know about, let alone remember. One such thing was tonight's thousand year phantom.
Shaking her head Celestia quickened her pace to the kitchen before pausing. '...idiot.' Closing her eyes she felt a sense of weightlessness as she felt the world become enveloped in light before returning. So far in her thoughts, the princess forgot she could just teleport to save time. Opening one of the cabinets she pulled out a glass cup before reaching into the fridge, pulling out an extravagant pitcher of ice cold water and giving it a dead stare. "This is a waste of taxpayers money..." Putting the container back she turned her attention to the liquid in her cup and proceeded to drink. She hadn't realized how parched she was until the liquid met her throat and emptied the cup in record time. Not to leave the staff with anything extra for tomorrow she washed the item, taking slight comfort in the act as she felt the sink water and soap coat her hoove. “It's been a long time since we've washed anything by hoof, hasn’t it?” She asked nopony in particular as she set the cup aside and proceeded to dry her hooves. "When was the last time we've actually done dishes?"
'When the Castle of Two Sisters still stood.' An old memory called out to her as Celestia met it with mixed responses. Both happiness and sadness ran through her as she remembered their old home. She remembered the two - looking much like they did now - leaned over the sink as they alternated between washing and drying the dishes. Manes pulled back as they talked about whatever they felt like while the cleaning staff had yet another miniature panic. 'Princesses shouldn't touch dirty dishes, they said.' The memory faded, replaced with a wall being destroyed by corrupted magic as Celestia froze. A moment later she moved again, tossing her paper towel into the trash and fired up her magic. 'No...' The magic dying down Celestia took a breath as she decided to walk. Rather she needed to walk - she needed to fly.
Stepping into the halls once more the princess spread her wings and took off. While she may have been the tallest pony ever recorded, half expected in her long life, Canterlot Castle was still naturally much larger than she was, and offered her plenty of room to fly around in. Half flying - half gliding over the empty halls Celestia maneuvered just enough to not bump into anything as she turned. Crossing halls far faster than she could do by walking she glided over the tile and past an assortment of windows. Crossing into a better lit portion of her caste she tilted her wings slightly as she went higher and did a mid-air flip, fingers gliding across the ceiling as she did before continuing on her normal path.
This portion of the castle didn't really have a name, but she thought of it as her 'Hall of Memories'. Stained Glass covered every window, each one depicting an event that had happened in her lifetime. The coronation of the two sisters, the original reign they shared. Sombra's evil and the loss of the Crystal Empire. Tirek's imprisonment and so on. There was even an old if embarrassing moment preserved of her yelling at a great dragon holding a crystal heart. Since that day she had attempted to keep her temper in check, but that dragon had just been so incredibly rude! There were even some she couldn't accurately remember, because she only knew the smallest details about them to begin with. One such depicted Starswirl the Bearded and three half-pony half-fish creatures called the sirens being sent into a void of sorts. Passing the memories Celestia couldn't help smiling as she saw the ones that brightened her day before flying towards a window. She didn't greet the memory preserved before her, instead simply flying through it as she used a quick spell to make her intangible. The cold air hitting her Celestia sighed in relief as she flew over Canterlot, her shadow unnoticed by all as she flew over the streets and atop houses.
"I needed this." The alicorn thought aloud as she dived off the edge of Canterlot and descended down the mountainside. Flying always made her feel better no matter how dark her thoughts became as she confronted her mistakes. It was one of the only ways she kept her sanity after her sister had been imprisoned. Otherwise she wouldn't have made it past her first half century alone. Letting a murky memory cross her Celestia spread her wings as she took flight again and let the memory play out. A battle, not the greatest of battles, came to her as she remembered the queen of the Changelings. When they had lost Troy, she reacted quicker than any would have expected. Practically bolting out her castle as she assaulted Chrysalis faster than the Changeling horde could realize what was happening and sealed her pseudo-alicorn kin into a volcano. That was some five-six centuries ago, and Chrysalis had returned the favor on her niece's wedding day. Hindsight she may have deserved it, and getting hung upside down like some trophy. After all, imprisonment in a volcano and reducing her to that 'hole-y' state deserved some form of retribution. Or revenge. Even after all this time sometimes it was hard to tell which side of revenge and retribution somepony was on.
"I wonder if there's any way of making amends..." Celestia thought as she closed her eyes and turned, forming an upward spiral as she found herself bathed in her sister's light. Making amends with the changelings… was it possible? Old as their species was, with what records that they had managed to create, they were still a very alien species. Their origins were unknown to even her and driven by something she wasn't certain on. Was it possible to reach out to them and apologize for the bad blood they had created? 'Equestria is a place of second chances so...maybe.' That was still a big maybe, and added with the fact they would need to meet caused another problem; she had no idea where they were. You can't propose a meeting with somepony when you can't find them.
Twisting into a barrel roll Celestia found a distant cloud and messed with it as she flew by. Decades of skill enabled her to quickly rearrange it to appear as the face of a unicorn as she did and flew around to admire her work and with it another memory chose to surface.
An old… student, one of the best she had ever taken under her wing. Much like her recent student she was intelligent, brave, and remarkably talented, perhaps even more so than her successor. Social whereas the other needed a nudge to start accepting others. A student that had fallen, her talents warping her into a shadow of her former self filled with pride and a thirst for power. Her ability to socialize being turned into a weapon she used against others and magical skill that was used to intimidate. Something she should have noticed early on with how close they once were. She should have tempered her more, humbled her so neither would have gone down the path they had created. No word or whisper of her last student had reached her ears in these past couple years and part of her feared the worst; that she had passed away. If that was the case then she would never be able to say she was sorry, she would never get to say how much she missed her.
Looking at the image of her old student Celestia felt her heart ache as she made the image disappear with a single beat of her wings. Her mistake was letting her go, letting her fall and being left alone after the death of her own sister.
Sighing Celestia thought of the positive. If she was not dead, then perhaps she simply didn’t wish to return. Perhaps she had found something that caused her to stay in that world. Acceptance, love, it could have been anything really. 'Still I wonder what she looks like now…’ An off thought crossed her as Celestia messed with her hooves for a moment. While she had never been to whichever dimension her little Sunset had gone to, her youth with Starswirl had sent her to a few which had some... interesting effects on her anatomy. Like having claws, or her teeth growing into fangs - why one time he even became a rather attractive stallion. 'I don’t think I ever ran from mares that often in my life...' Celestia thought as she closed her eyes. A sigh left her as she turned a bit and flew higher. Regardless of those memories, her thoughts returned to setting sun that was a world away, literally and she might never see her again. 'If Sunset even wants to see me again...'
Celestia pushed the thought aside as she poked a hole through the clouds and flew toward her sister's moon. Flying higher than any natural pegasus dared, she watched the clear sky grow darker as the stars began to shine with greater Radiance. Sunset wasn't the only one worlds away, there was also him, her lover bearing the face of her enemy; King Sombra.
Stopping her climb the princess she broke into a freefall. She remembered in an older era when they first met, she was young and traveling realities with Starswirl. She'd been in love, sneaking to his reality to be with him. She remembered having to leave their affair a secret, returning to her realm and silently dreading to see him again when the portal was ready. As an alicorn she had a lifespan much longer than any regular equine, and her connection to the sun would extend her life even more so. As such every time she returned to him she dreaded he had passed during her absence, and every time he didn't. He stayed no matter how long the clock kept ticking. No matter how many moons passed for him. Very few were like him, the magic inside him strong enough to extend his natural life span past regular limits. Celestia took another breath as she looked at a cloud before leveling out and flying straight. He was one of the best things that happened to her and also one of the worst.
Because she met him they had lost the Crystal Empire. She remembered their battle with the other Sombra - their Sombra. Ready to end the tyrant's reign, her will tempered like iron and her heart turned to stone. She remembered staring at his weakened form and charging her spell. The psychological trigger ready to be pulled and… she froze. She hesitated. They had the same face, they had the same voice, she just couldn't do it and he took advantage of it. That was how they lost the Crystal Empire and to this day she never told anypony, not even her sister.
Thinking of her sister, Celestia’s thoughts suddenly shifted to her “twin”. Not the Nightmare, but another her, another ‘Celestia’, one she had met on more than one occasion after ‘The Crossing’ . Her twin; the one that showed such a hideous side of herself that would do seemingly anything to win. "And she's still there, isn't she?” Celestia whispered as she turned, realizing she was flying over Ponyville and headed toward the Everfree Forest. That side of her, that witch wasn’t just over there - across the veil, she was also inside her. That had to be the one good thing about meeting her alternate reality counterpart; it showed her what she could be, and what parts of her were kept buried so far inside her own heart she wasn't aware of them, and that meant somewhere in this incarnation of her that witch was still alive- likely nurturing on the pain and sorrow that she repressed so far down that no pony could see - and yet that was something she could live with.
Passing over the ruins of her old castle Celestia took to flying through the wreckage as she looked it over. "Every time I've made a mistake...somepony else has paid the price for it." Her pride and ignorance had blinded her and sent sister into Nightmare Moon's clutches. Because she froze up, the Tyrant Sombra banished the entire Crystal Empire. Her ignorance had led Sunset into whatever she'd been beyond the mirror.
She left the ruins as she kept on flying.
Letting more of her mistakes return to her. If she had tried listing every mistake she had created she would probably need half the stars in her sister's sky. "Hm, a star for each of my mistakes...that sounds rather poetic." Celestia whispered as she paused for a moment, one of her senses going off without her command. It was an odd one, like something was tugging at her hair. Each tug acted to bring some form of “mental static” with it that lasted for but a moment before disappearing. Fighting it, fighting it was strange, acting like a game of tug-o-war. And each time she fought it… something crept into her mind. An anger not her own - an energy foreign to her. “What in E-”
“Oh~ that is so *much* better.”
It felt like someone ripped her face off. Celestia could do nothing but scream, her voice carrying over the Everfree forest and waking the residents of the nearby town of Ponyville within seconds. Dropping out the sky Celestia clutched her head in pain, sanguine creeping out the grooves of her horn as she screamed, crashing through the few clouds that remained in the night sky and through the trees of the Everfree. They smashed into her, broke under her weight, cut into her fur, stopping only when she crashed into the Everfree soil.
She screamed for maybe minutes - maybe hours, clutching her skull as pain wrecked through her body. Vapors of mana poured out her horn as she tossed and turned. When she stopped she wasn’t sure, when she did though her coat was matted with mud and grime and stained by her own blood. ‘W… what is happening?’ She was hurt from her injuries, but beyond that she felt weak. Still she rose to her feet, staggering - struggling as she looked around trying to make sense of what was happening. Something was taking her power. Her mana - the vast reserves she carried after all these centuries - was leaving her. Head felt like someone was stabbing knives into it. And her ears were filled with the sound of growling.
When her vision returned however she found the reasons for that last part. Glowing yellow eyes and wooden structures. Timberwolves, she must have fallen into their den. She struggled to focus, try and prepare herself but failed. When they moved they attacked with a heightened sense of coordination that she wasn’t accustomed to. Even if she wasn’t dazed, even if she wasn’t losing her magic their level of coordination was frightening to say the least. She knew they acted as a pack, she knew they were aggressive, but this - this was different, it was as if they shared a single mind, a single entity, one that wanted her dead.
Regaining strength in her wings she took flight, soaring out of the den as she punched through the trees and cut herself up a bit more. What she saw when she returned to the air, though, horrified her. “What in Equestria?” She could hear the ponies of Ponyville screaming, as the ground beneath their town shook. It wasn’t just Ponyville though, it was the entire plains, the Everfree, the mountains. All of them trembled under some unknown force as a storm greater than what her sister had brought gathered in the skies, lightning crackling and setting the plains and buildings on fire while the winds threatened to strip the feathers from her wings. “What in Equestria is going on?”