//------------------------------// // 5 // Story: Fallen Queendom // by Zeroraid //------------------------------// Haven Princess Celestia sighed to herself as she listened to her gathered council. Each one giving their field reports on the condition of the other towns and cities, or rather what remained of them anyway. Fourteen days; two entire weeks. That was how long the freak weather phenomenon continued and in it’s time Equestria all but ripped itself apart. Fissures opened up and closed back together, Trees sprang up with unnatural speeds, wrapping around one another in thick and winding branches. New mountains were born and others were all but pulverized into dust. Towns were either splintered or lost as a whole. In the span of two weeks Equestria had become almost unrecognizable from the way it had once been, but Equestria was still Equestria. It was the home to the pony tribes, it was a land they had worked for centuries to build up, and would for more centuries to pass. Regardless; the land they once called their own, the land they had become the masters of - had changed almost beyond recognition. No longer could they call Equestria a shining nation. How could they when half the nation was either cloaked in woods or halfway ground into dust? Ponies were wondering what this meant, questioning what the destruction of their nation meant for Equestria as a whole. Was this the end of Equestria? Could they rebuild from this kind of devastation? What was the cause of all this? For all three questions, Celestia couldn’t find an answer. She wasn’t sure what this meant, or what had caused this destruction. But she knew one thing, her ponies would make it through this, they would try to rebuild, though she wasn’t sure how long it would take. Realizing her thoughts were taking her attention away from her council she focused herself, looking at the gathered as they spoke for a few more minutes. Hearing enough she dismissed them, letting them take a much needed rest from their individual journeys. In the meantime, she decided to take a walk, looking around what had all but become her place of residence since the end of the freak weather. It wasn’t much, just a makeshift village of grass and moss hidden in the now winding trees that had taken hold of Ponyville. It wasn’t Ponyville itself, no; Ponyville had all but been overrun by the trees and vines and broken by the quakes. It was not safe for anypony to return to the city; not yet anyway. As for Canterlot; the capital? It still stood, if barely. A parade of lightning had all but atomized the great city, reducing two-thirds of it to rubble and the last of it to ruins. Worse still, the two week long bombardment had drastically destabilized the hanging capital. One wrong move felt like it would send it tumbling off the mountainside and crashing into the plains below. Evacuation had been all but mandatory after they had found out. Naturally, the nobles hadn’t been happy but they followed the command that went out. She was surprised that Canterlot’s entire civilization hadn’t split after that; half coming to this new haven, the other remaining in the mountain with all the crystal in the catacombs. Guess they hadn’t gone that deep into the mines and discovered the bounty of gems within them. As for Luna? Stepping into what was essentially an oversized hut Celestia turned her gaze toward her younger sister. The mare was resting on a cot of sorts, new bandages wrapping around her body as she stared off into the distance for a moment, seemingly lost in thought before frowning to herself. Moving Luna to their temporary haven, that had been a bit of an ordeal. Most of her magic had been expended and her old injuries had opened up - though part of her couldn't help but believe that some of these wounds were fresh from the storm. “Luna I’m back.” Hearing her elder sister Luna perked up as she lost her frown and smiled. “Ah sister! Is the council meeting over already?” “Yes, we’re done for the day.” “Ah good.” Luna said simply “How are you feeling? Better I hope.” “Much dear sister. Some actual rest does wonders.” The mare stated as Celestia sighed in relief. “That’s good to hear.” “But…” Luna paused for a moment as she looked at her bandaged hooves and her frown returned. “Something… something has changed dear sister, I am certain you have felt it as well.” Celestia didn’t say anything, simply waiting for her sister to continue as she nodded her head. “Whatever happened all those days ago has left us weak… I can feel only a fraction of the magic I once possessed.” “You are not the only one Luna.” Celestia muttered as she reached for her magic. “Most of our magic feels as though it was ripped from us.” “Do you believe it is his doing?” Celestia shook her head as she thought to the mad centaur. “No it can’t be him; he is still sealed within Tartarus, remember?” “Yes… yes you're right.” Luna muttered to herself as she slowly nodded her head. “He is gone, locked behind a cage of obsidian and watched by Cerberus.” “Tirek.” The pale alicorn whispered the name before shaking her head. He was gone, never to hurt her ponies again, he wouldn’t cause them any trouble and he certainly wouldn’t have been able to cause what had happened all those days ago. “There’s more dear sister.” Luna spoke up as she chased away her sisters’ thoughts about the centaur locked away. “I - I am not healing sister.” Luna whispered to her sister’s shock. “No it is not that I am not healing; rather I am not healing as fast as usual.” Correcting herself the dark alicorn looked at her hooves again before frowning. “Injuries we both have sustained in the past fully healed within hours to mere days.But these wounds I carry…” “It might be a side effect from our lost magic.” Celestia muttered. ”Our magic was so vast it permeated our bodies; speeding up our natural ability to heal. With most of it gone, so must it’s benefits.” “Ah yes… that makes sense.” Luna muttered. “But who could be strong enough to rip our magic from us and be so far away?” “I don’t know Luna, but if such a pony is out there, we have to be careful. We don’t know what else they might be capable of now that they have the power of two alicorn mares.” Luna made a noise as she nodded her head. “But somepony like that; I doubt we can combat somepony with that kind of power in their hooves.” Luna admitted before crossing her hooves. “Still we have to do it; our ponies' safety depends on it. The question is how?” Both sisters fell silent, something they seemed to settle into for a while as they searched for their answers. Twilight and her friends? No, she doubted they would be able to help them in this endeavor. With the Elements of Harmony or not, there was no telling if they would be able to face such an enemy that could warp the world to such an extent. Not only that Twilight and her friends were not battle ready. Yes they had the potential to fight - all their ponies did - but Celestia would rather not risk the lives of her subjects. They were still… children in a way. Then again to her; they really were just children. Celestia shook her head as she pushed the thought away. Trying to focus on something else, another way to solve their problems and make it through their ordeals. ‘I wish Starswirl was here. He’d have some ideas.’ She wasn’t that lucky though was she? Starswirl was gone, all she had to remember him were his notes and everything else he had left behind. His spells, the mirror, and many things she would rather not touch upon. ‘Still, I wonder if that mirror is still safe.’ Celestia thought as she drifted off. The mirrors to other worlds - to other realities. Starswirl hadn’t just made one, he’d revealed to her long ago that he had to create a number of prototypes before he found one safe enough to operate. The most finalized one; that should still be in the archive; the one that her last student had walked into. Another thought came to Celestia as she frowned for a moment. Despite their many adventures across the veil of reality, she never did come to understand Starswirl’s apparent fixation with the other dimensions. After her old master had introduced her to the art she found his interest in them nearly bordered on obsession. The spells he created; the kind that connected two separate realities, the kind that could only be cast across their dimensional borders. Why did he make so many spells pertaining to it when they had been the only two that would travel through them? ‘Perhaps we weren’t the only one’s he meant to have crossed the boundary?’ If so then what was his real reason for sealing most of the portals? Was it just because Celestia had stepped through the portal one too many times? Or was there some other reason? ‘Perhaps he realized it was an endeavor that wouldn’t benefit us in the long run.’ The mare rationalized before thinking further on the subject. Her thoughts trailing off to the spells he had built for such an endeavor. Listing off his successes and theories by heart, before stopping at one in particular. “I wonder…” “Hm what was that sister?” “Oh nothing… I was just thinking back to a spell Starswirl made.” The elder alicorn muttered as she returned her attention to Luna. “It’s a summoning spell he developed after a while.” “Summoning? You mean to bring forth a familiar and bind it to your will?” Luna tilted her head and drifted off for a moment. “I remember those brand of spells were common during a young Equestria. I hadn’t been aware he had been working on a new variation.” “Yes well, Starswirl had been dabbling in quite a few subjects when he was still with us. This spell in particular wasn’t meant to summon stronger familiars, but rather summon another being from across the dimensions.” “… what?” “Right, you weren’t aware back then; Starswirl had been diving into rather interesting possibilities with magic; crossing the unseen veil of reality was one of them. I've seen his work on the subject and I admit it’s rather impressive.” Celestia admitted. “He found a way… to cross the veil?” “Yes and the spell I’m thinking about. It was one of Starswirl’s more adventurous spells though it still held many roots in Summoning Familiar magic; only it involved not summoning familiars or imps but actual ponies from beyond. Though I admit he never perfected it. He designed it so instead of going across the veil to find and speak with an individual, it was supposed to bring them to us.” “Why would he design such a spell?” Luna questioned. “Bringing a familiar into our plane of existence is difficult enough for all but the strongest of unicorn wizards - not to mention potentially dangerous if the binding isn’t done properly, to bring another more alien existence to our own reality… that sounds incredibly dangerous.” “I believe he began development of the spell before he found out the dangers.” Celestia admitted before frowning. “Regardless he never perfected it, and personally I’m not certain why I’m thinking about it.” “Perhaps you believe the summoning can help us. Bring in an outside force to face the trials that need to be faced. Fight the enemy that needs to be defeated.” “Maybe, but as I said he never perfected it, it can’t be used.” “So you believe.” Luna muttered as she started to think. “It may have become one of his more private projects, the kind that he completed before leaving us.” “It wouldn’t be the first time.” Celestia admitted as she released an uncharacteristic shrug. “If that is the case, shall we risk it? Or at least try using it?” Luna stated simply as she looked at her sister. “If we can scrounge up the mana necessary, if we can perfect the spell, perhaps we can bring outside help to our side.” “I’m not certain that’s a safe idea.” Celestia muttered as she started thinking back to one of her last conversations with Starswirl, she remembered him sealing up the portal, him mentioning the dangers of continuous travel connecting two worlds. How the longer they stayed in one world that wasn’t their own the deeper they began to connect together. Starswirll called it the Paradox Factor, something that kicked in because only one of everything was meant to exist in their respective dimensions. When two were brought together things tended to get… odd. Sometimes; Discord-like odd. “Sister, what is it you aren’t telling me?” Luna asked with a bit of skepticism that caused her sister to sigh in defeat, but she answered anyway. Told her sister about her and Starswirl’s adventures across reality. Told her about the Paradox Factor, told her about him. When she got to her old love she saw realization cross her sister’s face - like she just solved some ancient puzzle. In a way she did; she finally understood the loss of the Crystal Empire. She understood why she hesitated that day. Still pausing as she did; Celestia waited for something, anything from her sister as she spoke her truth. The same rage and anger that Starswirl had displayed, some form of indifference or taunting. What she received was a look of pity, and a hug from the bed-bound mare. “You poor thing, sister. I am so sorry.” “You aren’t mad?” “Mad no, but I do understand now. I understand your desire to be loved as a mare and not as an icon, I understand your heart yearned for Sombra and likely still does. Had I met a stallion that loved me the way he loved you I would have done the same as you had.” Luna whispered as she pulled back for a moment. “But I also understand Starswirl’s reason, the potential of endangering two kingdoms instead of just one...and why he could not allow you to stay with your love.” She paused for a moment. “But at the same time I believe he could have found another way.” She stated, much to her sister’s confusion. “Starswirl was a genius caster sister, he created a way to visit foreign worlds just as you said. So surely he could have found a way to deal with the “Paradox Factor” you speak of. He could have found a way for you to be happy and protect the two worlds instead of keeping them apart.” The night princess stayed silent for a moment before frowning. “I believe we should use the spell.” “Luna.” “We will deal with this Paradox Factor as it comes, we will take responsibility for whatever happens to our world… we will not run from it.” Luna declared as she took a breath. “Besides… with our loss of power, I believe we will need the extra help.” “You have a point, but Twilight and her friends -” “Are not ready to face a being that can cause such wanton destruction. Whomever we are dealing with, they are outside the girl’s jurisdiction. We need a real warrior to help us.” She crossed her hooves again. “I would recommend the guard but~” “Yes they are still shadows of the warriors we once had.” Celestia muttered before sighing. “We need someone that would be ready to fight whatever is coming.” The pale alicorn stayed silent for a moment before shaking her head. “We’re really going to do this aren’t we?” “It appears so sister.” “I’ll go through Starswirl’s notes, and start preparing the spell.” Celesta sighed. “You should continue to rest until your injuries fully heal.” “Yes yes we know sister, now off with you.” The Night Princess commanded as she waved her hoof. “Speak with your student, she is likely worried about you.” “You don’t want me to stay a bit longer?” “We believe some more rest will do us good.” Luna stated as she stretched slightly. “We will join you after a quick nap.” “Alright.” Celestia stated as she stood again, this time planting a kiss on her younger sister’s cheek before she started off. “Have a good rest Luna, I’ll see you later.” Luna just waved her elder sister off, waiting for her elder sister to wander off before sighing to herself. “Well isn’t this curious?” Nightmare Moon made her appearance as she sat at the edge of the bed, a light in her eyes that Luna wasn’t all that sure she was comfortable with. “A warrior from another world. That’s not something we get everyday.” “Yes well; I believe this will require such a being.” “I as well.” Nightmare Moon made a show of looking at her hooves before frowning. “Still, are we certain this is a good idea?” “We never said that.” Luna sighed as she leaned back in the bed. “If this Paradox Factor does start to surface I have no idea how to deal with it as of yet.” “Ah we are “grasping at straws” are we?” “I believe so.” Luna muttered as she frowned for a moment. “But to do something like this, we will need quite a bit of magic, possibly more than me and my sister can offer at the moment.” “Then do not do this alone.” Her darkness shrugged. “There are no longer two alicorns, are there? There are three and then we have the Element Bearers. Perhaps together enough power will be needed to pull a champion from across the veil.” “You are not offering your power for this ordeal?” “At the moment… no. Drawing upon my power for this ordeal would reveal me to our sister. I’d rather stay hidden from her eyes for now.” “Really, then what makes you believe I will not simply reveal you to our sister myself?” “Because you haven’t - or rather you can’t. You have kept my existence a secret from Celestia because you don’t want her to look at you differently. You don’t want her to question if “Luna” is still in control or if “Nightmare Moon” is returning. You don’t want to lose her faith and trust again.” Nightmare Moon smiled. “You can’t tell her without putting your sister at a tail’s length and you know this.” Luna didn’t say anything as she leered at her dark half, though Nightmare Moon ignored it. “Regardless, be ready. You will need all the strength you have in order to use this upcoming spell. Be ready, little moon.”