The universe is uncaring by its nature.
But it will respond.
He adjusted his bushy beard and uttered in the most obnoxious, matter-of-fact tone, "Luna is insignificant."
Celestia's stare turned so sharp that she could pierce him through. A lesser pony would fear her ire, but not this one, their mentor.
In other words, old stubborn fool.
"How curious," she replied vehemently. "What madness drove you to say it to my face, Starswirl?"
"Not madness." He regarded her with a stern look, and locked hooves above the mahogany table. "Rationality. Forwardness. Respect."
She could swear his lips curled in disdain at the last word. By design, their relationship was that of a teacher and student in the arts of magic, but that was in the past. Now, they were supposed to be equals.
In reality, things were more complicated, just like they usually are.
"So this is how rational thoughts look like?" Celestia mocked. "You, coming to me, pestering me about growing discontent and disharmony? You and your little prophecies, little pony... At least this time you laid the truth bare, right?"
"Surely you do understand that I am finding that you do not recognize when others try to be subtle and patient with you, Celestia." Starswirl frowned, so easily annoyed.
"Where all this even coming from? You aren't a pony who is renowned for his tact."
"I did not want this confrontation."
"So you were afraid?" she asked with a cocksure smirk.
He did not took the bait. Undoubtedly, he was aware that she could destroy him in an instant.
Stubborn fool sighed, stroking his beard. His deep-set eyes, framed by a network of wrinkles, scanned Celestia with an obvious dissatisfaction. "As a Pillar of Sorcery and a member of the Cosmic Council, I have a duty to uphold, same as you, I am sure it rings a bell. I was trying to address the topic of discussion with necessary finesse, but time is running short. The day of your fated confrontation with Princess Luna is fast approaching, and I'm done dealing with you."
"Isn't it enough that your warnings estranged us already?" scowled Celestia, and slammed her forelegs on the table, pulled herself above the pony. "She won't do this. I won't do what you wish of me. You lie. Return to your masters and tell them—they are wrong!"
"You stubborn fool!" He rose as well, his horn flaring.
Despite the situation, she couldn't help but nervously titter. It seemed they were not that different...
She had to drop that line of thought immediately, but it helped to rein in her emotions. "I will not kill Luna," she said adamantly, lifting her head and searing him with a glare.
"Only one alicorn will remain. That is the truth," he scowled.
"We will see."
"If not she, then you will die, Celestia," grumbled Starswirl. "It is that serious, don't you understand?"
"Not another step."
Here she is, in the throne room. Celestia stopped in her tracks, panting after the recent battle. Her mind was riled with conflict.
She did not wish to provoke her sister further. Instead, the alabaster alicorn furled her wings, trying to look composed.
What should she do? Celestia searched for answers, deep in thought. How did she let it happen? Why did all that she had done only served to fuel the ambitions and fears of her little sister? No explanations could help now, for night ponies were trampling down the streets of the small settlement of Everfree, and Lunar Princess stepped in herself, prepared for the final confrontation.
What words and actions would be enough to stop such tunnel vision? How to fix the dissonance? But then again, she never could believe that Luna would go that far...
Seemed like Celestia actually is too stubborn. They all are stubborn, damn equines.
"Sister..." she whispered, all fire inside drained. Coldness in the throne room became unbearable.
"Did you really expect me to sit idly by, while they all basked in your precious light!?" Luna was going on with her speech, as she proceeded to climb up the tribune that they used to address the subjects. A symbol meant to represent their equal status as alicorns.
Celestia feared that 'equality' in her life will always be no more than a suggestion, a fleeting idea.
She wanted to reply, to say that it never was about light. But she just couldn't. Luna's mind was rigid, set in stone. The whole truth will damage her irrevocably.
"There can only be one Princess in Equestria! And that Princess will be ME!!" Luna's hooves smashed down, destroying the front of the platform she was on. A flurry of cracks appeared on a wall behind her, resembling a growing tree, and then the wall broke down. The sky was showing.
Celestia internally winced, recalling words of that cursed prophecy. She took a step back, her eyes widened. The Dark, similar to that of dethroned King Sombra, was seeping in fast.
It engulfed her dear Luna, transforming her, as she was raising up the Moon until it eclipsed the Sun and covered its light—even now the Princess of the Night couldn't do without theatrics.
The dark cocoon concealed Luna from Celestia. She could only imagine how it was breaking her down, and how it was mending her essence after, transmogrifying into something new. For a few seconds, it was filled with the red color of condensed pure hate, bright like a second sun, but without any light to give.
Completely helpless to prevent it, Celestia saw how the Dark took hold, collapsing over Luna like an eclipse of her own, a black hole. And then it all dispersed.
Luna appeared once more. She was taller. Darker. Her celestial mane was littered with stars, shining brighter than ever before.
Violated by the Dark, she was laughing joyfully, feeling the liberating power running its course through her, freeing her from all possible restraints, once and forever. She opened her eyes, filled with the cold. Her distorted muzzle was twisted by a scornful grin. Her teeth were turning into fangs with an audible creaking of bones.
The uninhibited power danced around her, and she launched a ray from the horn, smearing down the statue in the likeness of Celestia. As Luna tested her newfound abilities, the flow of magic continued across the ceiling, and rubble fell meters from the place where the Elements of Harmony were hidden.
Celestia took a glance at it, considering. Luna miscalculated, she was completely unhinged, and yet she tried to prevent her elder from using the Elements.
But Celestia wasn't going to use them anyway.
Celestia flew up, and another ray from Luna, more powerful, smashed the ceiling open.
The Princess evaded, landing down again. Luna was going for the kill, but now, at least, Celestia had an opportunity for a fast escape—one that she didn't take, not without attempting to talk in Luna at least some sense. "Luna, I will not fight you! You must lower the Moon! It is your duty!"
The new, dark form of Luna looked smugly, denouncing her name with ease. "Luna!?" she spoke, offended. "I am Nightmare Moon! I have but one royal duty now—to destroy you!" Her choice of words was befitting a little sister.
Another ray missed its mark, and Celestia began to fly away through the opening. She didn't even try to light up the horn. She was staying true to her word: she will not fight, no matter what will happen.
Luna followed. Their chase above Castle of the Two Sisters was short-lived. More magic of black and teal color filled the space all around Celestia, as she kept on flying and dodging, completely at a loss of what to do. There was no more use for words. No more hope. Only one choice: to fight back.
And of course, being pressed into a corner by this only possibility of fighting back, Solar Princess decided to do everything her own way.
She looked at yet another incoming ray, and not trying to evade anymore, accepted the blow. Her blood-curdling scream rang in her ears. Great wings twisted in pain. Celestia plummeted from far above, right back into the throne room.
She died on impact.
A still calmness enveloped her. Bright, but non-intrusive light was everywhere—no, not just light, but void, for it was signaling the cessation of existence.
Celestia did not mind.
She closed what she perceived as her eyelids, awaiting with morbid curiosity when the light will take her. She imagined that it will be a slow, but pleasant feeling. Like layers, methodically removed away from your soul. There is no need to rush anymore, rushing is for the living, after all.
First, her fears, components of ego that roam outwardly and on the very surface, would be gone.
Then her experience would be stripped, as she will slowly remember everything good that she was ever carrying with her. Bad too, but without obstructions of ego and with the realization of death, it will bring her only sweet sorrow. She can choose to fight back and make it harder. She won't.
Finally, she will become like a child, carefree and curious. And then—the final truth would be revealed, and something else will follow.
...
An indeterminable amount of time had passed.
Or maybe, no time had passed at all.
"Celestia..." eventually, called the howling wind, somewhere far and yet close.
She felt slight irritation, not wishing to part with a dreamlike state.
"Celestia..." whispered both the sky and the land, as well as all living things in-between.
She remembered another ancient truth and realized her casted astral body. She sighed, opening her eyes ever slowly.
Cloud-like landscape surrounded her, with no one to be seen. The voice came a third time, filling her, bringing her a semblance of real body, a semblance of life. The stars demanded, shining at her, "Rise."
"Even in death you won't leave me in peace," she said without any emotion, feeling only weariness.
She stood from the shimmering ethereal ground, face to face with an apparition. It was her doppelganger, her true redeemer and jailor. They looked back at her with the same direct and powerful gaze. Their gentle smile was worn by them like a porcelain mask. "Not until your destiny is fulfilled."
Something inside Celestia tugged into a knot. "You need not fool me with this shape." She tried to sound stern, but her voice broke at the last few words.
The Other Celestia looked with almost believable concern. "'Tis only for the purposes of familiarity."
And the voice was so similar to her own—any mortal should be spared from such a mockery... "Everything is about the purposes with you... I will not do what you wish of me." Celestia wasn't prancing around the subject. "You got your single alicorn in the world. Now leave me be."
"Your sister is corrupted with the Dark," announced the Other as if it wasn't obvious. "These conditions are less than sustainable."
"Then we are at an impasse," Celestia scowled almost gloatingly.
"Why do you hate us so?"
"Oh, so you can discern equine emotion?" she snapped. "What you would even know about hate or anything else beyond your incessant control? You only wish to bend the odds in favor of an ending, that only you foresaw."
"You know that you are a better choice for us, Celestia. You are more capable. More aligned with the goals. Moreover, conflict is natural to living things, and while there are at least two, there will always be dissent. That is why you needed to fight Luna and kill her."
"And here we are, I refused to do so. What now? Will you cast me aside, as you tried to do with her?"
"It was written in stars, Celestia. Her resentment and ambition were growing. We weren't stirring it—she was flawed from the get-go. The Dark took hold of her heart, amplified her selfish intention, and now she is no longer your sister, but a shell of someone you knew."
"Flaws," she almost spitted in disdain, "is what makes us individuals. We aren't some puppets, toys, or things you can move around on your cosmic board. She is still who she is, and I believe it fully."
"She killed you, Celestia."
"That is my responsibility to bear!!" Finally, fire awoke inside her, and she growled, stomping her hoof down. Primordial flame bellowed, and the celestial plane stirred. The Other tilted their head, not showing any sign of discomfort. "If it led to this then I forgive her! Because I failed her. I could protect her, and I did not. It is simple as that!"
"You truly believe that you could change what was written?" The Other slightly creased a brow.
"Yes!"
"Conflict was inevitable. It was by design. And still, you let on such thoughts?"
"Yes."
"Elaborate why."
Celestia gritted her teeth, smirking defiantly. "Because she is my Sister. I love her. I hope for what is better for her. If I need to lay down my life for her, then so it shall be. I am not afraid."
The Other were stunned and silent, if only for a few seconds. "Even being such as you can't stand the testament of time," they said, coming to some conclusion. "It is inevitable deterioration for her, and for you as well. It is a natural ending for your relationship. The stronger sibling should survive, but you gave up a fight without even a try. Because of love."
"Precisely that. So glad you can summarize it," Celestia answered with bile.
"Yes, you did not do what was told. Even if it was necessary for the stars to shine. Even if it was necessary for the Harmony to thrive. Your dissonant song ended on a wrong note, for your sister had not passed her trial of compassion. You know that her heart did not bear any love for you at the moment of the strike?"
"Yes. I know."
"You realize that she won't grieve for you? That the Dark consumed her?"
"Yes."
"This is unnatural, Celestia. This isn't a way to progress. Even if you tried to fight and were beaten, we would've accepted the decision. But this compliance?"
Celestia frowned, looking at the Other, and then her eyes lit up. She smiled sweetly. "You would fail either way with your design. I can't imagine the world, in which despair can be conquered, but where a lesser deity slew her sister. No matter what manner of conflict they are in, how it was prolonged or exactly concluded."
The Other shook their head with seemingly genuine emotion. "The Order—in this case, its facet known as Harmony—requires forces to inevitably challenge and push against one another, while others work in concordance. No other way it can be achieved. And equilibrium needs ambivalence, you know it as well as we do. If you are a better choice, then, as we said—"
"I'm not talking about that," Celestia cut them off, amazed by her own boldness. "I'm talking about lack of future. Lack of love. I've proven to you that I can challenge Order itself in the name of love, and if so, then so can any other pony as well. Love is imperative to us, don't you understand?"
They were silent again, if only but a few moments. "Such things as love do not work in accord with our design. Love isn't something that is considered."
"I do not understand. How can cosmic design not attribute in itself such a thing as love? Without love, the world surely will be overflown with despair."
"Love..." There was a noticeable displease. "Understand that if it is leading you to stand against cosmic design, then it is especially a point of contention."
"Why?"
"The Will of Truth is above all else, and as it is ordered so, your sister did succumbed to the Dark. You, in your regard, are a wielder of a star, of a force that gives life itself, the force that outshines any other. It is all to be expected, and Luna is the sacrifice we are willing to make. You've proven yourself useful. She did not. She is insignificant. You can uphold her duties just as well."
They were beginning to talk in circles. Celestia sighed, closing her eyes. "I refuse to all that, and to this sacrifice. I refuse to live in a world, where love exists merely to be contrasted with objectivity. Are we done?"
"But that is exactly the point, don't you see? Love cannot be depended upon. Love was not enough for your sister to not fall into the Dark. She failed you."
"Even so," Celestia rapped out. "I forgave her. Even if it abhors the balance. That is what I am. That is what I do."
"Because of love..." The Other scowled, mirroring one of her expressions. "You would rather thrive on your illusions, than on something real. Why?"
"I would rather thrive on the belief in abstractions that bring hope, for it is my belief in them that makes them true. I will make them real as long as I persist!"
While her mind flashed back to Luna and her burden, a sudden thought enlightened her. What if Luna tried to fight against destiny, in her own way? It brought a sense of vertigo, which was pretty strange, considering she wasn't inhabiting a body.
How pathetic they all are, all stumbling and searching for answers. Staring at own reflection, Celestia pondered about past talks with Luna. It was not hard to recognize now: she acted not as a loving sister, but as another tool for cosmic will. Like Starswirl, the old fool. Nagging about duty just as well.
What is the point in the Sun without its warmth, anyway?
Letting Luna win will be her real act of love, by sacrificing herself in her stead.
If only Luna truly wins in the end, Celestia would feel content with that.
Even if Luna, now drunk on the Dark, would never realize what happened.
Celestia had truly failed her before and just kept failing and failing. Maybe now, when the elder alicorn is gone, something will truly change for the better...
The Other closed their eyes, presumably in some short-lived contemplation. Was it thinking about wiping the slate clean, and beginning the world anew? Celestia felt a tangent of fear.
"That is your verdict, that the Harmony requires love?" they unexpectedly uttered.
Celestia went silent for a few fleeting seconds. Then her ears, splayed in hostility before, slowly rose back up. "I suppose so," she answered.
What is this feeling? Is it hope? Was she actually heard by them?
"Very well. Consider you've won this debate." The Other opened their striking eyes. They shone with unnatural light. "There will be a price."
"As always..."
Again the sensation of vertigo. Celestia glanced to the sides, observing the astral plane. Something immutable and ancient shifted between all the stars and nothingness, something more tremendous than she will ever be.
And it shifted because of her, because of her child-like defiance in the name of love. The very thought of this filled her with sacred dread.
It was too late to turn back now. Not that she wanted to, but still...
"We will settle not on death for your errant sister, but banishment to the Moon for millennium. She won't meddle in our design that way, but only serve it," spoke the Other, still with the same light in their eyes.
"Banishment..." Celestia echoed a whisper, bewildered, burdened by growing pain in her chest. Is the future history being rewritten right now? No, it's not her concern—her thoughts immediately snapped to Luna, to how only echoes will ever answer her on the Moon. No gentle smile, no innocent laughter would wait for her there, only a desolate desert, and in whatever shape or form she'll be, it would be a cruel fate either way.
But she will live. They both may yet live.
"This is not just a banishment, but punishment." Celestia's eyes widened. "For her, as well as me. She wouldn't even understand why. Oh, my stars... She would hate me so much..."
"Is it an inconvenience? We will find a way to remedy that." The Other shrugged aside her trepidations. "Furthermore, you are to wield the Elements of Harmony for one last time, and it will be against her. There will be a suitable replacement for you."
This is their justice? This? But even if her connection to the Elements is severed, she will continue to try and represent all six—she knows it. "So I have no say anymore?... There is no choice, is that it?"
"We deal in absolutes, not in requests. You would do well to remember that."
"Then I demand one last thing from you." Celestia looked sternly, dead in the eye. "After your design is seen through, you will set both of us free."
"Does it mean you will do necessary duty without any objection?"
"As long as love persists in abundance in Equestria. More than that, you will not turn me against my Sister, or the other way around."
"Do you value your freedoms that much?"
"Yes."
"Do you realize what being free from us even means?"
"Yes." Her voice trembled. "I do."
"So it was spoken." The Other nodded. "So it shall be. Now... Rise. Do what must be done."
At this point, the mask of a gentle warrior-demigoddess almost fell from them. There was no need in purposes of familiarity anymore. Celestia looked at them, and ancient laws of the universe stared back into her divine soul.
Their true nature was inconceivable.
Their response was a direct order.
But still, she did make them bend.
Like a phoenix reborn, she stood up with effort; her mane was flowing once more. She heard the mad cackling of her little sister, who remained far above in the sky. No more than a dozen seconds passed in the waking world.
A renewal of magic streamed into her ancient body. She reached for the hidden Elements, her horn shone brightly with the color of gold.
"Oh, dear Sister... I'm sorry," she said furrowing brows, self-contempt on her muzzle. "But you've given me no choice, but to use these."
The next alicorn who ascended and joined the princessdom, was of Love, of course. Who else it could be?