//------------------------------// // Chapter Twenty-One - Ever Faithful // Story: A Dance Between the Sun and the Voice in Her Head // by MistOverMoon //------------------------------// When they finally pulled away from each, at least ten minutes had passed. They looked at each other. Yet, there was much to be done still. "What do we do now?" Luna asked. "How do we seal this forever?" "We need to perfect the spell matrix." Daybreaker wiped the last remnants of tears from her eyes. "It needs to be better, perfect even." "Would thou say you need a genius?" Luna asked. "Are you talking about Twilight?" Daybreaker asked. "Indeed." Luna said. "We do not know the art of the spell matrix very well; she is perfect for this." "I don't want to involve her in this." Daybreaker shook her head. Luna glared at her. "Okay, but we have to be quick. The amulet is cracking." Daybreaker said. "How can we make it Ponyville in time?" "Do we not have a teleportation circle to Canterlot? Use that and tell Twilight to meet us there." Luna kicked some sand with a small smile. "Cadence would like that too." "Where is Cadance?" Daybreaker asked. "We left her at Canterlot to calm down our subjects. An eclipse was already enough to cause panic in thy populace, but three..." Luna said. "They are likely running around and screaming. Our subjects will need their princesses to calm them down." "This form of mine. It would only cause them panic." Daybreaker glanced at her flames. "Why are you still in that form?" Luna asked. "I don't know. I can't let go of it." Daybreaker said. "Then we will solve the amulet first, then calm the populace. Maybe that act will free you from that form." Luna said. "Speaking of changing our forms..." A black smoke floated off of her. She shrunk as the smoke coalesced into a solid form next to her. It was Nightmare Moon. Once again Luna was smaller than her. "Your majesty." Nightmare Moon bowed. "No need for that. You have more than earned the right to address me as a friend." Daybreaker said. "Then what should I call you? Your form is..." Nightmare Moon gestured to the flaming mane. "...you can call me Celestia." Celestia said. "I am happy to have you as a friend, Celestia." Nightmare Moon said with a smile. "And to you as well, Nightmare Moon." Celestia replied with a smile of her own, fangs sticking out of her grin. "Let us be off then. Gaiya will not wait." Luna said. "We will need to perfect your spell matrix if we are going to end this." "That is a most excellent idea." Celestia's horn began to glow with red energy. "Are you all ready to depart?" "Yes Tia." Luna walked closer. She was slower than usual; her coat was scorched by flame. The sight caused guilt to well up inside Celestia. However, there wasn't much time to wallow. After grabbing the Alicorn Amulet, Celestia focused on the teleportation circle. She touched the two aspects of night and released the spell. Unlike when she had cast the spell last time, she could barely feel the tug at her magic. While wrapped in her flames her power was immensely higher. It was as if she had been rekindled. The fatigue of a thousand years of raising the sun and moon had all but vanished. With a flash they disappeared from the badlands. The next moment, they all reappeared in the throne room. There was nopony in sight which was strange considering the throne room was usually filled with guards. It felt good to be back in the castle though, it was home. "Where is everypony?" Celestia asked. "I would have expected to be at spearpoint by now." "They are dealing with the populace." Luna said. "Our subjects are panicking." "That isn't good." Celestia said. "They need us." "Then we must finish this quickly." Luna turned to the circle. "Send Twilight a letter, we will collect the necessary resources." "Resources?" Celestia asked. "Paper for concept, sharp tools for the drawing of blood, and of course, your old spell book." Luna said. Celestia had nearly forgotten that blood was needed for a proper spell matrix. It would not be easy to install a new one within the amulet to say the least. Blood would have to be brought in, kept safe, and then drawn into shape. Not to mention that Luna would have to cut herself in order to draw blood. The thought made her uneasy. What other choice did they have though? "Go. I will send the letter to Twilight." Celestia said. "Thank you for this Luna." "We would have it no other way." Luna nodded to her. Then, she flew off into the castle to collect the supplies with Nightmare Moon. Celestia flew to her study. She wove through the castle halls until she reached it. Then, she withdrew a piece of paper and one of her quills. Without waiting a second, she began to write. She asked for aid for a spell matrix and made sure to include that this was very urgent. With a flare of magic, she sent the letter off then returned to the throne room. There was absolutely no time to waste. She landed in the throne room. As Luna and Nightmare Moon flew back in with a stack of papers and a large bowl, Celestia shut all the doors to the throne room and locked them with magic. It would be unfortunate if a pony came in at this moment to say the least. "Did thou send the letter?" Luna asked. "It's sent. Now we just have to see if Twilight will respond." Celestia said. "Is that even a question?" Luna scoffed. "Thy student seems like she idolizes thee." "I wouldn't take it that far." Celestia said. "We will have some time before she responds. She never sends me a letter until later." "Are you sure she isn't just trying to seem like she was not waiting all day for you to send a letter?" Luna asked. "What do you mean?" "Well, if I had somepony that I looked up to, I wouldn't immediately respond to their letters. It would make me seem needy." Luna said. "This is traditional letter etiquette in our time." "I can assure you that she does not. What are we talking about anyways? An ancient evil is about to break free of its confines." "We are just passing the time. There is not much else we can do." The teleportation circle flashed gold. A lavender unicorn appeared there, her horn glowing. Twilight's head drooped from the drain on her magic before she raised her head again. Her mane was a mess of tangles and knots. Her eyes had bags underneath them. "Princess Celestia, what's wrong?!" Twilight's voice was hoarse as she looked up to see a flaming Celestia, Luna, and Nightmare Moon. "What IN CELESTIAS NAME WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Celestia quickly realized the issue. She had forgot to mention their current state. Not to mention, Nightmare Moon was still a secret from the public. It probably looked like every single thing from Twilight's worst nightmares had just appeared in front of her. "Twilight, I know I look different, but I am still Celestia. Will you help us?" Celestia said. "We need you." Twilight looked between them, her eyes wide. "Are you... the dark side of Celestia? I mean, after Nightmare Moon I assumed that it might be possible but to see it for real..." Twilight trailed off. "How can I know that you aren't evil or that you're really Celestia?" "I can fetch the scrapbook if you would like." Celestia said. "I am sure there are plenty of photos to share." "No need!" Twilight blushed. "I can see that you are Princess Celestia. How did this happen?" "We don't have much time." Celestia glanced over to Luna. "Let's just say we had a little fight, and I learned a friendship lesson of my own." Twilight looked confused by nodded anyways. "We need to perfect a spell matrix." Celestia said. "Luna, do you have the spell book?" "We do indeed." Luna set the spell book on the ground and flipped to the page with the binding spell matrix. "Spell matrix? Another one?" Twilight looked down at the book. She looked at the matrix and her eyes went wide. The book was snatched up into her hooves as her eyes scanned over the page. "This- This is incredible! Look at the lines of magic and how they connect, only a genius could have made this!" "It needs to be better." Celestia said. "Better!?!" Twilight continued to scan it. "Wait- these notes- did you make this princess?" "I did." "And you never taught me this!" Twilight screeched. Then she looked sheepish. "I'm sorry princess. Please forgive me." "All is forgiven. To be honest my faithful student, I didn't quite know until recently myself." Celestia said. "We need your help to improve this." "Improvement? I can't see how." Twilight glanced between all ponies gathered. "That is... unless... no that wouldn't work." "Will thou speak anyway? We will use any clue." Luna said. "What is locked away cannot be ever released. This matrix will ensure that." "Locked away? What is locked away?" Twilight's gaze slowly traveled to the amulet. "Oh, evil amulet, I should have foreseen this." "I can help." Nightmare Moon cleared her throat. "I am a shadow, if anypony can understand the magic, it will be me." "Thank you, Nightmare Moon. Now, Twilight, can we hear your theory?" Celestia asked. "It is of utmost importance that we figure this out." "This is just a theory. However, I immediately noticed that this spell matrix while beautiful is missing one thing." Twilight said. "It lacks a core fundamental of magic." "And what pray tell is that?" Luna asked. "Balance. The matrix seems to be powered by rigid lines of power. It's a small improvement but it could be a little more flexible. It's as if the matrix is trying to hold in all the magic on its own instead of drawing from the environment." Twilight scratched her head nervously as she noticed the three alicorns staring at her, they were of varying degrees of potential world ending threat. "Haha, to put it short, it can never draw in magic from the environment. It's a simple mistake really, anypony could have seen it." Celestia looked down at the spell book. Sure enough, there was no way for the circle to restore its power. It was something that Celestia should have known herself. She was a master of the magic after all. Why did she leave that in there and why did she refuse to acknowledge it no matter how hard she thought? "A genius as always Twilight." Celestia gave her a smile full of sharp teeth. "It was right there; how could I have missed it?" "Sometimes dear sister, it takes another pony to see." Luna said. "The answer might be right in front of you, but you shall never see it without another." "When did you become the wise one?" Celestia hummed. "We have had a dear friend to guide us." Luna smiled at Nightmare Moon before looking back. "And a dear sister to mentor us." "Then, let us begin." Celestia said. "Twilight, what we are doing is vital to all of ponydom. What you are about to see is something most ponies will never see, but I won't hide anything from you any longer. Your view of me may change forever. Do you want to hear it? If you wish to you can walk away now, you have already done for than enough for us." Twilight's looked frightened. She looked between all those around her. Her eyes closed and a long moment passed. Then, they snapped open. "No matter what, my friends are there for me and will be there for me, I will be there for you. Do I need a notepad?" Twilight asked. "Not today." Celestia's smile faded to a stoic line. "The reason I am like this right now is because long ago I was once a dark magic sorcerer. I still am. While I am powerful without its use, or at least I once was, it is nothing compared to what I could have been. This form I am in now, Daybreaker, represents what happens when I let my darker side take hold of me. When I stop showing restraint for my little ponies. " Twilight's mouth dropped wide open. "Long ago there was a great darkness in Equestria. I created magic based on it in order to seal it. The magic was much more powerful than regular unicorn magic. Only it contained the potency to do the task." Celestia walked over to the large bowl Luna had brought. "Every spell matrix is based on my original designs. While the newer circles use ingredients like paint and chalk, the original and most powerful circles use a different ingredient." "Different ingredient?" Twilight eyed the instruments around the room now. The small blades and bowl. Celestia levitated a small blade over. "The blood of an alicorn." Celestia cut a small incision on her leg. Her blood dripped into the bowl. "Only it contains the potential to create the most powerful spells." "This is... not what I was expecting." Twilight looked queasy as she eyed the blood dripping into the bowl. "Is that really you if you gave into the... darkness?" "It is. This is my greatest shame." Celestia looked down at herself. The flames never stopped burning. "When you truly give into it, not even the elements can stop it. Yet, so long as a scrap of yourself remains it is possible to break free of it." "How could Equestria survive if you went full... nightmare?" Twilight asked. "It wouldn't." Celestia's voice did not waver. "Thankfully, that will never come to pass. The darkness is sealed away for now, but it yearns to break free. It is locked in this amulet. That is what we must seal. So, I ask you this Twilight, give it everything you have to improve this spell matrix. Everypony in this room must help to perfect the matrix. Once that is done, the darkness will be locked away forever. I ask you all, will you help me?" "I already said I would help." Nightmare Moon said. "We are here was thee sister. Luna said. Twilight looked hesitant as the sight of blood but nodded. "I will do what I can princess!" Twilight saluted. "Thank you all." Celestia smiled, a warmth filling her heart. "Then let us begin. Draw up the matrix, draw the blood, and draw this darkness from Equestria's mind forever!" The ponies she called friends nodded. Celestia looked down at the matrix in the spell book and frowned. Why did something feel off? What was she missing? How could she have missed that simple mistake in the spell matrix? There was something she was missing, and if she didn't figure it out in the next day, her future looked uncertain. She didn't know what exactly it was, but guilt still clawed at her belly like an angry cat. What she had done to Gaiya, what she was going to do again... She waited for the voice that had haunted her for so long to pipe up. It always seemed like Gaiya knew when she was feeling wrong and always snuck a barb in. At the moment though, she heard nothing. As she thought about it, she realized that she hadn't heard him yesterday either. There was no time to think though. The spell matrix needed all ponies to perfect. Then, they would have to enter the amulet and draw it. A seemingly impossible task but Celestia had faith. Her gaze wandered to Twilight, Luna, and Nightmare Moon discussing over the spell book. What could possibly beat them when they all worked together?