Fallout Equestria: Tales of Transylvania

by MeetSouder

Chapter Twelve: Memories

I opened my eyes, feeling wind rustle under my extended wings. The familiar weight of my suspended body almost made me forget that I couldn’t fly. I looked around drearily, it was nighttime with the sky covered in an unending expanse of thick overcast clouds. 

Okay, last I remember, I wasn’t flying, or really capable of flying, or over blue ground. Wait, why is the ground blue? 

I peered far down below at a wide expanse of greenish blue. The ground seemed to be moving and swaying as I flew level.

My stomach lurched and I instinctively tried to match level with the ground, I must not have been flying correctly. But no matter how much I tried, it looked like the ground was moving on its own. Frustrated, I folded my wings, diving down to get a closer inspection.

I flared my wings just ten or so hooves above the ground and felt a spray of water coat my underside. My eyes widened upon the revelation and I flapped as hard as I could, regaining my altitude in only a few pumps of the large thestral appendages.

Luna’s-fat-flanks, that stuff is all water?! I silently exclaimed as I eyed the seemingly infinite body of water below. I breathed in deeply, taking in the… salty air?

The powerful thrust of my wings felt unfamiliar. I looked over my shoulders and rolled my eyes. Of course I was in ‘that’ body. My massive bat wings extended steadily to either side, easily keeping me aloft as I glided along a steady current of air. I was surprised by how these membraned things were actually supposed to operate, now that I had two of them.

Looking right, I saw the water extended until the horizon. I even began to see the curvature of the world. The waves seemed to swell upwards and lick the clouds that blanketed the sky above. I blinked a couple of times to try and process the distance I was witnessing. I heard stories about the ocean, but to see it in person felt surreal. Well, if this was real.

Glancing left, I did a double take and spread my wings, slowing down into a smooth flapping hover.

I was along a coastline of some kind. A gleaming white cliffside kissed the ocean along its sheer drop. Cold gray waters splashed against the white rocks that lined the shore as far as the eye could see. The whole scene was bathed in a blanket of fog that rolled steadily inland. I wasn’t an expert in geography, but I knew this wasn’t mainland Equestria.

My sharp eyes caught the telltale crimson glow of a familiar alicorn. Orpheus. The black-coated red-maned thestral stood atop the cliffs, its bleak winds waving his magical mane around his black horn as he looked up at me.

I leaned forward, gaining speed until I tucked my wings in and dove toward him. At the last moment, I flared my bat wings and alighted next to the tall stallion, flapping quickly and gently touching down on the dead grass that hugged the hard ground underhoof.

“And you said I was the theatrical one,” Orpheus smiled at me.

“You’re the one standing dramatically on a clifftop,” I patted my coat off with a wing and faced him, “did you ‘summon’ me again?”

“Yes and no,” Orpheus turned and began trotting toward a forest edge. “Your body is… less than conscious. I just took the opportunity to speak with your spirit while you were here.” 

I couldn’t remember how I wound up here. The last thing I remembered was arguing with Starline, then – nothing. 

“Wait, you said my spirit?” I watched Orpheus trot away. I sighed heavily, obviously I was meant to follow him again. “Off to the ‘tree-stump-of-wisdom’ again?” I asked, following the prince.

“Though that is a fitting place,” Orpheus looked at me over his shoulder, “I have something I want to show you.”

I followed the thestral alicorn under a dark canopy of deciduous trees. I couldn’t help but look around at the beautiful orange and red leaves around me. The trees in Transylvania were all brown and dying, but here they were vibrant and beautiful, even under the gloomy overcast skies.

Soon, a worn and dilapidated stone structure came into view among the overgrowth. It was a massive building, perhaps once a castle in its heyday. Sunken walls and toppled towers dotted the dense forest as we trotted along a small path. I took in our surroundings with wide eyes, it was clear this was a forgotten place.

“This is home,” Orpheus said solemnly, “or perhaps it was once upon a time.”

“Where are we?” I carefully picked my footing among piles of collapsed stone.

“Umbris,” Orpheus kicked a rusted piece of metal underhoof, “or Braytain, depending who and when you ask.”

I looked down at the old piece of armor. To the careful eye, the faintest bit of color was painted beneath its rusted surface. The orange and red sun of Equestria was proudly encased by two alicorn wings and a long red alicorn horn down the middle.

“What happened?”

“Can you guess?” Orpheus gestured toward one of the destroyed towers.

Along what remained of the battlements, ivy-ridden ballistae and toppled catapults were wrecked in a disciplined line. The more I looked, the more I saw the signs of battle. Piles of munitions, rusted arrow heads, craters from catapult impacts. This place was intentionally destroyed.

“War never changes,” Orpheus hummed as we crossed beneath a raised wooden gate. “Even so long ago.”

We crossed the ruined courtyard and toward the castle structure itself. Here, the enormous stone fortress was more intact, standing proudly among the potholed and collapsed outer walls. Faded regalia and banners waved ambiently in the cool wind, all sporting the unmistakable mark that adorned Orpheus’s flanks; a setting sun and rising moon among a field of stars. The symbol of twilight.

The gargantuan wooden doors of the castle were bashed inward, perhaps from a battering ram. We slowly trotted into the building when my thestral magic kicked in and illuminated the space in a way I had never seen before. The darkness faded to a cool white glow, like starlight on a clear night – was this how Scarlet saw the world? Inside, the walls were decorated with countless paintings, suits of armor, banners, elegant furniture, and notably: lines of skeletons. 

“They died protecting what they thought was right,” Orpheus spoke without looking down at the grim scene.

I frowned as I passed over the broken bones. The spidery wings, sharp fangs and hollow bones clearly indicated that they were thestrals. Rusted gray armor was scattered throughout but also tarnished brass as well. The more I looked, the more I was able to differentiate the skeletons and noticed earth ponies and unicorns among them. This was the last-stand between two forces who hated each other greatly.

We wound our way through the ornate castle, passing portraits of notable ponies and even some of Orpheus himself; who still looked barely a day older than the handsome stallion depicted in the ancient works.

Eventually, we passed through another collapsed door and into a throne room. Enormous stained-glass windows lined either wall, each depicting beautiful events of a land I was not familiar with. A beautiful oak tree standing proudly atop a sole hill, an extensive fruit orchard, two alicorn ponies bowing toward each other: prince Orphesus and the good goddess Luna. This last panel was broken however, with the space between their bowing forms shattered and allowing the cold whistling air inside. 

At the head of the room, chasing a torn and faded red carpet, sat a throne of black marble spotlighted by the cool white light that crept in from the shattered glass. Its back was ruptured and toppled over, like some kind of powerful impact had hit it long ago. Orpheus stood before the throne for a moment and then turned, facing me with a look that commanded my attention.

“Midnight,” he sat, his scarlet mane waving in a mystical glow like the embers of a fire, “it’s time.”

I held my tongue. I was about to say some kind of snarky remark, but I could see the alicorn was serious. I sat before him and tilted my head, “time for what?” 

Orpheus closed his golden eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, his irises were alight with a crimson glow. “First, you need to understand the past to know why you stand before me in such a manner.”

“I’d like to know, please,” I shuffled my wings nervously, “‘cause, truthfully, I’m beginning to think I’m insane.”

Orpheus’s horn erupted with white magic and I felt my eyes droop, soon collapsing among the cold stone below. A series of events passed under my eyelids in quick succession. Like before, I was only along for the ride. I was simply a witness in the body of Orpheus as he showed me what were undoubtedly memories of his past:

“Today marks the day where I pass my inheritance and duty to the stars to these two sisters,” an old gray unicorn stallion spoke from a lectern.

I stood among a line of uniformed ponies, all proudly at attention. The old unicorn before us wore a dark blue wizard hat and cape adorned with a gleaming field of moving stars. His jawline had a long white beard and it was clear he was well advanced in age. Around us, beautiful crystal walls of blue and purple constructed a gorgeous atrium filled with similarly crystalline ponies and normal ponies of all kinds.

To the right of the wise stallion stood two unicorn mares: one with a pink mane and white coat, the other much younger with a light blue mane and light purple coat. They looked nervous, but stood tall and elegant with practiced royal decorum.

I stole a glance to my right. In line with me were a row of smartly dressed guards, all in brilliant white enameled armor as we stood at attention. Unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies, crystal ponies and thestrals, all proudly representing the races of this land.

“All hail crowned Princess Celestia, the keeper of the sun,” the old stallion cried, followed by a thunderous applause as the crowd of ponies thumped their hooves on the ground. “And crowned Princess Luna, the keeper of the moon,” he gestured toward the darker mare, soon followed by equal applause.

His horn suddenly erupted into a rainbow spectrum of magic, igniting the air around us and shooting a brilliant multi-colored beam toward the crystal ceiling. The beam split into two, one of warm reds and orange, the other of cool blues and purple. Each beam encased the respective sisters, granting either unicorn an ancient magic I could never begin to fathom.

The scene quickly faded and a new memory played in my eyes.

“Orpheus, do you understand the task at hoof?” the same old stallion asked, leading us along a shelf of ancient looking books.

I was standing in an old library of sorts. Dark wooden paneling decorated an extensive line of bookshelves illuminated by candles and arcane torches along stone walls. It was clear we were no longer in the beautiful crystal colosseum, but instead in a more intimate study of a traditional castle.

“Star Swirled,” I took a timid step forward, “are you certain? I’m just…” I trailed as I looked down at myself.

I was a young thestral stallion. Average in height, simple black coat, normal bat wings and a medium scarlet mane that framed my vision. No indication of the commanding alicorn I knew Orpheus was.

“Just what?” Star Swirled paused before a shelf, selecting a tome with an opalescent magical aurora. 

“Just a bat, sir,” I said lamely. I felt my ears droop as I watched the old unicorn hum in thought.

“You are no mere bat,” the wise unicorn spoke plainly, opening the tome and flipping rapidly among the pages. “I watched you grow from a spunky colt in a cave to the commandant of the imperial guard. You’ve led thousands of ponies to war,” the old buck paused and looked up at me with his teal eyes, “and you brought them home every single time. You’ve talked down the leaders of warring nations, exposed the treacherous mischief of a corrupt ring of mages, convinced the dragon king to extend trade with our people, and a whole repertoire of more astounding feats.”

“Sir, if I may,” I sat and sighed heavily, “I just don’t think I could live up to what you ask. Luna, Celestia, they’re unicorns born among an ancient line of incredible magic wielders. But, my kind are not creatures of magic. When was the last time you ever met a thestral who could do more than simply… see in the dark?”

“I’m looking at one,” Star Swirled smirked. “Orpheus, you are more than a warrior. You are a warrior of the mind.” The old wizard smiled as he came across the page he sought, turning and levitating the book to a table in the center of the room. “You have countless victories both on the battlefield and the courtroom, each of them won through cold strategy. You’ve led your ponies toward peace and tranquility with a balanced hoof of compassion and logic. That is precisely why I ask this of you. You are the embodiment of equilibrium.”

“Sir-” I began.

“Orpheus, please,” Star Swirled sat and looked at me with sincerity, “My time is near its end. I must entrust the future of all ponies to those who I deem worthy. I’m not asking, I’m begging. Take this position. The sisters are capable of the duties I ask of them but they need somepony to be the voice of reason. Entropy demands the chaos of the stars and you are the one most suited to resist it.”

I slowly stood and trotted over to him, looking curiously at the page he saved. On it, constellations and celestial diagrams outlined the orbits of solar bodies. The sun, the moon, our world, and most notably an event that occurred every so many years; an eclipse. Both lunar and solar.

“The magic of our world is governed by the stars from beyond. Should either sun or moon ever be eclipsed by another, their respective magic will vanish,” Star Swirled explained. “Either celestial body is capable of becoming overshadowed by another, just like their princess counterparts. However,” he waved his hoof and a brilliant field of magical stars appeared around us, “starlight will always prevail.”

I looked around in wonder. Even in its artificial form, the influence of the stars plucked a magical harp string deep within me. The beautiful pinpricks of light encased us both while Star Swirled smiled at my reaction.

“Thestrals are beings of starlight. Your magic lies within their power, so easily outshined by both the sun and the moon, yet always present. The stars are an everlasting source of balanced magical energy that cannot be broken, no matter how much the sun doth shine, or the moon doth glow.”

I looked at the old stallion and felt my shoulders give, “I understand. I… I accept.”

“Thank you, Orpheus.” Star Swirled stood and touched my shoulder, “do not be the force of good nor evil. Be the force of balance.”

I nodded and watched as his horn erupted in a rainbow glow once again. A blinding white light shot from it and impacted my chest. I flinched, but quickly relaxed as a familiar sensation grew within me. The feeling that I felt when watching the sun set and the moon rise. The moment of solace and tranquility that only existed in the briefest moments of twilight.

The world around me changed once again.

“Your highness,” a thestral mare announced loudly at the door of a throne room. “Princess Luna of Equestria.”

I was sitting on the black marble throne within the castle Orpheus had shown me prior to these memories. But now, the room was brilliantly alight with the warm glow of candles and braziers, every corner and wall in immaculate condition. Around me, tens of thestral ponies dressed in royal garb were trotting around as they tended to their duties. The crier by the ornate oak door stepped aside as two armored thestrals opened it, revealing our esteemed guest.

A beautiful alicorn mare stepped forth. Her dark blue coat was well kept and adorned with an elegant cloak sporting the symbology of the night: a black swath of the night sky and a crescent moon proudly square upon it. The same symbol that she bore on her body since her ascension. 

I caught myself staring at her brilliant blue mane which gleamed with a field of stars, eternally flowing as though propelled by magical wind. It was pinned up in a youthful ponytail, held in place by a simple navy blue bow.

She trotted down the red carpet of the throne room, head held high and shoulders square, as elegant as her position commanded. I sat up on my throne and heeded her.

“Princess Luna of Equestria,” I said clearly.

“Prince Orpheus of Umbris,” she replied plainly.

I looked around at the ponies in the throne room. Dukes, ladies, knights, and servants all stood in awe as they watched the princess of the night walk among my halls. Princess Luna’s own entourage of pegasus guards stood expectantly by the doors, watching me keenly as they looked for the slightest hint of wrongdoing among my halls.

“Shall we retire to the study, for private discussion?” I stood and gestured to a door with my left wing.

“If his excellency so desires,” Princess Luna elegantly nodded.

We both slowly trotted to the room held open by a guard posted in the doorway. When we entered, I lit my horn with white light and gently closed the weighty oak door. It settled with a soft boom and both the princess and myself shared an expectant look.

I grunted as Luna suddenly rushed forward and embraced me.

“Orpheus, I’m so glad to see you,” her melodious voice sighed in relief. “It’s been too long.”

I smiled warmly and hugged her back with a foreleg, “It’s been, what, a century now?”

Luna scoffed and stepped back, brushing her mane with a pegasus wing, “sixty years.”

“Who’s counting?” I winked and invited her to a table in the study.

We both sat on plush cushions and I levitated a carafe of water to two porcelain cups, boiling them instantly with magical heat. I opened a jar and selected two silk bags, steeping them in the cups as I offered her my island’s best luxury; fruited tea.

“So tell me prince Orpheus, how is your kingdom?” Luna gestured her elegant feathered wing toward a large round window that dominated the wall off my left. 

The brilliant night outside was beautifully lit by her extravagant moon. Perhaps brighter than usual for just this occasion.

“I don’t command any kingdom, your highness,” I sighed, knowing she was pushing my buttons. “I chose this island because I specifically wanted to leave the governance of Equestria to you and your sister.”

“Oh, speak plainly you silly colt,” she blew on her own levitating cup, magically floating two cubes of sugar into the drink, “it’s just us in here.”

“Fine. You know I hate politics, Luna,” my shoulders dropped with a chuckle, “I’m content on my green isle of the sea, it’s where I was born and the homeland of my kind. But don’t ever underestimate me. I have vast and powerful armies of fruit trees.”

Luna giggled and sipped from her cup, “your armies are delicious, as always.”

“Grown by the finest ponies,” I sipped my own.

Luna hummed in agreement, “Your ponies adore you. You’re lucky to have such support.”

“If they ever look past you,” I poked her shoulder with a wing, “if I’m not careful, I’m afraid they’ll start forming a religion around you and your moon.”

Luna huffed and took her levitating cup in her hooves, carefully warming them as she stared down at the red liquid, “I’m glad for you, Orpheus. And I love your ponies too. Things aren’t exactly the same for me back home.”

I felt my ears lower at her change of tone, “Is Celestia-” 

“She’s fine,” Luna spat, flashing her blue eyes at me quickly, “sorry. She’s fine. It’s just…lonely. To the ponies of the mainland, the realm of the night is better spent tucked quietly away at home rather than under the brilliant skies I craft for them.”

I nodded slowly in understanding. Ponies were not nocturnal. Not all of us at least. Luna was tasked with the duty to guide the moon across the skies and live among the world of dreams. Which sounded lovely, if you were content with living forever in solitude. 

“We adore your night,” I said truthfully, sitting back and finishing my cup. “Your artistry isn’t completely ignored.” 

Luna sighed softly and looked back at me, “I appreciate it. It’s why I came here really, to visit the thestrals. It’s nice to spend time with ponies in my realm once and a while.”

I tapped a hoof in thought. It had been decades since I hosted company. “Why don’t you stay a while? I’m sure the thestrals of Umbris would love to watch how you raise the moon, we could make an event of it.”

The corners of Luna’s mouth tilted in the beginnings of a smile “I’d love to, but…” 

I felt my own expression falter, “But?” 

“You have to promise you’ll show me your armies, I’ve been dying to try it from the source!” Luna giggled at my sigh of relief. 

“Of course your highness,” I bowed dramatically, “you may even indulge in my private collection of elite apricot knights.”

The world shifted to a new scene. I was beginning to feel less like a witness, and more like Orpheus himself as I felt his emotions and read his thoughts.

“Orpheus of Umbris,” a stallion announced as I trotted into the royal chambers of the Castle of the Two Sisters.

The stone halls were similar to my own residency in Umbris. Along either wall, stained glass windows depicted the notable events that lead to Equestria’s creation and the ascension of the sisters. A long gold-frilled red carpet led to the twin thrones where both alicorn mares patiently awaited my arrival. To either side, a line of Equestrian guards watched me keenly. My own thestral protectors were forced to remain outside in the courtyard. As usual.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I wasn’t one for the theatrics of the royal court, but the announcer could at least refer to me by my status. Like it or not, I was a crowned prince of the kingdom just the same.

“Both your highnesses,” I stood before the sisters and bowed.

I caught the frown already splayed across Celestia’s face, she was displeased with my presence. The faint smile that tickled Luna’s, however, kept me from spoiling my mood. She and I had seen each other much more frequently as of late and it helped me maintain these relations.

“Why are you here?” Celestia asked plainly.

“I caught word of the doings of Sombra, my sincere apologies for the loss of the Crystal province,” I stood and spoke truthfully. “The events that unfolded in the frigid north were a true travesty across the whole kingdom.”

“No thanks to you,” the white alicorn of the sun spoke without hesitation.

“Tia!” Luna reeled on her sister, “are you serious? You explicitly forbade any assistance from him and our allies. Prince Orpheus, should I mention, is more than an ally. He’s of our own kingdom.”

I gulped back my frustration and continued, “Thank you, Luna. I came here today because I want to extend a proposition. With the loss of the Crystal province, there is a notable gap in the workforce and economy of the mainland. I would like to request that we work toward a state-sponsored immigration plan that would encourage my ponies to come here and fill that gap. It could benefit us all.”

This proposition was the result of a long discussion between myself and Luna. Though it was true that populating the mainland with thestrals would benefit the kingdom – if they were offered enough pay to move in the first place – the ulterior motive was to provide Luna a population of ponies who would accompany her in the night. It would take decades for any meaningful result, but it was important to both her and myself that she have the proper representation of a population that witnessed her.

“That is a great proposition, Prince Orpheus,” Luna jumped on my words, “can you imagine how much it would help us to have ponies who could work through the night without any issue?”

I watched Celestia’s withering stare as she processed my words. I knew immediately that she read between the lines.

“Is this the result of your galavanting with my younger sister?” she completely dodged the topic.

I cleared my throat, “there has been some discussion about this in private.”

“‘Discussion’ is quite the euphemism,” Celestia raised a brow.

I felt my face warm at her suggestion. She wasn’t wrong in her assumption, but the personal business between myself and Luna was hardly relevant in today’s hearing. I was being sincere with my offer.

“Celestia!” Luna stood quickly, “now is not the time-”

“Orpheus,” Celestia cut her off and stood, slowly stepping down from the elevated throne and facing me coldly, “I do not approve of you or whatever you intend on doing with my family. I do not want you near my sister. I deny your proposition and I want you out of my castle.”

“Princess Celestia-” I began, but took a timid step back as the older alicorn glared further down at me.

“You’re insufferable!” Luna screeched and stomped off of her throne, galloping between me and her sister. “Does it matter what choices I make of my own free will? Who I choose to spend my time with? How is that relevant to the prosperity of the kingdom? What he proposes may be a significant change that we need in Equestria and you would deny it simply because of our own private affairs?!”

For a moment, I caught the slightest glimmer of worry in Celestia’s eyes as Luna furiously stepped toward her. Though the older sister was cold, I knew that it came from a protective side of her.

“This is our kingdom. Our castle. And he is our prince,” Luna’s voice wavered, “and he can be my Orpheus if I so choose.”

I quickly looked at Luna, my chest warming at her defensive words for me. She and I had no official proclamation of our relationship. Things just… happened. But hearing the validation of her feelings hit me in a way I didn’t expect.

“Please,” I stepped to the side, trying to alleviate the situation, “we can discuss private matters another time.” I glanced nervously at the guards who bore witness to this, the rumors were sure to spread far and wide. “But, consider my proposition.”

Celestia’s eyes darted between me and Luna. Her expression wavered briefly, but soon set coldly and she furrowed her brow, “Your ponies are foreigners, your rule is obtrusive to our governance, and your relationship with my sister is inappropriate. You are not recognized, nor ever will be recognized in this kingdom.”

I felt my blood run cold at her words. I knew she was overbearing, but this was excessive.

“Celes-” Luna took an enraged step, but was silenced as a golden aura of light encased her, holding her in position.

“Leave, Orpheus, before I make you,” the ruler of the sun narrowed her eyes. Her white horn was dangerously alight as she held her sister in place.

I nodded nervously and turned toward the door. I wasn’t about to escalate this any further. Maybe another day, years from now, I could try again.

“Luna, you are forbidden from seeing that mongrel ever again,” her voice cut behind me.

A magical burst suddenly erupted behind me and I quickly turned around, watching as Luna’s horn shot a beam of black and blue light across the throne room. It dispelled the magic holding her in place and shattered the stained glass windows, raining glass daggers onto the guards who dove away from the uncontrolled blast.

Luna flapped her wings, tears streaming down her face as she glared at Celestia. She stole a glance my way before yelling in frustration and taking off through the shattered window.

I watched as Celestia stood in place, watching her younger sister go. She had completely forgotten my existence. I turned to leave while she stood as still as a statue, her face strewn with heartbreak.

More memories continued. I felt fully enraptured by Orpheus’s spirit as I witnessed the events. The more I saw, the more I felt as though he and I became one being.

Thunder boomed outside the window of my study accompanied by a splash of rain from the gale that swept across the island. These nighttime storms were frequent from the warm sea air that rolled over the ocean during the winter months. I was sitting at my table, head in hoof as I poured over a ledger.

“Tariffs increased on fruit shipments by two fold,” I read aloud, groaning as I wrote numbers across the parchment with a quill in my magical aura. “That is the second sharpest increase in two years. What is wrong with her?” I mumbled to myself.

Relations with the mainland have gotten worse as time went on. As one could imagine, Celestia was not withholding her distaste for me and decided that punishing thousands of ponies in Umbris was justifiable retribution for my intrusion on her family.

Despite her orders, Luna and I continued to see each other in secret. Though recent events had her more on edge than ever before. Oftentimes, when she did visit, it would be simply to vent about the insurmountable rules and restrictions that Celestia would impose on her in an attempt to quash our relationship or control her life in a microscopic way.

I was worried about her. So much so, that the idea of ending our relationship wasn’t a distant thought if it meant sparing the poor mare from a horrible life at home. Obviously it would break my heart too, but I wanted what was best for everyone.

A flash of lightning erupted outside followed by thunder and the sound of hoof stomps on my balcony. I started as I realized what I heard and stood, grasping the window with my magic and leveraging it open against the harsh winds outside.

Standing on the balcony, mane and coat sopping wet from the frigid air, stood my beloved alicorn of the night.

“Luna?!” I rushed outside and helped her in, slamming the window closed behind. “What are you doing here? Did you fly all the way here?”

The shivering mare nodded while I ignited a hearth along the back wall with magic and ushered her toward it. I used my telekinesis to pull water from her mane, the magical threads no longer flowing as it was weighed by the frozen droplets.

“Orpheus,” her expression was downtrodden, “we need to talk.”

“And we will, after you’re warmed up,” I levitated a cup of boiled tea toward her and wrapped a wing around her side.

“Listen to me,” she took the tea in her own magic and set it down, “please.”

I matched her turquoise eyes. Behind them was a multitude of emotions that pained me to witness. Grief, anger, betrayal. She was hurting so badly. So much more than she could handle. I nodded for her to continue.

“I’m going to do something that must be done,” she began slowly, looking down at her hooves with an expression set in determination, “but I want you to help me.”

“I’ll do anything,” I held her closer, “what are you thinking?”

Luna paused for a moment as she mulled over her next words. “I will no longer yield the sky for the sunrise.”

My ears perked as I interpreted what she said, “you’re not saying…”

“If the ponies of Equestria cannot see what I am, I will make it so,” she said with a growing tone, “I am sick of Celestia’s reign. She has completely cast me aside and buried me beneath her hoof. I’m going to show her that I will not be disregarded. That I can take control of what I see fit.”

I stared at her. My emotions on pause as the words from Star Swirled echoed in my head. This was ludicrous. The cycle of the sun and moon were essential for more than just night and day. It was the very embodiment of the magic that flowed across our world.

“Luna-” I began.

“I want you with me,” she turned and looked into my eyes, “I want you at my side. You and I, we can finally be together. Publicly. Married even! We could be king and queen of Equestria under an eternal night, dominated by the thestrals of Umbris!”

“Luna…” my voice softened, “I- I don’t know what to say.”

I was shocked. Too shocked to respond. Of course I would have loved the idea of an eternal bond with her. I knew what I felt about her, yet it pained me to hear the words leave my mouth.

“I love you,” I whispered for the first time to her, “b- but… not like this.”

Luna’s expression shot from elation to confusion, “what do you mean?”

“We can’t,” I gulped and shook my head, “I won’t begin a life together like this. It’s wrong. We cannot eclipse the sun and make these demands. If we are to be together, we’ll have to do it the right way. With reason. Diplomacy.”

The light behind Luna’s eyes immediately vanished and she shoved me from her side, “there is no diplomacy with that wretched mare!” She stomped a hoof, “I thought you were on my side!”

I stood and held a wing out disarmingly, “I’m on your side!” I pleaded, “but I swore to protect the balance-”

“Is this balanced?!” Luna hollered, gesturing out the window, “Celestia is crushing my very existence!”

“No, it’s not fair,” I sighed, “but it’s also wrong to seize the heavens for your own. I- I cannot allow it.”

I flinched as the words left my tongue. I knew immediately what would follow.

“Cannot allow it?!” Luna took a defensive step back, she looked me up and down, her face screwed in fury, “allow what? What do you possess that might influence what I can and cannot do?”

I stared at her, my voice dying softly, “your heart.”

Luna’s gaze faltered for a moment, before she shook her head, “what are you imply-”

“Our relationship is the problem,” I blurted what came to my head before I could come to reason, “I shouldn’t have let this happen. I should have stopped us before it came to this. The balance of power was too skewed. I’m responsible for the balance between both of you! I’ve gone too far.”

Luna sat silently, watching me as I said the words I never wanted to say.

“Maybe Celestia is right,” I choked, “maybe you and I should not be together. If it means putting an end to this.”

“I trusted you,” Luna’s voice cut dangerously, “I trusted you’d be by my side. I confided in you. I gave myself to you. And you want to throw it all away because that witch disapproves?”

My chest tightened, “No, I don’t want this but what alternative do we have? You won’t try to reason with her!”

“I told you my alternative,” Luna spread her wings, “and you denied me.”

“Luna!” I cried as she tore the window open. “Where are you going?”

The princess of the night paused at the window, looking back at me with tear filled eyes that were hurt beyond comprehension, “To take what is mine.”

A final scene melded in my vision. Agony, grief, anger; all erupted within my chest. Years-worth of anguish that I could never imagine washed over me as I watched events unfold through the hateful eyes of Orpheus.

I sat on my black throne, tapping a rear hoof impatiently. The throne room was empty. The braziers and candles all snuffed out as the afternoon sun cut through my delicate stained glass windows. I sat alone. All of my ponies, save for the closest of guards, fast asleep for the day as I expected the company I never wanted to see again in my life.

“Orpheus.” The cold voice of an alicorn mare boomed through the open door to my atrium.

A line of golden-clad ponies cantered into the room, their swords drawn, aggressively staring down my own guards who quickly brandished their own. At their heels, the fury of the sun itself trotted in slowly. Her fiery hoofclops singeing my carpet with every step, her once beautiful multi-colored mane now an orange tempest, her body adorned with golden armor embossed with the new symbol of her Solar Empire.

“Why are you here?” I spat coldly.

I knew the answer. We all did. She blamed me for Luna’s actions. She blamed me for the collapse of the kingdom, the rebellion of the zebras, the declaration of war from the dragons, the opening of the gates of tartarus which brought the return of monsters to the mainland. If there was a single negative thing that happened within the last decade, her hoof was swiftly pointed toward the direction of our small isle of the sea. 

Every single thing that occurred upon her soil was an echo of what she did to my late beloved; the banishment of Luna’s soul to the moon for a thousand years. A swift and decisive punishment that eradicated lunar magic and upset the balance of the world, allowing the forces of evil to prevail and claw their mangled bodies back from their tomb in hell.

We now faced a reality where the princess of the moon would be absent for an entire alicorn lifetime that I had lived once already. I couldn’t even fathom spending the next thousand years awaiting her return. If I would even be the same stallion I was today. If I would even be alive to embrace her return. The sentence was practically fatal.

There was only one truth that she and I both agreed on. I was responsible for Luna’s final downfall. I let my love for her cloud my judgment and let my emotions get in the way of my mission to preserve balance. I allowed our feelings for each other to blossom instead of nipping it in the bud and preserving peace for all pony kind.

“Surrender your command of the stars,” Celestia slowly approached me, her orange eyes alight with an everlasting inferno, “or I will take it from you.”

“What good would it do?” I stood, facing the taller alicorn.

I was unarmed and unarmored but I was unafraid. This mare was my eternal enemy. She destroyed the only thing I had ever known in this world to be truly beautiful. Without the moon, myself and my people were distraught.

“The gates to tartarus have opened. The Elements of Harmony are not able to contain it,” Celestia explained, “your starlight is the missing key to unlocking the Element’s full power.”

“My starlight?” I openly mocked her, “or perhaps we are missing something more obvious?” I gestured a wing to the stained glass window depicting the Princess of the Night.

“I will eradicate you where you stand,” Celestia’s horn ignited with a gleaming roar of fire, “You are immortal to age, but your flesh may still perish.”

“Which makes two of us,” I surrounded myself with a shield of light, narrowing my eyes to her, “you are far from invincible.”

“I am inevitable!” Celestia roared, pointing her horn at the very same window.

A beam of orange light erupted through the glass in an ear splitting blast, striking my throne and shattering the solid marble like nothing. The intensity of the heat left a molten red-hot pool of lava where her smite struck. Her spell shattered a hole in the stained glass, symbolically cleaving the images of myself from my beloved mare. A lump caught in my throat as I witnessed her disrespect for her late sister.

“GIVE IT TO ME,” Celestia screamed, pointing her horn at me.

I closed my eyes, reaching out to the heavens and looked beyond the blinding glare of Celestia’s sun that plagued our skies. Far outside of her reach, an infinite field of energy radiated from the cosmos that surrounded our world. I pulled on the cool flow of magic, opening my glowing white eyes and casting a blanket of starlit energy across my throne room.

White light encased the Empress of the Sun and her entire group of soldiers. Before anypony could blink, the spell clapped and every single one of them vanished into thin air. I nearly fell over as a wave of exhaustion wobbled my knees.

“Your highness!” Apollo, the captain of the guards of Umbris, rushed from the door, “are you okay? Where did they go?”

I coughed and struggled to stand. “A half hour’s flight offshore.” The immense distance of the mass teleportation spell took its toll on me, but I had to muster my strength for what was certainly about to come. “Awaken the garrison, we defend castle Noctis this day.”

“Yes sir!” Apollo nodded, quickly taking flight and barking orders to the guards who all stood dumbfounded, swords loosely hung in their slack jaws.

I stumbled against my collapsed throne, falling on my knees as I looked up at the shattered remnants of the stained glass window. The elegant mare of the night stood alone across a jagged chasm of daylight that rift her apart from the stallion of twilight. I never felt further from her than at that moment. But one thought steeled my nerves.

“I will restore balance,” I whispered to myself, “Celestia will fall.”