Day 4
Waning
Luna lay awake, staring around at her bedchambers. The room was remarkably different than prior to her long imprisonment, and while she could accept the new décor, the technology was an alien concept to her. While she understood the machine that made her coffee for her, she was mystified at the workings of this new “microwave oven”. She had witnessed Celly reheating some of the leftover steak from their dinner last night, and she had been amazed at how the food had been cooked without the aid of a fire.
Granted, she was very familiar with light and electromagnetic radiation as it fell within her sphere of magic, but she was entirely unfamiliar with the technology behind its use. She marveled at the radio, a device that broadcasted speech across vast distances instantaneously, and the Inner Lens, a device that peered through flesh and bone using higher-end EM radiation for use in medicine. So much technology now was allowing pegasi and earth ponies access to such arts as writing, fine craftsmanship, and combat.
The social upheavals alone were very difficult for her to come to grips with, and something as radical as an earth pony or pegasus being able to write novels…or worse…technical manuals…was something that disturbed her sensibilities greatly. She had never been racist towards any particular faction, least of all the pegasi, who were some of the few to truly enjoy her night, as they not only developed methods of navigation from her stars, they incorporated her into their art and literature far more than the earth ponies, or even the Unicorns, despite their respect for her magical abilities.
It was just…implacably disturbing to witness so many boundaries that had always seemed impossible to conceive of moving changed drastically, and her view of the world was literally being flipped on its head on a daily basis. She found some comfort in her cousin, who while having lived through these changes, never partook of them, as he viewed any kind of prosthetic to his abilities or person as a sign of weakness. Despite this, he had helped her along with her sister to provide valuable historical insight into the changes that had taken place during her absence, so she would not be too terribly overwhelmed by the culture shock.
A new alarm clock lay on the end table, next to her bed. This one she was very familiar with. It had been her mother’s father’s clock, as he had governance over the operation of time. A mixture of fantastically complicated clockwork and beautifully constructed spells, it had kept time down to the very second for almost five millennia, making it just a bit older than Luna or her sister, as it had been given as a baby shower present while Celly was still in the womb. She leaned over and smiled, peering at the wondrous device.
Hour, minute, and second arms moved accordingly; the hour hand was solid gold, the minute hand jade, and the second hand was pure silver. A large ruby adorned the first, a sapphire the second, and an emerald the third. To the top-right and bottom left, smaller time-keeping wheels kept track of the day, months, years, and centuries. Fantastic swirls of gold and lapis lazuli made up the background, with tiny diamonds emulating the stars of the night. It was her mother’s gift to her upon ascending the throne, and one of the many gifts she had received upon her first birthday after returning from exile.
Celestia had wrapped it rather inconspicuously, and it had been one of the last that Luna opened with great zeal, atomizing the wrapping paper after zealously tearing it off to reveal what treasures lay hidden. Though it had taken her a minute to recognize the artifact, it was the only one that brought tears to her eyes, as she thought that it was one of the many lost treasures destroyed with the old city. She loved it dearly back then, and it was one of the few material items she truly treasured, the other being her art materials and jewelry.
She felt a shiver go down her spine. Something was amiss. Closing her eyes, she cast her sight from the moon, as she had learned to do during her imprisonment.
The whole of the world lay beneath her gaze, and a familiar feeling of isolation set it. This is different, she told herself. I am free. See? Her gaze narrowed down to the castle, and saw herself through the window, closing her eyes. This brought her an immense feeling of calm, as she watched herself wiggle her wings and tail. Now, back to business. She widened her gaze to the whole of Equestria and beyond, and for the familiar magical signal of the Nightmare. Nothing was wrong. Ponies and beasts alike slept under her moon, and after several hours of careful searching, she saw that nothing was amiss, excluding the strange lights and spell fields that had always obscured her vision far to the north in what encompassed the dragon lands, and where once existed the Crystal Empire.
Sighing in frustration, she plopped down on her bed, and turned her gaze within. A small sliver of fear, part of her heart that felt the future, knew something terrifying was coming. She never questioned her intuition, nor did she forsake her clairvoyance, despite her pride in it leading to her possession. Regardless, she doubted she could choose to snuff it out like the flame of a candle, or turn it off than on again as a machine. It was part of who she was. Whatever she was dreading, she reasoned, she would find out sooner or later. No point worrying about it now, best go to sleep before the sun rises. Luna snuggled up her Avkir, her treasured totem; or as it was more commonly know, a sleeping companion. It was a toy Ursa Minor, enchanted to have the same star-filled coat as its giant, living cousin. Luna loved it dearly, as it, like the clock, was one of the few items she possessed prior to everything in her world going so terribly wrong. Weariness overtook her, and she fell fast asleep.
Celestia yawned. The flashbacks that had been plaguing her nights had mercifully abated, and she had a rare dreamless sleep, leaving her well rested. The moon had set, and she felt the familiar pressure of the sun urging her to raise it. Groggy, and faintly smiling, she opened the doors of her porch. She closed her eyes, and reaching out as she had done millions of times before, touched the sun with her magic. It had always felt as if…she was cradling a child in her arms, and bringing it up to her face to kiss lovingly. She rarely thought of this, as it was a painful reminder to her own loss. To her surprise, the sunrise was vibrant crimson. She watched as the red rays of the sun poured out across the land, leaving long shadows in its wake.
A red sun. That was meant as a dark omen, and it occurred only when something truly terrible had occurred or was happening. Horrible battles, where the dead and dying mingled together on the field of war, barriers to the void breached, or worst of all, massacre of the innocent. Terrible, disgusting things were heralded by this sun. She peered at it, almost furious at its defiance of her peaceful waking and optimism, and watched it as it climbed into the sky out of the horizon. Turning around, she went off to breakfast with Cadance, as Luna said she would be going to sleep early after her long night.
“Oh dear, that sounds awful. What do you think it means?” Cadance looked at Celestia, her face full of concern. They had finished their breakfast, and were talking over morning tea before the Day Court opened. “I’m not sure. As far as I know, we aren’t in a war last I checked, and I haven’t received a briefing of any disasters during the night, which are delivered very promptly to me. Has everything with yourself and your husband been alright?” Cadance smiled, and nodded calmly. “He’s been his happy self as always. Nopony has been giving him trouble, or myself, for that matter. Perhaps we should wait and see how the rest of the day plays out instead of searching for a crisis, which more than likely will come to us?” Celestia nodded, thoughtfully. “There is no wisdom in causing any kind of panic for something that may or may not affect us. For all we know, it could be a crisis outside of our borders, and outside our realm of control. I will speak to the diplomatic advisor today about the state of our neighbors. By the way, how have your studies been progressing?”
Cadance frowned. “The magic is…very difficult to understand, and more so to wield. Although I know I am capable of such feats as raising the sun or moon, It is incredibly strenuous for me to even access the power within myself. Though we’ve tried it several times, Shining and I…we can’t seem to access our power as we did during the banishing of the changeling army. It’s not a voluntary spell, I believe.” Celestia smiled. She had been right to give Cadance to Dragolis for apprenticeship, despite them being roughly around the same age.
Her smile fell. “Niece…there is something I wish to discuss with you. It’s not bad, just…well, a little depressing, and I think it wise to have a talk with you about it before it begins to weigh on your heart over the years.” Cadance gulped audibly, and looked across the table at her aunt, shyly. “Y-yes, auntie?” Celestia paused for several minutes. The silence was deafening.
“Cadance…how do you see yourself in a century? Several? What about a millennium? This may seem an odd question, but it has… a particular importance to your place in this world.” Cadance looked downcast. “I…I understand full well your concern. I understand that he…he won’t be with me very long, comparatively. I see myself…tending to my children, and then their descendents. Aren’t the nobility of royal blood, albeit diluted through many generations?” Celestia smiled at Cadance’s attempt to deflect the conversation to something less…depressing.
“They certainly are, but not of my blood. Other than yourself, Luna bore many children, but all of them were unicorns. In all the time she has lived you are her only immortal child. This is why she loves you as much as she does; she has had to watch dozens of her children march relentlessly forward in time, and to their deaths, fading into dust. Her depression, her vulnerability, has always been that she felt love for them, even after dozens of generations have passed. She mourns as deeply as for the passing of one now as she did so long ago when her first passed on. This is why the Nightmare took her, not myself, despite her being more magically powerful. Her heart is vulnerable because she loves so deeply, and is hurt so terribly so often in her long, long life. You are, and will always be, the best thing that has ever happened to her.”
Cadance took this in, tears welling up at trying to imagine how her mother could possibly have endured for so long without resigning herself to her grief. Her…love. But a burning question remained in her heart. “…Tia. If you pardon my asking…” Her aunt nodded, urging her to continue. “You say the nobles are not of your blood. What about you? Have you had children of your own?” Celestia’s gaze withdrew, and her eyes became distant lights; lost in the vast sea of her memory. “I…had had twins once. They perished around the same time you were born. One was a mare, the other a colt. Their names were Ahn’e’va and Ahv’e’na. I…had always been unable to bear foals of my own due to my…internal biology, and it was your grandfather who granted me them as his last gift to me before parting. They were immaculately conceived.”
Cadance blinked. She never knew this about Celestia. Losing children so special, so…utterly unique as to be named after the archaic twin spirits of creation, must have been crushing. “How-” She immediately shut her mouth as the shock of the realization took hold.
They had died…around when she was born.
A thousand years ago. Her mother’s banishment. They were killed along with the rest of the family during that horrifying ordeal. A small inkling of the strength her aunt possessed shone through to Cadance, as she slowly grasped how much restraint it must have taken to not only spare her sister’s life, but…to have faith in her, that one day she would return and that she could be exorcised, redeemed, and forgiven.
“Tia…I never knew-”
“It was terrible. For a long time-”
“I never knew you had such incredible grace. It’s beautiful beyond anything I could have ever imagined. You love Mother so much…even after what happened. It is beautiful in every sense of the word. I am proud that you are her sister.”
Celestia stood agape. Her little niece…understood. She understood better than herself at even her best, and felt admiration for her. She was astounded that something as complicated as this was understood so elegantly by Cadance, whose understanding of love, it seemed, was as profound and beautiful as her practice of it. Such unconditional love, such compassion was something she had not experienced for so long, as the sycophantic hoof-licking of her subjects had tired her out over the many long years of her rule.
“I…thank you, my niece. I’m not sure quite how to display how deeply gracious and glad I am to hear you say that, but it is by far the least insignificant thing I have heard…I have felt…in a very, very long time.” Thank you, she said silently in her mind. I needed that more than I thought I did.
Much of the day had passed without incident. Nothing amiss outside or inside the borders was reported, and the petty squabbling nobles that came to try her patience were remarkably far and few in between.
It was shaping up to be a good day in her opinion, before she heard the horrible screaming coming from her sister’s room.
Her eyes widening at recognition of what the sound truly was, she teleported directly from the throne room to the front of her sister’s door. This was not simply Luna being startled. Celestia heard true, pure, utter primal terror in her sister’s voice, something very rare as nothing could truly threaten their lives except each other.
Marching past the confused guardsponies, she moved the throng of concerned servants and guards, and opened her sister’s room. Luna was still asleep. Her eyes were open in abject terror like…some kind of dying animal…and her mouth was contorted as she was wailing at the top of her voice in terror. Celestia immediately rushed over to her sister’s side, and tried to shake her awake. “LUNA! IT’S JUST A DREAM!” She yelled over the terrible sound, and pushed her magic into her sister’s mind, trying to bring her awake. Some terrible phantasm, a night terror beyond describing had locked her conscious mind completely in utter hysteria, and Celestia gasped with the effort it took to reach her sister. A short second or two later, the horrible screaming stopped, and Luna lay shaking in her sweat-soaked bed. Most of it was sweat, anyway.
“…Luna? It’s your sister; you’re safe now. Nothing is going to hurt you. Can you talk? Do you know where you are?” Luna was still shaking, and staring blankly ahead. “Luna? Lulu, say-” She was interrupted as she felt the mighty arms of her sister nearly crush her ribs in a tight embrace. She said nothing, and wailed loudly into her sister’s shoulder, still shaking violently. Celestia noticed the throng of concerned bystanders peering through the partially opened door, and glared at them furiously. Their privacy was being violated. The door promptly slammed, and she heard shuffling and muttering as the crowd dispersed. She sighed.
“Luna…Luna it’s alright, you can let go. I’m here, I’m not going anywhere.” Her sister didn’t let go, and continued sobbing. “Please, you can tell-” “NO!!” Celestia was struck at the primal intensity of what was considered loud even by her sister’s standards. “…No. I can’t tell you.” Celestia saw her sister’s eyes. She was frightened so badly, she could see the edges of madness in her gaze at whatever she had witnessed. “…okay. I’ll just stay here with you, and you can loosen your grip a little bit so I can breathe. Is that alright?” Luna’s eyes brightened a little, and she relaxed her iron grip.
“Thank you. Now, I’m going to get up to get some tea for us. I’ll be righ-” Luna tightened her grip, and stared up at her, desperately. “DON’T GO!! I-” She choked slightly, and lowered her volume again. “Don’t go, sister. Please. Stay with me here.” Celestia opened her mouth to say something, and closed it after realizing anything she could say to her sister wouldn’t allow her to leave the room, even if she her sister would let her out of her embrace. “Ok then, I won’t leave the room. Are you certain that you don’t want to talk about it?” Luna shook her head violently in the negative. Celestia suddenly realized her sister was still hyperventilating. Whatever she had witnessed, it was more terrible than anything Luna had ever seen, heard, or dealt with in their long lives together. Celestia immediately felt guilty for even considering leaving her in this state.
“Ssshhhhh everything’s all right. Your big sister is here. Would you like Cadance here too?” Celestia felt Luna’s grip slacken ever so slightly. “I would like that.” Celestia smiled, and motioned to Cadance, who had been standing outside the door, listening. “Here she is. Come over here, everything’s all right.” Cadance walked over to her distraught mother, with nothing but compassion written all over her face. “Mother, it’s me. It’s ok, we’re both here.” Luna slowly let go of her sister, and moved over to Cadance, burying her face in her mane. She didn’t say anything for a long time, during which she saw Luna still shaking. Celestia got up off the bed, slowly. “Would you like some tea now, Luna?” Luna nodded slowly, still shaking slightly and half her face buried in Cadance’s mane. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Celestia quietly closed the door behind her, and turning around, she was confronted with the startling spectacle of several hundred ponies all crammed into the hallway staring at her, expectantly. The entire palace staff was here, out of concern for Luna. “I…as surprised as I am seeing you all here…I am immensely grateful for your concern of my sister. This has not happened to her before, and as much as I would like to assure everypony that she will be alright, I cannot honestly say that, as I have no idea what she has seen in her sleep. She is truly distressed right now, and I will not permit anypony but Cadance and myself in the room until I have determined that she is able to leave. She is not physically injured in any way, but she has witnessed something…of such terror…that she had been rendered to a very vulnerable state. As much as I would like to rely on your support with this ordeal, it is strictly a family matter. Do not interfere. Anypony that tries to do so, even with the best of intentions, will be dealt with severely. I will make no compromises when it comes to the safety of my sister. Am I understood?” Frightened nods in the affirmative rippled across the crowd. “Good. I am going to fetch some tea.”
She paused briefly, and narrowed her gaze menacingly towards those of the palace staff who looked at her dubiously. One even had the…audacity…to be snickering and motioning something obscene to his friend. She growled.
“Do not make so much as a mouse fart in front of this door, or I will burn the flesh off of your still-living bones.”
She walked away towards the kitchen, almost hearing the shocked expressions of hundreds of her subjects realizing their sovereign not only spoke to them in somewhat vulgar tones, but made a very real, and very explicit, threat against them should they go against her wishes. She barely heard the mortified crowd disperse.
Inside the room, Cadance was rocking her mother, feeling the terror slowly leave her, and replaced by the loving comfort of her daughter. “Mother, what is it that could have frightened you so?” Luna was quiet for several minutes. When she spoke, it was barely a whisper. “…It was a vision of a possible future, my daughter. While I have borne witness to many prophecies, none have been as terrifying as what I have seen. I will spare your untarnished soul the details, or even a hint of what it I have seen, for it is abominable beyond any words can describe. My sister…I saw…I…” Luna collapsed in her daughter’s arms, sobbing violently. It was going to be awhile before she could be better again, Cadance decided.
Celestia’s tea “drawer” was more like a hall of assorted teas, golden shelves sparkling in light of the waning sun. Over many centuries, she had accumulated an immense variety of tea, and had elevated the simple but pleasant drink to an art form, and her own personal religion in a way. Though she by no means enjoyed tea for its taste over, say, pastries or wine, she was able to recognize and appreciate the enormous variety of flavors and effects each tea had. She had tea for every possible situation, as over the course of the thousand years of her sister’s banishment, she had engrossed herself in pointless hobbies such as this to take her mind off of her loneliness.
Tea, although not the most tasty of drinks, provided her peace of mind, as it allowed her to set moods, access memories, meditate, and relax in ways her normally fiery soul could not and would not allow itself to relax and become calm on its own. Her sister was supposed to be the calm one from birth, ironically.
After agonizing over what could possibly alleviate such frayed nerves as her sister’s, Celestia, to her delight, found exactly what she was looking for. She levitated a small silver jar, painted with the night sky and a crescent moon with a bearded pony sleeping on it. Moonbeams and Miracles had always been her favorite tea, even if she didn’t drink it regularly. The oddly named tea was, to her immense surprise, one of the creations of Starswirl the Bearded, who had created an incredibly powerful alchemical brew in the form of a tea that was designed to provide relief to victims of shock, trauma, and such violence as to render them catatonic or hysterical. It was used almost exclusively in hospitals, but Celestia kept some on-hand because of how remarkably it performed in its intended purpose.
Moonbeams and Miracles was not a drug. It did not alter the chemical balance of the mind in any way. What it did do was draw upon the pony’s own wellspring of good memories and feelings, and bring clarity and a deep feeling of peace to the mind and heart. And if the pony knew the feeling, it brought a deep feeling of being loved, of being treasured and valued. Of being needed. Starswirl’s wife, even though no mention of her survived in the history books, was a remarkable woman who married a remarkable man. She had come up with the idea of the tea, as something designed directly to help ponies. Starswirl, who acted like a mad hermit at the best of times, had acquiesced to his wife’s desires, and created and distributed the tea for hospital charities.
She had never given it to her sister, to her shame, because she had always hoarded it for herself. She had developed a slight addiction to it after her father left them, and quit entirely after her sister’s exile, for fear of a relapse. Bagging the tea, she reemerged into the kitchen, pleasantly surprised that one of her cooks had quietly heated the water for her. Thanking him, she poured three glasses of hot water, and put three bags of the marvelous tea into each of the cups. She double-bagged Luna’s, just to be safe.
Cadance looked up as the door opened, and Celestia walked in, carrying a tray with three cups of steaming tea. “I brought something that should help. Please, sister; come over to your table here to join me.” Luna wearily got up off the bed. Celestia blinked in astonishment. She wore the same haggard face of their mother before her death, and she felt the weight of the thousand years of her prison following her as she sat at the table with her sister and daughter, looking downcast. “Here, drink; it will make you feel better.” Luna blinked slowly. Celestia set her teacup in front of her. Cadance took a sip, and melted with joy into her chair. Celestia was not surprised, although she smiled at guessing what couldn’t be happy right now in Cadance’s life. “Mmm…mother, you must try this tea. It is…absolutely lovely.” Luna smiled weakly, and shakily brought the tea to her lips, drinking deeply. She set it back down and closed her eyes. Celestia watched, expectantly.
Luna’s head clonked loudly on the table, and began snoring loudly. The double dose had knocked her clean out, to Celestia’s surprise and disappointment. “Tia, look at her face.” Luna was smiling warmly, and cuddling up into a ball. She was having a good dream. “…I’m not quite sure I understand what’s going on. The tea is supposed to calm her nerves, not put her to sleep like anesthesia, even if I did double-bag it. Do you have any idea what’s going on?”
Cadance smiled. “She opened up a little while you were gone. She didn’t give me any specifics as to what she had seen, but she did say it was a prophecy to a possible future. What I believe is happening right now-” SNNOOORRRRKK!!!! “...Is that her mind is repairing the damage done to itself. Her sphere of power is that of dreams, not just the night and the moon.” Celestia nodded, and began to understand where Cadance was going with her postulation.
“My sister’s conscious mind has always been somewhat young and fragile. But her subconscious…is something entirely different. Her…id…I think is the name for it…was taken advantage of and manifested by the Nightmare. Her power…was less than mine or anypony else’s in the family during the crisis, did you know that?” Cadance’s eyes went wide. “But then, how did she?..”
“Nightmare Moon possessed somewhat limited precognition. It was no doubt a crude attempt by the demon to tap into her prophetic abilities, but it unleashed something else. Her intellect.” Cadance’s already wide eyes became just a bit larger.
“Luna is…a genius. More than that, she is a goddess. But unlike myself, she is not bound to the present, nor does she think or operate like you or I do, or anypony else in our long past. She is…truly omniscient. She shares the power of our late grandfather; she has within herself the ability to see all of time; past, present, and all possible futures. This is likely a holdover from our maternal grandfather, but…I have no way of knowing certain. But because of this, the dreams of all ponies are hers to witness, and though her waking self may not choose to see inside the minds of others…she does regardless, without her knowing. Her realm is that of dreams, yes, but it is one of wisdom, and healing. I may give life to barren lands, I may raise the sun that, without its light, would doom everything in this world to a cold and empty death, but Luna…she is haunted by the memories of the future as much as the past, and it is through her sight that we can survive. That we can keep our minds and hearts intact.”
Cadance was silent. Her mother, without even realizing it, was the wisest living thing on this world, and possibly in all of existence. She was precious to this world. No wonder why her aunt so fiercely protected her.
“She’ll be better by tomorrow. I think we should help her back to sleep, hm?” Cadance nodded, smiling. They gently laid her back on her bed. “Auntie…if you don’t mind, I think I’ll stay here with her. Is that alright?” Celestia nodded, and headed out the door, blissfully sipping her tea. “Thank you. I think she’ll be better.” Luna smiled in her sleep. Celestia felt the tea working on her, and she felt truly at ease for the first time all day. Cadance would take care of her sister, there was nothing to worry about.