//------------------------------// // Sundered // Story: Paradise Sundered // by q97randomguy //------------------------------// Chapter Seven: Sundered Luna awoke just in time to lower the moon. By now she was able to do it while only half awake, and it wasn’t surprising when she almost immediately fell back asleep. When she finally pulled herself fully out of the realm of shadows, it was after noon. She could tell because her west facing window was letting in much more light than it should. So bright. She idly covered her head with a wing. The smell assaulted her sinuses. Ugh, I really need to get washed up— She scrambled to her hooves, silently cursing. A quick check of her sister’s aura confirmed her suspicions; it was at least two in the afternoon. On a typical morning she would have spent a good twenty minutes getting cleaned up for the day. This was not a typical morning; it wasn’t even morning at all. Consequently she did not use her normal routine, instead she teleported out of her regalia and into her tub. She caught the nearly explosive wave of displaced water, and started swirling it around on her coat, heating it as she did. She added soap and scrubbed even more vigorously. If anypony saw her now they would have mistaken her for a dirty snow pony, if not for the wings that were being magically preened. It was an uncomfortable process, but it was much faster than doing it by mouth. It only took five minutes, but it felt like five minutes too long. She rushed to her door, then remembered that it wouldn’t do to be seen in a rush. She slowed to a brisk trot and gathered the various pieces of legislation she had drafted while levitating her regalia back on and stepping back into her silver horseshoes. As she yanked open the door, she thanked the stars that she could multitask so well. Trotting through the hall, she went to look for her sister... and maybe chew somepony out for not waking her sooner. As she walked into the great hall-turned-throne room, Luna saw something she hadn’t noticed the night before; what was apparently her throne was carved out of one block of onyx. An involuntary shudder ran down her back. That will have to go. Celestia wasn’t on her golden throne, or anywhere else in the room for that matter. She approached one of the ponies there, and asked where Celestia would be. The answer left much to be desired. Either in the courtyard presiding over a marriage, or out allocating land, or organizing the pegasi, or maybe treating with the River Serpents, or... There were far too many places to check, so she simply used her magic to try and sense where her sister was. That proved useless too; her sister wasn’t within range. That left Luna with a choice: search for her — which could take hours, or get to work on legislation — possibly with Starswirl’s help. In the end there was no choice. There was much to be done, and she’d already been doing what had amounted to nothing for far too long. With a sigh, she headed back to grab the laws she’d drafted. Luna arrived at Starswirl’s door with scrolls and quills in tow. She knocked softly. It was in a rhythm that had happened quite by accident, years ago. “Come in, Luna.” She opened the door and walked in. Eveningwatch was nowhere to be seen, and Starswirl was standing by the window. “Are you sure you should be out of bed?” “I’ve been confined to that thing all day. I needed to stretch my legs, work out a few cramps.” He sunk into a squat and extended each leg in turn, each knee making an audible crack. When he finally turned to face Luna he had to put a hoof to his head. “Give me a second, just till the room stops spinning.” When he opened his eyes, he noticed the cloud of scrolls she had with her. “What do you have there?” “Just some things I’d like to look over with you.” “Some?” “Okay, maybe a lot.” “Let’s get to it then. Where do we start?” “I was thinking of beginning with my plans for integrating the old nobility with Our co-rulership. You’ve been with them for the longest by far.” She spread a scroll in the air before him. “How do you think they’ll react to this section here?” . . . It should have been tedious, mind numbing work, but with an old friend it went by much faster. It got awkward when after only a half hour Starswirl needed to lie down, but as good friends do, they got past it. They barely noticed when his wife came back carrying the groceries. But they did notice the tantalizing aroma of apple cabbage stew. It made Luna’s stomach growl rather loudly. “Did you miss lunch... again?” “Um, well. About that...” “Breakfast too?” “In my defense, I was asleep at breakfast time.” Eveningwatch turned away from the fire with the pot of stew. “I hope I made enough for a very hungry Princess too. You might want to add something to those about getting a good cooking staff. You’ve got this huge kitchen, but nopony working it.” “I’ll see what I can do.” They all ate in relative silence, Luna because she was too hungry to do anything but eat, Starswirl because eating and talking at the same time would be more than he was up to, and Eveningwatch because she knew that anything she said would only be met with one word responses. When they had finished eating, Luna picked up the next scroll from the unfinished stack. “So, where were we? Ah, grain and—” “Sorry, Luna, I don’t think I can.” “Don’t be. I think I can take care of the rest by myself. See you tomorrow?” “Sounds like a plan.” “Right. See you then. You too, Eveningwatch.” She gathered up the parchment, and left. It has been a while; maybe Celly is back. She circled the mostly empty castle for a while, looking for her. Eventually her route took her past her sister’s room. The door was open a crack. Maybe she’s in there. She poked her head in. “You in here, Celestia?” It seemed that she wasn’t. Oh well. Might as well leave what I’ve got done here, while I can. She crossed the room to her sister’s desk. There was already a haphazard pile of scrolls on it. They looked like... hers, and they didn’t look like they’d been opened. She must have been too busy today. Yeah, she must’ve had a lot to do, she’s not even back yet. Right. She left her stack of scrolls in a neat pile next to the others, then quickly fled the room, trying to suppress the irrational thoughts assailing her. Over the years, Luna had found few things more relaxing, or at least calming, as writing. It made her impose order on her thoughts, and look at things in a rational light. When she made it back to her room it is not a surprise that she started a new journal. Her old one was close to finished, but more importantly, the recent events seemed to draw a clear line across her life. Everything seemed to be falling apart. Her best friend was — she hated to admit it — dying. She had found what could have been the only other pony that could share the burden of the ages with her and her sister, only to have her snatched away. To top it all off, she had been forced to live through what amounted to her worst nightmare. Stars above, it had felt like it had lasted years! She began to write, again starting with discovering Cadance. Perhaps through repetition she could find closure. An hour later, it didn’t look that way. There were underlines and notes in the margins, all displaying how massively reckless and stupid she had been. It wasn’t pretty. She had known that there were things she should have done differently, but looking back and naming them all... made her feel sick. And she wasn’t even done yet. With a disgusted grunt, she hurled the journal at the bed. “Having trouble with a new spell?” She jumped so high that her head nearly collided with the ceiling. “Gah! Celestia! Are you trying to kill me?” She glared while her sister chuckled. “...Sorry, but it’s just... it’s just so easy to get you when you’re working.” “I’m not in the mood right now.” “Well, excuse me, Princess. I was trying to lighten the mood.” “This isn’t the type of thing that just goes away with a joke.” Celestia’s ears flattened against her head. “You’re right. I don’t know what else to do, though. If we really can’t change any of this... I don’t know what else to do.” She sighed. “It helps to just not think about it, keep yourself busy.” I wish it were that simple. I can’t even look at you without being reminded. I can’t think of editing without remembering. I can’t even raise the moon without it being there, in the back of my mind. She didn’t say any of that though. Instead she asked, “What do you need? Unless you just came to see if I was okay.” “Are you okay?” She asked softly. No! How could I be? “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” “Right. To business. I’ve put Hurricane in charge of forming the Royal Guard because there have been reports of wolves. But they aren’t ready yet. Think that you could maybe...?” “Of course. I’ll get on my barding.” “Thanks. Stay safe.” As Luna buckled on the armor, her sister left. While the pieces snapped together, Luna couldn’t help but be reminded of the good old days. They may have seemed like Tartarus at the time, but what I wouldn’t do for another chance. She made her way out into the clear spring night. It would be a very bad life choice for a wolf, or any of the forest’s predators, to show their face tonight. March 4 Entry #3 It took me two days to finish my recounting of the events in the north. It wasn’t any less painful than before. I hope that one day it will be, but for now it seems that any bit of joy is tainted by an accompanying sorrow. Today, when I met with Starswirl to discuss the finer points of some proposals, he was struck with a sudden migraine. But I digress, this journal is meant to make me feel better, not worse. It turns out that Celestia turning over the organization of the Guard to Comman Guard Captain Hurricane saved me a great deal of work. She was always quite competent. Brash, but effective. I can put my plans away for now; she has it under control. Now I have more time to focus on other things, mostly laws and the like. Some of Celestia’s stopgap methods won’t last too long. It’ll need replacing in a few months to a few years. I’ve got to get everything ready for when it’s needed. There’s just so much to do! I’ll need to limit my time doing other things, like writing in here. No more than three times a week, serious work comes before something that just helps me. March 28 Entry #9 Well, the castle is filling up rather nicely. We’ve got a nice staff now; most of them don’t have any training, but the unicorns that do are teaching the others. It’s nice to see them instructing, rather than lording over. If this is what we have to look forward to, I can be glad that We accomplished something worthwhile. There I go again, all those proclamations I’ve had to write are getting to me. Speaking of proclamations, why does Celestia always seem to go first? It’s not like No, these are supposed to be about the good, not the bad, or anything else. Magic is good, so there’s that. I’ve almost got the transformation spell Sombra used figured out. I can’t help myself, it’s just too interesting to not try. It’d be nice if I’d stop remembering what happe No, that’s just reinforcing the memory, I’ve got to stop that. April 27 Entry #19 April showers bring May flowers, but We don’t see why most of them need to be scheduled during the night. How are ponies supposed to see my beautiful sky with so many clouds in the way? It’s almost like they don’t care. Our research has gotten to the point where I feel confident that I can disassociate like he did without taking half of the castle with me. Still, We think it best to go somewhere secluded, just in case. I can barely wait to write down Our experience with it; it’s been too long since I’ve used a truly new spell. If it works (which it will) I’ll show Celly on the way back. Hopefully she won’t be too busy with anything at dawn. How cou Why woul We thought that this was over. The writing through tears. It’s been almost a month since I’ve really cried. Things haven’t been great, but they’ve been getting better. We haven’t seen her much with all that’s been going on, but how could Celestia have forgotten me so soon? We thought that We would give her a nice surprise. What would be a better way to show off the spell than rematerializing right next to her? But what she said. She can’t really feel that way, right? No. No, she can’t. I must have missed something. Yes, there was some other context I missed. That must be it. But even so, there was truth to what she said. Terrible, biting truth. Everypony does look up to her with awe, respect, and love. They adore her, as well they should. But for Us? It’s just not there. They bow, but the act is reflexive, not heartfelt. They applaud, but it’s always on cue. They go out at night, but only when they must. This is almost like how the spell the nightmare happened. We’re growing apart; they’re rejecting me. I will stop this. I had no control before, but this time, things will be different. I’ll take the initiative, and make Our night as good better than ever before. May 18 Entry# 28 It has taken all of Our free time, but We have finally come up with the best possible plan. They’ll be bedazzled by sparkling meteor showers, wowed by graceful comets, awed by gleaming auroras, enamored with resplendent constellations. Above it all, the moon shall hang in the sky, a beacon of light to drive out the frightening shadow of night. Yes, they will see how beautiful and wonderful Our night truly is. June 2 Entry# 31 It’s finally done. It took, Stars above, more than two weeks, but I finished everything. We need a night or two of good rest, then We can begin. June 5 Entry #32 It begins! Soon. Soon, all will know the wonder of my dark and jeweled sky. June 11 Entry# 35 In Our nightly flights around the castle grounds and the surrounding towns, We have noticed less ponies dreaming. We thought that this was a good sign. But no. Today, one of the towns sent a petition to me. One hundred and thirty four signatures. One hundred thirty four lines of fire across my heart. They all wanted Us to stop. We lost Our temper. It hurt, how loud I yelled at them. Their ears will heal, ironically, thanks to Our aura. Everypony owes me their lives for getting them through the unnatural winter alive. Not that I could ever let them know; that would ruin Celestia’s great paradise. We can’t let that happen, can We? No, despite it all, Equestria is for the best. I won’t jeopardize it, not just for myself. June 18 Entry# 37 So, I’m not surprised that Celestia started to take notice of the other petitions. Most of the towns have sent them in by now. Each time hurts, just like the first. Of course she was understanding and caring; it is her way. But does she really understand? I doubt it. She’s surrounded by her devotees, whereas I only have Starswirl, Eveningwatch, and occasionally their daughter. And that doesn’t look like it’ll last much longer. Starswirl is in rough shape. The crack on his horn hasn’t healed, and it’s gotten infected. Horn rot is rare, and hard to pull through, even for a younger, stronger pony. Things look bad. We stay with him most of the time now, praying, hoping for him to make it through this. The doctors are doing their best, but, well, there isn’t much they can do. We tried convincing him to let Us to try to heal him — after all, what I can do seems to break all the rules of magical healing anyways. But he adamantly refused. He said that if somehow it went wrong, I’d never forgive myself. He’s right of course. I hate this, being powerless. July 11 Entry# 42 Starswirl is dead. It happened a few days ago. We knew it was coming. Why? Why did it have to be so soon? He wasn’t old, not really. The last few days have been spent with his wife and daughter. I comforted as much as I was comforted. Celestia, of course, announced a national day of mourning. Most ponies think it’s because he’s he was a great mage. They’ll never know he gave his life for their future. During the cremation, as the smoke rose up, We gave him Our last gift. A constellation. We will make sure he’s never forgotten. July 25 Entry# 48 Our project has fallen by the wayside. Not that it was doing much more than make everypony hate me. We simply couldn’t muster the spark fire energy I don’t even know. Whatever it is, We didn’t have it. Sister finally noticed. She spent a few hours with Us today. It was tense. Could she feel that? Still, she did have a good idea. We’ll try what she suggested. We’ve never thought to use Our dream walking to stop nightmares before, though now it seems obvious. Helping others always lifts Our spirits; this seems like just the thing We need. August 16 Entry# 57 Driving out bad dreams continues to bring Us joy! The looks of gratitude We receive from the ponies We assist warm Our heart. It’s a shame We didn’t start this sooner. We worried that it would be an intrusion on their privacy. But it isn’t, not if they want to be helped. We thought that if We opened Ourself to so many minds, We would lose Ourself. But the Stars have smiled on me! It is as if We were made for this. September 4 Entry# 69 Looking back on the past few weeks, a disturbing trend seems to be emerging. We don’t want to be too hasty though, surely We must just be forgetting something. September 9 Entry# 73 How did We not see it earlier? All of them, all of them, have been set at night. Not once has a pony’s nightmare been set during Her day. Even subconsciously they fear Us. What did We ever do? It’s not fair! They owe Us their lives, but are they grateful? No! They revere Her more. But We can figure out a way to change that. This is a problem, a problem that We will solve. It’s just a matter of time, and application of magic. September 28 Entry# 81 Yes, this plan is coming together nicely. Thanks to all our notes, We are close to being able to replicate Her aura. Then We just need to be able to hold both at the same time. It shouldn’t be a problem. Not for the Element of Magic. Looking more like Her will be foal’s play. They’ll see Our beauty, and Our unparalleled glory will be known. Soon, I can feel it. October 14 Entry# 86 We’ve finally succeeded in replicating Her aura. It felt strange, but not unpleasant. We suppose We will get used to it. Now We just need to balance the two. A delicate task, but one that We are uniquely suited for. October 15 Entry# 87 Today, She visited Us. She wondered what she felt last night. I reassured her that nothing was amiss, that I was nearing completion of a particularly intense spellcrafting session. She said that she couldn’t wait to see it. Don’t worry Sister, you will. You will. October 31 Entry# 96 Do they seek to add insult to injury? They began constructing what is essentially a temple to Her. Did they think We wouldn’t notice? We can see it from Our room! Its foundation is shaped like her cutie mark! How could we not notice that? We will not let this go. Now is the time for action. Luna flew out into the evening. As she flew, she gathered all of her power. What she was about to do was unlike anything the word had seen. That didn’t bother her; she’d already done similarly improbable acts before. They think She’s so great? Well, let’s see what they think of her after this! Her body lost its definition, blurred, then resolved again. She was larger now, proportioned much like her sister. It was a relatively simple transformation, and she did it with little more than a whim. What she focused on was the lunar aura. It was one with her, and one with the moon, and if she felt for it, she could direct it as she pleased. So she did. Luna let it flow through her, like a river of liquid silver. But as it passed through her, she allowed her burning desire for the love and acceptance that only her sister received to burn it a dark gold. The moon’s color gradually changed as it rose above the horizon, sliding from pearly white to a ruddy orange. She saw that the field below was dotted with homes. Let them greet their Princess. They will see Us, and they will love Us. She waited, impatiently, for several minutes. Why do they keep their Princess waiting? She cast her senses out. They dare sleep through Our arrival? In one of the houses to her right, she felt a pony having a nightmare. Her first instinct was to go and help her through it, but a second later a different idea occurred to her. She didn’t know why, but this one seemed much more appealing, especially when she saw that the dreamer was being chased during what else — the night. She reached out all around her, and twisted. The night filled with soft whimpers and groans. In beds everywhere ponies were plunged into the darkest dreams they had ever experienced. Those of them that were strong willed struggled back to wakefulness. Many of them would have wished that they hadn’t, because what they saw when they awoke was even more terrible by virtue of being real. Their children, spouses, siblings, any that still slept were being slowly consumed by darkness. Most tried to help, only to find that there was nothing they could do. The inky blackness seemed to be pouring out from inside their loved ones. Outside, Luna waited for the transformation to finish. If they couldn’t see how glorious her night was, she would make them see it. Yes, tonight was going to be a good, night. As the changed ponies left their houses and joined her, she felt ecstatic. Walking among them, she addressed her new devotees. Now the hour has come at last The soft and fading light Has crossed the west horizon And has bidden us goodnight And what a lovely night it is To walk a moonlit field To see the softer shades That are by starlight now revealed So why is it that now, When all is quiet and at rest When candles glow and all the world Is at its very best The ponies of Equestria Should lock themselves away To shun the moon and wait instead For Sister's sunny day? In umbra Luna est Am I so wrong to wish that they Would see things like I do? And am I so wrong to think That they might love me too? Why shouldn't they adore me? Is it not within my right? I'll not be overshadowed! Mine is not the lesser light! I've waited long enough now For them all to come around And though the Sun may plead and threaten, The Moon will stand her ground And all will know the wonder Of my dark and jeweled sky When all the world is wrapped In an eternal lullaby So say goodnight at this, The final setting of the sun Tomorrow dawns in darkness The nighttime has begun!