//------------------------------// // Revealed - Drama // Story: Krizak's Compendium of Concise Chronicles // by Krizak //------------------------------// The sun was sinking towards the horizon, painting the towers of Canterlot in yellow and orange hues, as the princess who commanded both sun and city returned home. It had been a very interesting day for Celestia, and despite the setting sun, it wasn’t nearly over yet. As she approached the balcony to her chambers, Celestia noted a most unusual sight: her sister, outside. Since her return, Princess Luna had sequestered herself within Canterlot Castle, insisting that she catch up with what had happened in her thousand-year absence. At least, that was the reason that the nocturnal mare gave for not setting hoof outside the castle, but Celestia was certain that it had more to do with worry over how ponies would react to her, rather than any knowledge gap that was there. Whatever the reason, seeing her sister outside of her own volition, even if it was just on the most private balcony in all of Canterlot, filled Celestia’s heart with even more happiness. This truly was a good day. Nodding to her Royal Guard escort, Celestia waited a moment for the two pegasi to take their leave before descending to speaking range. “Hello, Luna. It’s good to see you out and about.” “Hail, fair sister,” Luna replied, and Celestia repressed for the hundredth time the urge to push her sister into using a more modern dialect. Her sister’s issues had to be tackled one at a time. “I pray thou forgive us this intrusion, but I had need to speak with thee before thou retires for the evening.” “You never need to worry about intruding, sister, or about needing to speak with me,” Celestia said as she landed in front of Luna, quickly stepping forward to nuzzle her sister in greeting. This close to Luna, the solar princess could see that her sister’s mane was just starting to regain its former glory, a few wisps of light blue hair floating above her withers. Stepping back, Celestia added with an enigmatic smile, “And I wasn’t actually going to head for bed just yet, for reasons I suspect are related to your reason for wanting to talk.” Luna nodded. “I thought thou might have felt it as well. I was asleep at the time, but the power I felt roused me from my slumber. It felt like… It felt like the Elements of Harmony.” She chuckled darkly, shaking her head. “I suppose I now have need to clarify; it felt like using the Elements of Harmony, like it did when we dealt with the Spirit of Chaos, not like when I was the target.” Celestia sighed inwardly; Luna always brought everything back to the Nightmare. Choosing to ignore that tendency at the moment, the elder princess nodded. “Not only did I feel the power, I was actually present at its origin.” She passed by Luna and into her chambers, gesturing for her sister to follow. “That, Luna, was a Sonic Rainboom, when a pony moves so fast and with such conviction that they temporarily pierce the veil.” “The Rainbow of Light,” Luna whispered in reverence, pausing in the middle of Celestia’s chambers as she considered the possibilities. Her sister went over to a closet on the wall, opening it to reveal not clothing, but a glowing blue crystal, suspended in midair. “Wait, is that…? I had thought them all destroyed!” Celestia smirked again, touching her hoof to the crystal. “I managed to save one or two of them. They’re quite useful.” She gestured towards the crystal with her horn, and Luna reluctantly approached, placing her own hoof against the thrumming gem. Celestia’s horn glowed, her yellow aura encompassing the crystal, and with a flash of blue light, the two princesses vanished from one of the highest points in Canterlot. They reappeared in one of the lowest points, a darkened cavern deep within the abandoned crystal mines. Being the princess of the night, Luna’s eyes needed no time to adjust to the near darkness, and she looked around in surprise. “Why would thou use such a valuable artifact just to go downstairs?” “Because there are some resources too valuable to risk falling into anypony else’s hooves,” Celestia replied, her own eyes having adjusted enough to see the bubbling cauldron in the centre of the cavern. “Eye.” Luna looked puzzled. “I didn’t ask thee anything.” “She’s not saying ‘aye,’ you daft time-lost filly!” a creaking but energetic voice said from the darkness, and out from behind the cauldron walked an elderly unicorn mare. Whatever colour her coat and mane had once been was lost to time’s ravages, having gone white and grey respectively. The eye on her flank was still vivid and blue, though her actual eyes had greyed, a certain sign of blindness. “She’s saying my name!” “Old mare, thou dares to speak to Us in this manner?” Luna shouted indignantly, the Royal Canterlot Voice echoing painfully off the crystalline walls. “Thou shalt show the proper respect when thou—” “Enough, Luna,” Celestia said, her normal tone easily silencing her sister. “Seeing Eye has served the crown faithfully for decades now. She has earned a little leeway when it comes to protocol.” She took on a sly smirk as she turned to the elderly mare. “Sometimes she needs a lot of leeway, though.” “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Celly!” Seeing Eye grumbled loudly. “I’ve been waiting all day for you to show up! I was starting to think you’d forgotten all about me!” Celestia shook her head as she stepped towards the cauldron, Luna at her flank. “Like anypony could ever forget you, Eye. So you’ve found them all already?” she asked, looking into the roiling water. “Four of them. I don’t think one has found it just yet – just like that pink filly last time – and one I know is out there, but I just can’t seem to get a good look.” The elderly mare shrugged. “I think she – or he, who knows? – got a mark for subterfuge of some kind, but I’ll find ‘em! There’s never been a pony that ol’ Seeing Eye couldn’t get a look at!” “Show them to me.” At Celestia’s command, Seeing Eye’s horn began to glow, and the boiling water began to smooth, taking on the surface of a still pond as images began to appear in the depths. A blue pegasus filly rescuing a foal far out at sea, a brown earth pony colt covered in splotches of colour, a pink unicorn filly lifting what appeared to be several boulders above her head to the cheers and applause of a crowd, and a red pegasus colt laughing despite his bruised face and blackened eye all showed up with the waters for a few seconds before fading to the next. “Who are these ponies, Tia?” Luna whispered, her eyes transfixed on the images within the cauldron. “They are the next Elements of Harmony,” Celestia explained. “And I pray that they will never be needed.”