//------------------------------// // 5 - Guiding the Moon // Story: Legacy of the Sun // by Alexstrazsa //------------------------------// Chapter 5: Guiding the Moon The next few weeks were spent in silence, with only the occasional chirp of a bird or the light clopping of hooves through stone passageways. Only the necessary actions were performed: raise the sun, lower the moon, eat meals, lower the sun, raise the moon. Nothing else. No talking. No laughing. No playing. Only sorrow and sadness. It wasn’t until Luna confronted Celestia that the two sisters finally spoke to each other. She found her pink haired sibling staring out of a window at the top of the tower, her gaze lost in the horizon. Her magenta eyes, red around the edges from countless crying fits, looked in no particular direction. Celestia seemed lost in thought - and disconnected from reality. “Celly...” Luna softly spoke, approaching her sister. Celestia said nothing, continuing her vacant stare. “Celestia.” “...what is it?” she replied, motionlessly. The sun princess stood as still as a statue, and were it not for her lazily waving mane, might have easily passed for one. “Teach me how to control the moon.” “Why?” “So you don’t have to.” “What difference does it make, Luna?” “Celly, just ‘cause I’m young doesn’t mean I’m dumb. You hafta sleep sometime.” The dark blue alicorn’s eyebrows were furrowed, and her mouth was a very stern frown - which was so unlike her that it surprised Celestia. “You aren’t strong enough yet.” the princess replied, finally turning her head and looking into her younger sister’s eyes.. “Then make me stronger!” Luna stomped her front hooves against the floor, her hard gaze fixed on the light alicorn’s magenta orbs.. Celestia closed her eyes, thinking clearly for the first time in days. Her sister’s determination and willingness to help had sparked something inside of the older alicorn. Seeing Luna like this had given Celestia a different outlook. She now had hope. As young as her sister was, Luna knew what she was talking about, and the lack of sleep was certainly taking it’s toll on the Celestia. Although her parents were gone, Equestria needed to be taken care of. It was Rhapsody and Sonance’s last wish, and Celestia wasn’t going to fail them. “If you insist, Luna. We begin tomorrow.” Luna let out a relieved sigh and walked to Celestia, lightly nuzzling her white neck. “Thank you, Celly.” For the first time in three weeks, Celestia smiled. - - - The small, dark purple alicorn stirred lightly in her slumber, a stray hoof twitching ever so slightly. The world outside was still dark, so it was reasonable that Luna was happily sleeping in her half of the bed. She turned, subconsciously getting more comfortable, but this action proved to be in vain. She was awoken with a jolt as she felt a soft prodding in her back, which caused her to violently throw the sheets off of her. Luna heard a light giggle from behind her, and as her vision un-blurred and adjusted to the light, the shape of her sister’s light colored coat formed before her. “Come on, wake up.” Celestia said, smiling. Luna blinked several times and yawned, then noticed her surroundings. “Celly...” she started, in a tired, almost gravelly tone, “It’s not even light out.” “I know! You can watch me raise the sun and lower the moon.” “Do... do I have to?” “Yes, you have to, Lu-lu.” the white alicorn said, gently poking Luna with her horn again. “Just... just five more minutes...” “The sun will be up by then. Get out of bed, silly.” Luna turned away from Celestia and closed her eyes, in hope that her older sister might just leave her alone. This thought was quickly abolished as she felt the magical tug of magic on her body. Before she knew it, she had gone from the soft bed to the cold stone floor. The temperature difference was enough to make her leap to her hooves, doing anything she could to stop touching so much of the icy rock. “That’s better.” Celestia said, leaning down to nuzzle her tired sister’s neck. “Can I... at least get breakfast?” Luna asked, her teal eyes only half open. “We can eat after we practice, okay?” “But-” Celestia put a hoof to Luna’s mouth, preventing any argument. “If you want to get stronger, this is how we have to do it, alright?” She took her hoof from the young alicorn’s mouth and slid it gently down her cheek. “This will be worth it. I promise.” Luna sighed. “If you say so, Celly.” The two of them quietly walked down the stairway, the light from several torches casting the alicorn’s shadows softly against the stone walls. The two of them followed the fire’s light to the entrance of the small castle. The grass and plants were overgrown wildly, as they hadn’t been trimmed or taken care of for weeks. Long vines of ivy trailed up the masonry in certain areas. As a whole, the castle was beginning to show it’s age and grow weary from the years of supporting itself. Often, one of the two alicorns would hear creaking, or the soft tapping of pebbles hitting stone - but they thought nothing of it. The cool morning air washed over Luna’s face, sending a chill down her spine and a sense of refreshment. She was woken up slightly more now, and felt she was able to pay attention to whatever Celestia might have to say. This was convenient, as Celestia had chosen that moment to start talking. “Tell me, Luna, how do I raise the sun and moon?” Luna looked at Celestia in puzzlement. Was this a trick question? Surely her sister didn’t think she was that ignorant. “Um... magic?” “That’s correct. Now, do you know what kind of magic?” “...the moving kind?” Celestia chuckled. “You’re right again. Being alicorns, our magic is greatly amplified. Simple lifting spells become powerful enough to raise something as large as the sun. We might even be able to move Equestria itself.” Luna’s eyes grew wide. “You wouldn’t do that, would you?” “I said might be able to. Even we have our limits.” Celestia suddenly perked up, as if she had heard or felt something. “It looks like it’s that time of day. Watch me closely.” Luna studied her sister, who closed her eyes and stood firmly. The light-rose colored alicorn pointed her horn to the east, and it began to glow. Soft at first, but rapidly rising in intensity. Celestia flared her wings out and flapped them lightly, pushing herself into the air. With visible strain, she lifted her head up, and as her horn lifted over where the horizon would be, the sun’s rays poured through the trees and scattered all across the alicorns’ surroundings. Celestia let herself drop to the ground and panted slightly, before gulping and regaining her composure. Her magenta eyes shifted to look at Luna, and the sun princess smirked. “That, dear sister, is how you raise a celestial body.” Luna halted her gawking and changed her view from the horizon to Celestia. “How long did it take you to learn that?” “Many years, Lu-lu.” she brought a hoof to her brow and wiped the forming sweat drops from it. “And it’s still a difficult chore.” “Will you teach me to do that?” “In due time, sister. For now, we’re going to start a little smaller.” “Like what?” “For instance...” Celestia started, her horn lighting up. A nearby rock levitated off the ground and moved in front of Celestia. With a sudden flash, it transformed from a dull, grey rock into a beautiful, bright yellow sunflower. “Transforming one thing into another.” She planted the flower where the rock had been, and her horn ceased it’s glow. “Ooh... pretty.” Luna said, still eyeing the new flower. “But... shouldn’t it change back?” She looked up to Celestia, one of her eyebrows arched in confusion. “If I were a regular unicorn, yes, it would. However-” “Because we’re alicorns, our magic is good enough to keep it the same?” Luna finished. “Exactly! Now you’re learning.” “If we’re practicing magic, shouldn’t we start with the basics?” “Oh Luna, what do you think I’ve been trying to teach you?” Luna thought for a moment. “Well, you raised the sun... and you made a rock turn into a flower.” “Yes. What does that show you?” “That... uh... alicorns are strong?” “Very good. Knowing that, why do you think I’m going to teach you advanced magic?” Celestia was almost teetering on her front hooves in anticipation. “Because... um...” Luna scratched her head. “Is it... because I’m an alicorn... and basic magic will be too easy?” Her brow was furrowed in concentration, piecing together what Celestia was telling her. She was so lost in thought that it completely took her by surprise when Celestia nearly knocked her over with a forceful hug. “That’s right!” the white alicorn exclaimed, a smile on her face as she took hold of her younger sister. “See that? You learn quickly.” Luna couldn’t help but giggle. “Okay, okay, Celly. I’m an alicorn so my magic is strong. Now what?” Celestia broke her grip on the young lunar princess and looked around at her surroundings. In the distance, past a group of trees, she noticed a large boulder dug into the ground. “Right now, we’re going to work on moving large things.” Her horn lit up. “Like what?” Luna asked. “You’ll see in a moment...” “What? A piece of the castle? A big tree? An entire buil... ding...” she trailed off, as a large shadow covered her. Luna felt something softly hit the top of her head, causing her to look up. It was then that she noticed the massive chunk of stone floating inches above her, bits of dirt and grass still clinging to it’s underside - which clearly hadn’t seen daylight for years. “You’ll be using this.” Celestia said, moving the boulder from above Luna and letting it fall. It hit the earth with a loud thud, which shook the ground below the two alicorns. “Now, take a good look at it.” “...Why?” Luna asked, looking over the giant rock. “Sometimes, it’s better to not question. Just take a good look at it. Remember what it looks like. Memorize every crack, bump and feature of this boulder.” “Okay...” she walked around the boulder, scrutinizing it’s every detail. Luna paled in comparison to this boulder, which was nearly as tall as one of the hallways in the castle, and perhaps as wide too. When she had finally circled it several times, she nodded to Celestia. “Done? If you insist.” Her horn flared, and the massive rock was quickly hurtling through the air as if it were merely a pebble. She watched it fly well over the treeline, and several seconds later, heard a faint crash as it landed somewhere in the depths of the Everfree Forest. Birds rose in the air and a tree or two could be heard hitting the ground as their trunks had been decimated by the chunk of earth. “Now, bring it back.” Luna looked into the forest, then back at Celestia, then back to the forest, then finally back to Celestia. Her mouth opened as if she wanted to speak, but no words came out. Celestia merely smiled as the small princess struggled to say something and instead answered her unvoiced question. “Yes, you have to use your magic.” Luna weakly pointed a hoof in the direction of the boulder went. “Yes, it’s somewhere over there.” The dark alicorn started to walk in the direction of the forest. “Ah, no, you have to stay here and move it.” Luna looked in the direction of the rock once more and let out a weak sigh, before closing her eyes and trying to remember every little thing about the boulder. In her mind’s eye, she pictured it’s huge shape, looming over. She imagined it’s crevices, and the mix of smooth and hard areas. Then, she pictured lifting it up. Celestia lightly bit her lip in anticipation as she watched her sister focusing. In the distance, she tried to look for any sign of the rock - any little bit that might be poking over the horizon. Slowly, but surely, she saw a small tip of it emerging from the treeline, like an ant poking it’s head out of an anthill. It was very var off in the distance, but definitely rising. “Come on, sister... just bring it back.” she thought, looking at the large boulder. “Move... you... dumb... rock...” Luna said, through grit teeth. Her struggle was evident in the perspiration forming at her brow, and lightly across the rest of her body. The boulder moved slowly through the sky, dipping once or twice as Luna faltered with the spell - and subsequently breaking a few treetops - but it was approaching them steadily. Finally, after what felt like at least ten minutes, the rock was overhead. It lowered carefully, but Luna was slipping with her concentration. She grunted, digging her hooves into the ground, but with no avail. Several feet off the ground, the rock plummeted and crashed to the dirt below it, shooting loose rocks and grass every which way. At the same, time, Luna also plummeted - face first into the ground. Celestia’s mouth was curled into a wide grin as the rock landed, but her whole expression turned to concern as she noticed Luna weakly fall. She galloped over to her young sister and lightly nuzzled her head. “Luna, are you alright?” “Y-yeah... Celly. I’m fine.” She smiled, shifting her eyes to look at Celestia. “Did I do a good job?” Celestia let out a lighthearted laugh. “You did an excellent job. You’ll be moving the moon in no time.” “That’s good.” Luna replied, moving one of her hooves to try and push herself up. “Oh, let me help you.” Celestia said, reaching a hoof out. Luna grabbed it, and was pulled to her hooves. “Thanks, Celly.” “Anytime, Lu-lu.” The white princess looked over to the boulder and thought for a moment. She turned her head to Luna and looked at the small princesses wings, which sprouted an idea. “Say, Luna, why don’t we practice flying?” Luna rubbed her horn lightly, before saying, “Okay. My magic needs a rest.” “Excellent.” Celestia flared her wings and lightly flapped them, allowing the feathers to catch the soft breeze and flutter slightly. “The first thing you need to do... is extend your wings.” “Oh, right...” Luna said, looking sheepishly to the ground. She extended her small wings as far as they could go. “Now, try to perform a basic hover.” She flapped her wings and floated several inches off the ground as she spoke. The younger princess beat her wings slowly. Finding this didn’t give her nearly enough lift, she flapped them faster. This pushed her into the air slightly, and she looked up to Celestia and smiled. This smile turned to a look of surprise, however, as she dipped off balance and fell to the ground. Celestia brought a hoof to her mouth to stifle a laugh. “You need to learn to control your movement. Try again.” Luna once again got herself in the air, and though she wobbled occasionally, she managed to stay suspended. “I think I got it!” “Wonderful. Now, let’s work on controlling your altitude.” The flying lessons continued until was very high overhead, signaling that it was about noon. Luna had managed to understand basic flight, so she could hover, glide and change her height accordingly. The one thing she was having trouble with by lunchtime was her speed. More than once, the small princess had spun out and landed painfully in either the ground or part of the castle. By the end of the training session, both of them were exhausted and wanted nothing more than to rest and have something to eat. As the sky grew orange and the sun began to dip into the western side of the world, Luna stood at the top of the main tower, peacefully watching the sunset. Behind her, Celestia was busy lowering the fiery orb. When she finished, and the last light of the sun faded, she approached Luna. “Sister, would you like to try and raise the moon?” Luna’s eyes widened as she snapped back to reality and turned her head to Celestia. “Oh. Um, really?” “Of course. Just imagine the moon is that big boulder from earlier.” Celestia gave a smile of encouragement. “I’ll... try.” the moon princess replied, nervously. She walked to the eastern window and pointed her horn down at where the moon would sit, just below the horizon. A bright light encompassed her horn and she closed her eyes, picturing the grey moon. As her sister did many years before, she struggled with the heavenly body. And just as Celestia did, young Luna collapsed out of effort, still not strong enough to control her namesake. Luna shook her head as she got up. “Sorry, Celly...” The dark blue filly looked at the ground, shamefully. “Oh, it’s okay, Lul-lu.” Celestia said, wrapping a wing around Luna. Her horn lit up and she shut her eyes, tensing her muscles. Moments later, the moon poked itself out from the horizon and began it’s journey. “One day, you’ll be able to.” “Thanks, Celly.” she rubbed her head against Celestia’s neck. “Of course.” The two of them stayed that way for many moments, staring out the window and watching the moon slowly rise. - - - The following morning began in a similar way, with Celestia needing to use a bit of magical encouragement to get young Luna out of bed. When the moon princess finally came to, both of them made their downstairs and outside of the castle to continue Luna’s training. “So, what are we doing today?” Luna asked, walking alongside her sister. “Today, we’re going to venture farther into the forest.” Celestia replied, looking to Luna. “Oh? Why’s that?” “There are plenty of things out there to practice transfiguration on, among other magic.” “If you say so, Celly.” They walked across the wooden drawbridge, which was still fairly intact. It rarely had much use, resulting in only a crack here or there in an aging piece of wood. The rope had also been magically enhanced long ago by Rhapsody, after she insisted that it needed to be as safe as possible to cross. It had proven it’s usefulness to Celestia and Luna, who were now safely across and making their way into Everfree Forest. Celestia led Luna through the dense forest, moving through the thick trees and overgrown bushes. She had remembered it looking far nicer in the past, and it seemed to only grow worse as they moved deeper in. It was apparent enough to gain Celestia’s interest. “Luna, have you noticed how dense the trees have gotten?” “I have, Celly... they also look... weird.” “Weird?” Celestia looked around, taking in the surroundings. Now that she paid attention, the plant life was beginning to look rather strange. It appeared warped, and very out of the ordinary. The more she observed, the more inquisitive she became. “We should find out what’s going on...” the white alicorn said, eyeing the atmosphere suspiciously. It was at that moment that they entered a small clearing, with a large cave at the opposite end. It was perched in the side of a mountain, and was menacingly dark. The cave seemed to devour all the surrounding light, and it formed the kind of darkness that shot chills down Celestia’s back. Outside of the cave, strange and unfamiliar plants grew. They were twisted and sickly looking, as if their life was being sapped and drained away. The plagued flora extended into the darkness of the cave, creating a frightful invitation to the den.. Everything about this cave brought fear into the pit of Luna’s stomach. “Celly... we... I think we should leave.” She took a step back, ready to run at a moment’s notice. “Something is here, Luna... and I’m going to figure out what.” Celestia said, walking towards the cave. Luna couldn’t help but follow her sister. It was either stay outside by herself or let Celestia go in alone, and as scared as she was, she wasn’t able to leave her sister’s side. “It will be okay, Luna. We’ll simply go in, look around, then leave. Okay?” Luna stared at the ground for a moment before looking up to Celestia. “...fine.” “Stay close to me, then.” The two of them practically hugged as they stepped into the cave. Just as it looked, it was pitch black inside, forcing Celestia to light up her horn for vision. Around them, gloomy and lifeless plants clung to the walls, floors and ceiling, all of them chaotic and twisted. They grew in every which way, with no pattern or reason. Traveling deeper into the cave, the plant-life only seemed to grow wearier and wearier. They had to be getting close. “Luna, here’s your first test. Light up your horn so we can see clearer.” “Alright.” Luna replied, causing her horn to glow. Moments later, both of the alicorn sisters gasped. In front of them, at the very back of the cave and clinging to wall was a shiny, black entity. It’s flesh looked like oil, and it seemed to flow like liquid, though it retained it’s round, viscous form. Many long tendrils spread from the initial mass, spreading along the surfaces of the cave like thin veins. They moved slightly, feeling the area around them and leaving a tar-like secretion on whatever they touched. It was a truly grotesque sight, and neither Celestia nor Luna knew immediately what to make of it. “Wha... what is that thing?” Luna finally asked, eyes darting from tendril to tendril. “I’m... not sure.” “Do you think... this is the cause of the strange plants?” “It might be... but we don’t know for certain.” “What should we do?” Luna asked, casting her teal eyes towards Celestia. “Perhaps... we should leave it be. That might be for the best.” “Maybe there’s more to it...” Luna said, taking a step forward. This proved to be one step too many, as one of the tendrils violently lashed out and grabbed the unsuspecting princesses leg. It pulled, forcefully bringing Luna to the ground. “Celestia!” she cried out, small voice cracking with fear. Luna scraped her tiny hooves against the ground, in a vain effort to escape the creatures grasp. “Oh no, Luna!” Celestia’s eyes widened in fear as she watched her sister get pulled away. The sun princess panicked, looking around and frantically trying to piece together a way to rescue her sister. She tried to use her magic to take hold of Luna, but she couldn’t concentrate. Her mind was racing as she watched her only sister being pulled towards the sickly black mass on the wall. As she neared the verge of tears, a soft voice went through her head. “Protect Equestria... and Luna... with every fiber of your being.” Remembering her mother’s last wishes, something triggered within Celestia’s mind. She suddenly gained total clarity, and a warm feeling began to envelope her body. Before she knew it, a raging heat filled her, and she watched a white hot tongue of flame shoot from her horn and strike the opposing blackened tendril carrying Luna away. A terrible screech erupted out of the black mass as the tendril was singed cleanly in two, and the piece still attached to the entity recoiled in pain. Frantically, Luna galloped away as fast she could, skidding past Celestia and tumbling to the ground. The black tentacle was still attached to her, and she watched it dissipate. Accompanying this was the odd sensation that something was being pushed through her skin and inside of her. The young princess thought nothing of this, however, and was merely glad that she had escaped. “Quickly, we need to leave!” Celestia said, pulling Luna up. The two of them bolted to the mouth of the cave, even using their wings to give them an extra boost of speed. They kept running long after they had left the poisoned grotto, finally stopping and breathing heavily when they caught sight of the bridge leading to their castle.Both princesses collapsed to the ground, legs and wings aching from the exertion put forth. “Celestia, what happened?” Luna asked, between breaths. “I... I don’t know. It was evil, whatever it was.” “No, not that. I mean... what you did in there.” Celestia realized her sister was questioning the fire she had commanded. “...I can’t say for sure. I just... had an overwhelming feeling inside me. It just... took over.” “Well... thank you.” Luna said, nuzzling Celestia’s neck. Celestia returned the gesture, closing her eyes out of exhaustion. “You do not need to thank me, sister. I care about you.” “Then... thank you for caring about me.” Celestia couldn’t help but smile. “You’re welcome, Lu-lu. Now... I think we’ve both deserved a good breakfast.” The two sisters helped each other up, then headed into the castle. Before going inside, Celestia paused, then turned back to the forest. As much as it pained her to admit, her home was quickly growing unsafe. Someday soon, they would have to leave this place.