Phase 7
"Heehee hahaha heehee!"
"Luna!"
"Heehee! You can't catch me, Tia!"
"Oh yes I can! Hahaha!"
~The phoenix flies high…
"Wook at the butterfwy, Tia!"
"Aww! It's so pretty!"
"Heeheeheehahaha! It tickles!"
"Mama says the butterfly is the most delicate creature in this world…but it's also the most beautiful."
"Oooh…"
"Mama says that strength and power aren't everything. She says you have to be kind and gentle, like the butterfly, Luna."
"I wanna be a butterfwy!"
"Heeheehee…"
~The fox wildly dances…
"Umm…T-Tia…?"
"Mnnn…What, Luna? It's the middle of the night. You should be asleep."
"Umm…I- I wanted to show you something…"
"Show me what?"
"I-It's something…I made."
"…Oh…Oh, wow…Oh goodness, Luna…"
"Do…Do you like it?"
"It's incredible! You did all of this?"
"Y-Yeah…"
"Wh…What do you call them?"
"Um…Stars."
~The otters swim sweetly…
"Luna…?"
"…What?"
"I'm…I'm sorry I yelled at you…"
"…"
"I didn't mean to get so mad, Luna. It was all my fault anyway. So…I'm sorry. Really, I am."
"Mnn…"
"Aww, Luna…Please don't cry."
"Tia…"
"I love you, Luna. I love you so much."
"I…I love you too, Tia…"
"And I'll always love you. You're the best sister anypony could ever ask for."
~The tigress, she prances…
"Luna, I know you're proud of your stars, but I need to sleep. I have a lot to do tomorrow."
"Umm, no, Tia. I, uh…"
"What? What is it?"
"…I had a bad dream."
"……Oh."
"Can I…Can I sleep with you, please?"
"Well…I suppose so. C'mere."
"…"
"…"
"Tia?"
"Hm?"
"I miss mom…"
"Me too…"
~I will stay with you…
"I love you."
***
Celestia slowly opened her eyes. A bright yellow glow was shining through the bars of her cell, directly into her eyes, making her wince in irritation. She rolled over, yawned, and slowly rose to a sitting position.
Fading memories of happy, nostalgic dreams were slowly replaced with the harsh reality that she currently found herself in. Her stomach was painfully empty, she was freezing cold, her stump of a horn was still throbbing, and she had little energy. Not only that, but she was certainly not blind to the near-hopeless scenario that was occurring.
But she smiled slightly. They had been wonderful dreams. Fleeting memories and hazy recollections they may have been, but they had managed to warm her broken heart. Luna had been so adorable when she was a foal.
Her stomach growled loudly and she winced. Gritting her teeth, she tried to dig into her energy reserves, only to find there was nothing there. She wanted nothing more than to simply collapse back on the cold stone floor and never get up again.
Slowly, she turned her head to the small window outside of her cell. On the other side, the sun was slowly rising into the sky. It was difficult to tell, due to the angle, but Celestia could see. The night had passed and it was morning once again.
She sighed, mixed feelings coursing through her. This certainly gave her true, real hope that Luna was alive somewhere, still controlling the sun and the moon. However, she wouldn't lie to herself. She knew that she still didn't know this for sure, and she wouldn't know for sure until she actually saw her sister with her own two eyes. So much tragedy had befallen her that she was now incredibly cautious when it came to any optimism.
Either way, it might not matter. She was currently stuck in a jail cell, deprived of her magic, and with the clock ticking towards her next sleep spell.
Her stomach growled loudly again. She moaned and clutched at it with a hoof. Her stomach was utterly empty and the hunger pains she felt were excruciating. She needed food. She needed energy and strength. She needed something to keep her alive.
"Xa'oo, Fedoo..."
Celestia's ears perked up and she turned to look behind her. Sitting on the opposite side of her cell, a few paces away from the bars, was a griffon with blue feathers, light armour that was not made of metal, and a simple spear weapon. He was pointing his talon out.
"What…?" Celestia mumbled.
"Oj wark corodjmakkoc hosxk," he replied, "Ojjod jao oj." He further indicated with his talon, pointing at something inside of the cell.
Celestia followed the direction of his outstretched claw with her eyes. She gasped as she discovered a small tray of food had been left next to her, which she had completely failed to notice. It was a simple meal of stale-looking bread and some sort of mush, but it was definitely food.
She glanced back at the griffon outside. He simply nodded to her. A small smile graced her lips. "Thank you…" she said quietly.
Celestia wasted no further time in ravenously devouring the food. It was stale and awful, but it was the most delicious thing she had ever eaten in her life. It felt so wonderful to have food in her stomach once again. She smiled brightly as she chewed the mushy stuff, which seemed to be made of potatoes. Even mere moments after swallowing, she could feel some of her strength returning to her.
Before she knew it, her plate had been cleaned. Her belly was only about half-full, but it was definitely better than nothing. She sighed in contentment, licking her lips. She felt leagues better. That meal had been exactly the boost she'd needed.
Celestia glanced around her cell, looking for anything more, but found nothing but bare stone. She frowned and held a hoof to her throat.
"Excuse me?" she said, turning back to the griffon outside. The griffon gave her and inquiring glance. "I need water," Celestia said.
The griffon stared at her, a look of incomprehension on his face.
Celestia groaned slightly, remembering the language barrier. "Water," she spoke slowly and clearly, "Um…Glug glug glug? Drink?" She felt incredibly foolish speaking like this, but she couldn't think of many other ways to communicate what she needed.
"Asx noajj dasxk, nuj jao neccod…" the griffon muttered, shaking his head.
Celestia furrowed her brow. She then lifted up her forehooves, waving them through the air and trying to simulate waves. "Water?"
The griffon raised an eyebrow.
She brought her hoof up to her mouth, pretending she was holding a jug of water, and pantomimed the act of drinking it. "Gluh gluh gluh…" she vocalized.
"Nuj musx'jk ti todd…?" the griffon murmured. Celestia could tell by the tone in his voice that he thought she had lost her mind.
Celestia sighed in frustration. She stuck out her tongue and held her mouth open, making an overly-ragged panting noise. She pointed her hoof to her open mouth, gazing up at the griffon imploringly.
"Ah!" the griffon suddenly perked up, "Nujjoh! Jao neccod nujjoh." He then stood up, turned, and walked away. Celestia sat and waited patiently. For five minutes, there was no sign of him. Then, however, he returned, carrying a clear container filled to the brim with water, as well as a small clay cup. Celestia's expression brightened as he returned.
The guard placed the cup on the floor, filled it with water, and then carefully pushed it through the bars and into Celestia's reach. Out of habit, she tried to reach out and grab it with her magic. She was rewarded with a splitting pain down the middle of her forehead.
"Ah…" she groaned, rubbing her head with her hoof. She then leaned down and grabbed the cup with her mouth. She was so used to using magic to grab everything that she wasn't confident in using her hooves at all, so she settled on using her mouth.
The cold, refreshing liquid flowed down her throat, quenching her thirst and satisfying her wonderfully. She sighed in bliss as she finished consuming the entire contents of the relatively small cup. She craved more, but even this small drink had done wonders for her.
"Moxh?" the guard said, and Celestia glanced over at him. He was holding up the container and giving her an enquiring look.
"Ah!" Celestia nodded and smiled, pushing the cup back through the bars with her hoof. The griffon picked it up, refilled it, and then returned it to her. She drank this cup as well delighting in the cool, refreshing drink.
"Wik zokqk?" the guard asked her.
Celestia was unsure of what he had said, and so simply said "Thank you. Thank you very much." She smiled as she did so and then gave a small bow of her head afterwards. Bowing to say thanks was most definitely not a part of Griffon culture, but it was all she could think of to get her point across.
The griffon nodded and returned to his earlier position at the edge of her cell. It seemed that he was stationed there to guard and keep an eye on her.
She stared at him for a moment. His feathers were soft-looking and smooth, and his eyes were bright and very expressive. He hadn't once frowned or shown malice yet. In all honesty, he had been the nicest griffon she had met so far, though that was hardly a difficult contest to win.
The guard gave her a cursory glance, then looked away. He almost seemed to be bored.
Celestia opened her mouth to speak to him, to ask him a question, then promptly shut it, remembering that the two couldn't understand one another. She frowned in frustration, turning away. It was still so strange and unusual to her to hear a foreign language. She had spent most of her life being able to understand what any creature on the planet was saying, no matter in what language it was being spoken. It was a difficult notion to grasp that an entirely new language had grown and evolved.
It only further cemented in her mind that she had been gone for a very long time.
She frowned heavily, a painful feeling creeping through her stomach. Her depression and negative feelings were beginning to resurface again. Her mind was quick to remind her that she was injured, imprisoned and had quite possibly lost the ability to perform magic. She could not get over the anxiety she felt about her broken horn. She had felt it with her hoof, and could feel that approximately half had been broken off. However, without a mirror or some kind of reflective surface, she couldn't tell for sure if more or less than half had been snapped off, and what fate that would spell out for her.
She was also thinking of the current state of the world around her. Apparently, they had left Equestria and were now somewhere else, possibly in the location the Griffon Kingdoms had been during her time. She hadn't seen any of it; she had been near-comatose on the way here. However, the image of Equestria, bombed and utterly destroyed, would not leave her head. It was one of the most painful things she had ever seen in her life.
And through all of this, where was Luna?
"Jadt jao nahbcasx Shelestia?"
Celestia's ears perked up and she turned back around to face the griffon. He had adjusted his position so he was sitting facing the bars of her cell, and was gazing at her with a explorative gaze.
"What?" Celestia said, tilting her head to show her confusion. She had heard him say 'Shelestia', which she had picked up on as being the way they pronounced her name. Beyond that, however, she comprehended nothing of what he had said.
The griffon raised his talon and pointed directly at her. "Shelestia?"
Celestia blinked. "Ah…Yes," she replied, bringing her hooves up to point at herself, "I am Celestia." She also nodded.
The griffon raised his eyebrows. "SEH-lestia?"
Celestia smiled and nodded some more. "Yes, yes. Celestia," she said, continuing to point at herself. Then, she pointed her hoof out at him. "And you?"
The griffon paused for a moment before pointing at himself and giving a questioning gaze. "Masx?" he said, "Asx rad Nikolaw."
Celestia held her hoof and pointed at him. "Nikolaw?"
The griffon nodded and pointed at himself again. "Nikolaw."
Celestia actually found herself smiling. She marvelled at this simple fact. She was communicating with this griffon who didn't speak her language, and the two were already learning things about one another. He was not acting hostile or arrogant in any way. She could see a calmness and peacefulness in his eyes, something she had not seen in any of the other griffons.
"Asx budd dasxk wicuirod, tujj oj nahb'casx jao..." Nikolaw muttered, "Jao xurod nahb'casx nox kid..."
Once again, Celestia had no idea what he was saying to her. She gave him a slight frown and tilted her head again.
"Xurod jao jedjk desx oknuj?" he asked her.
Celestia shook her head. "I don't understand," she spoke simply, if futilely, "I don't speak your tongue."
Nikolaw paused for a moment, considering the situation. Then, his face brightened up, and Celestia could almost see the lantern appearing above his head. He turned away from her, digging through a small shoulder pack that she hadn't noticed before laying nearby. After a few moments, he pulled out a small pad of paper and a simple pencil.
Celestia gazed at him curiously as he began to write on the paper. For a few minutes, the room was filled only with the sounds of his pencil scribbling on the page. Finally, he ripped the page off and presented it to her, holding his talon through the bars. "Xaoh."
She stared at the paper in his claws, and then gazed at him. "For me?" she said, pointing to herself. Nikolaw nodded and let the paper fall to the ground. Celestia grabbed it with her hoof and studied it.
It was a fairly simple drawing of the two of them, Celestia and Nikolaw, with the griffon's talon stretched out towards her, palm up. Above his talon, there was a square with a cross inside it, which Celestia recognized as the universal symbol for first aid or care. She marvelled at the fact that it was still in use to this day. Next to this symbol was a question mark.
She gazed at the image in confusion for a moment, but then her eyes lit up and she gasped. "Oh!" She realized now what he had done. The drawing depicted him giving her the cross; giving her aid. Nikolaw was asking if she needed anything else. He was using pictographs to bypass the language barrier and communicate with her.
"Jaox'jk ti?"
Celestia glanced up and saw that he was holding his talon through the bars again. This time, he was holding the pencil in it and was presenting it to her.
"Hm?"
Celestia watched as he gave the pencil a light toss, letting it land directly in front of her. "Lohnodtod jao oj," he said to her.
She stared for a moment. The gears of her brain were still a little rusty from her lack of energy, but comprehension soon came to her. She flipped the paper over, laid it on the ground, and picked up the pencil with her mouth.
Celestia had been using her magic to write for ages. She couldn't remember the last time she had written using her mouth. She hoped she wasn't too out of practice. Working slowly and meticulously, she drew a basic representation of herself, and then drew a big checkmark next to it.
She hoofed the paper back through the bars, and Nikolaw picked it up and looked at it. He smiled and said, "Tuj aj'k wik."
Nikolaw then tore off a new piece of paper and began drawing on it. Again, Celestia waited patiently as he worked before she was presented with another drawing. There was an arrow pointed to another depiction of her, an image of the sun with an arrow directing it upwards, and another question mark. She interpreted this as him asking if she could really move the sun.
Celestia shrugged and pointed to her broken horn. "Ah, hasxkaw…" Nikolaw murmured.
He gave her the pencil again, and Celestia drew the sun and the moon with circular arrows depicting their orbits. She drew a pony's horn in the middle and surrounded it with magic lines and a question mark.
She frowned as she looked at her drawing. It was more difficult than it seemed to get one's ideas out without using any words. She hoped he could figure out that she was asking how the sun and moon moved now.
Hoofing the paper and pencil and paper back, Celestia frowned as Nikolaw gazed at what she had written and then merely shrugged. When she slumped forward dismally he frowned and began drawing again.
Soon she was greeted with another picture. It was a simple drawing of a blue alicorn with a wonderful mane. There was an arrow pointing away from Luna directly at a question mark. 'Luna disappeared,' Celestia interpreted. Next to this, however was a series of three dots and then another picture of the sun and moon moving.
Celestia blinked as she studied this drawing. 'When Luna disappeared…the sun and moon still moved.'
"No-one knows where she is…" she muttered.
She looked back up to Nikolaw, who was giving her a sympathetic smile. "Luna," he spoke, and then held his talon up to his neck horizontally, tapping it lightly, before shaking his head 'no'.
He doesn't think she's dead.
Celestia felt a warm, fuzzy feeling overcoming her. She gave Nikolaw a bright smile and could feel layers upon layers of stress simply melting away. Just who was this griffon and why was he being so kind to her? He was already doing so much to calm her down and keep her comfortable.
He was actually being friendly.
She indicated her head towards the stack of papers, requesting another one. Once Nikolaw had given her some, she got to work drawing once again. She drew a depiction of both of them, giving them both smiles. To further emphasize her point, she drew happy faces above the both of them. She then drew an arrow towards Nikolaw and inserted a question mark.
It wasn't much, but hopefully he could understand what she was asking. Just why he was being so nice?
Nikolaw retrieved the paper and studied it. He then flipped it over and quickly drew something on the reverse side. Celestia took it back and saw that he had drawn her frowning, and then an arrow pointing to another drawing of her, but happy.
Celestia smiled warmly again, gazing back up at him. He was giving her a simple, contented smile in return.
The two simply sat looking at one another for a few minutes. More and more, Celestia could see something different about him that she didn't see in any of the other griffons out there. She could see compassion and kindness, and there was no fire burning behind his eyes. There wasn't an inferno of hatred and contempt hiding somewhere inside of him.
He was definitely different than the rest of them.
Celestia requested another piece of paper and drew a simple picture of three plain earth ponies, along with a question mark.
Nikolaw looked at the paper, and then began to draw something on the reverse. This time, he spent quite a long time sketching. Celestia waited patiently as the minutes ticked by, but Nikolaw continued to trace the pencil across the page. Time passed and her curiosity continued to grow.
Finally, he returned the paper to her. Celestia's eyes widened at what she saw before her.
Nikolaw had drawn a political map of the area. She recognized the shape of the coastline easily. The map was mostly occupied by a large shape. In a wide, unmarked area in the eastern region of this shape was a drawing of a mountain. Using its relative location, Celestia recognized it as Canterlot mountain.
To the northwest of Canterlot Mountain, Nikolaw had drawn a star shape. Next to it, and with an arrow pointed to it, was a small drawing of the two of them, indicating that they were currently there.
Then, Celestia's eyes travelled south to the extreme southern end of the continent. There, Nikolaw had outlined a small, thin shape hugging the coastline. He had drawn a few pictures of ponies there, indicating that that was where they now lived.
Celestia stared in disbelief at the map. She used the coastlines and general shape of the landmass to pick out where Equestria's borders had once been. This small 'reserve' that they were now living on was not only outside of where Equestria had been previously, but it was more than ten times as small. It was absolutely minuscule.
She continued staring, unable to tear her eyes away. This simple drawing told volumes of stories to her. The ponies were being pushed away, shunned away, and locked up behind claustrophobic borders. An area of that size was far too small to sustain the entire pony population. This meant one of two things; either the population had drastically diminished, or they were living in incredibly impoverished conditions due to overcrowding. Both possibilities made her shudder.
"Celestia?" Nikolaw spoke to her in a calm voice. She tore her eyes away from the map and gazed, frowning, at the griffon. There was genuine distress across his face, and she could see that he was concerned about her.
Does he…care for me?
Celestia grimaced and indicated the map. "Not good!" she exclaimed, using her forehooves to mime that it was too small. Nikolaw simply continued to frown.
She grabbed the pencil and once again began to draw. She drew a small group of ponies and traced the approximate shape of the borders Nikolaw had drawn next to that, she drew a depiction of two appendages with closed fingers. One had the thumb sticking out and pointed upwards, while one was pointed downward. It was a gesture she had known griffons to use when expressing positive or negative feelings, and she hoped it was still in use today.
Nikolaw retrieved the paper and looked it over. He grimaced sourly, making Celestia mirror his expression. The griffon merely glanced at her and shook his head 'no'.
Her heart sank. Gloom surrounded her and encompassed her, sending her emotions spiralling down into a dark pit of despair. She half-collapsed to the ground, resting her head lamely on the cold, hard floor. She stared ahead blankly as all of her negative emotions began to gang up on her again.
My ponies… Her heart ached for them. My poor, poor ponies… She wanted nothing more than to help them. She needed to be with them. I'm so sorry… She would give anything to help them. Anything.
How could this have happened…? How could I have let this happen? Why? Heavens, why?? She shivered, a heavy torrent of tears threatening to spill loose. I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…
"Celestia…"
The first tears broke past the threshold. She shivered and clutched at nothing as she thought of all the poor, suffering ponies. The image of the state of their land was sickening, and the memory of what had become of Equestria was horrifying.
I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm sorry… She repeated these words over and over inside of her head, as if trying to plead for her life against some wrathful, omniscient being. I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…
"Celestia!"
The princess gasped and opened her eyes, not even having realized they'd been closed. She glanced up in the direction of Nikolaw's voice. He appeared very concerned; worry was written all across his face. He was holding another piece of paper, presenting it to her through the bars.
Celestia took in a few breaths before sitting up. She gazed at him softly for a moment, and then reached out and took the paper. It was the same thing she had just drawn for him. However, instead of a group of common ponies standing between the 'thumbs up' and 'thumbs down', there was only a drawing of her.
'Are you okay?' it said to her.
As she held the paper in her hooves, she turned her head up and looked at the griffon. She made to shake her head 'no' in response, but found herself pausing and glancing away. She took a few moments and thought about her answer. Every part of her logical mind told her that the answer was 'no', but still there was something stopping her.
She sat unmoving for a while. Nikolaw merely waited patiently. Finally, she looked up at him again and shrugged.
Her mind was a flurry of thoughts. Nikolaw's simple question had given her a lot to think about. She found herself considering different perspectives and looking at things in a different light. She couldn't explain it, but that one, simple question had stopped her from utterly breaking down once again.
Simply by asking if she was okay.
A few moments later, Celestia had the pencil once again. She drew a huge question mark pointing towards herself being led into the jail cell by griffon guards. She also drew a depiction of Talimir. She actually found herself smiling slightly as she doodled him, as she had taken a few creative liberties in portraying the tyrannical ruler.
She hoofed back her drawing asking why she was being locked up. Nikolaw glanced at it and then gave his answer. He shrugged.
Celestia furrowed her brow and frowned in frustration. Her mind was coming up with all sorts of horrible things that Talimir might have planned for her, but none of them made any sense. All the king had said was that she belonged to them now, as if she were some sort of prize.
Was this really his grand scheme? To hold onto her like some sort of glamorous trophy? If that were the case, she probably wouldn't be locked up in jail like this.
Nikolaw frowned as he scratched his head, giving a confused and concerned expression. "Asx vhuwo masx, nuhim..." he muttered.
Celestia suddenly shivered profusely from a noticeable drop in temperature. A frigid breeze was flowing in from somewhere. Nikolaw ruffled his feathers, but otherwise seemed unfazed by the cold. He did, however, notice her suffering. It only made him frown further.
Nikolaw held up his pencil and made to make another drawing, no doubt to ask if she wanted a blanket, but Celestia interrupted him. She requested the pencil and some more paper, to which he obliged.
Celestia worked quickly, drawing her request as clearly as she could. A basic image of herself, and the open door of her jail cell.
She quickly hoofed it back to him. He picked it up, frowned and then glanced away. He scratched the back of his neck and rapped his claws against his leg. After a moment, he glanced back at her again.
She gazed directly into his eyes. Still, she could see that calmness and compassion in them. His eyes showed a sea of tranquility, entirely unique from all the griffons she had met previously. He was simply gazing at her with an unsure look on his face.
"Ah…" he muttered, "Celestia…Asx-"
There was the sound of a door being slammed against the stone wall. Nikolaw started and quickly scrambled to gather up all the pieces of paper they had been using to communicate.
"Xoo, Zidwo!" a commanding voice shouted, "Nuj moadjk ti, nuj ti kijk!"
"Ah!" Nikolaw stammered, "Bemmudtudk! Oj kik mah coat, asx nuh-"
"Ti rajk qoxd madikod qij fük!" the other voice shouted angrily.
"Rozuxodt!" Nikolaw replied promptly, getting to his feet, "Oj kik idj coat! Asx nuh urwocod'bk!" He only gave Celestia a quick, apologetic glance, before he dashed out of her sight as fast as he could.
As his paw-steps faded into the distance, she heard a second set slowly approaching her. Moments later, a second griffon came into view. This one was clad in much heavier armour that covered most of his body. He wore a heavy-set helmet with a protective grating that covered his eyes. There were blades resting in sheaths attached to both of his thighs. Through the armour, Celestia could see that he had dark red feathers with black highlights.
The griffon was staring directly at her, a frown on his face and his brow furrowed. Unlike Nikolaw, this griffon was much like all of the others; there was a burning hatred resting behind his eyes, burning like a wild fire. His scowl was poisonous and almost frightening.
"Vasbod fukxokaj'sx fedoo fhadqojad…" he muttered venomously. There was hatred dripping from his words, even though she could not understand them.
She gazed back at him, unsure of how to present herself. Should she be proud and defiant? Should she assert herself and demand to be let free? Perhaps she should simply remain calm and indifferent? The only thing she knew for sure was not to show fear, and so she did not.
"Nohkcej bhoukih. Asx xevvo, tujj jao j'kohrod…"
Celestia made a decision. She rose to her hooves and stepped forward, bringing herself right up against the bars of her cell. The griffon raised an eyebrow as Celestia stared through the bars directly at him, unflinching and not blinking.
"Nuj qim koivoc..? Xecod jao jasx qihïsb..."
Celestia didn't respond. She merely continued to gaze deep into his eyes. She stared at the fire inside of them, unafraid. She stood her ground, her jaw set firmly, as she stared into the hate-filled eyes of the griffon guard.
The griffon stared back at her, perplexed but also unflinching. He never looked away from her, gazing at her with his own eyes.
He jumped back slightly when Celestia's hoof slipped through the bars and rested just a few inched before him. He stared down at her hoof in confusion. "Nuj musx'jk ti?" he muttered.
Celestia simply held her hoof out to him and continued to gaze at him. However, she now stared at him with compassion-filled eyes. They were understanding, and almost seemed apologetic. She wore a kind, gentle expression on her face as she looked at him, trying to silently communicate with him in some way.
She tried to wordlessly express forgiveness, and she tried to find some way to extend her friendship to these hate-filled creatures.
Celestia cried out as the griffon swatted at her hoof, his claws nicking her skin and drawing blood. She quickly withdrew it back into her cell.
"R'coarod jao ad axhom büvaw, ne jao xadwoxöhod, tij kïsb thosb!" he exclaimed, glaring violently at her.
Celestia sat and stared at him, her eyebrows arched in concern.
"R'coarod jao tehk idt lohhekkod ..." he muttered before turning and promptly departing. Celestia sat completely still as she listened to his pawsteps fade into the distance, and then the slam of a loud door.
There was silence in the cell block as she was left completely alone.
***
Celestia remained in the jail cell for many hours. The passage of time was difficult to discern, but she guessed that at least seven hours had passed. In that time, no griffons entered the cell block at all. The entire time, she was by herself, shivering on the cold stone floor. There was no bed, there were no blankets; there was hardly anything in this cell.
She spend a lot of her time waiting and listening. Occasional sounds drifted in through the small window nearby. She heard low rumblings like some sort of machine passing by. She heard occasional conversations in that new, foreign tongue, most of which seemed to be heated. She also heard the wind blowing quite often, which caused her to remember that the heart of the Griffon Kingdom was located at the top of a series of very tall mountains.
But for the most part, she heard nothing. There were neither the sounds of peace nor war. Of course, Celestia knew not how close the prison was to the heart of the city, or indeed to any civilization, but it still struck her as intriguing.
She often found herself looking out the window forlornly. It was a strange, upsetting feeling to be without her magic and, thus, unable to reach out to the sun. It felt like she was cut off from her child, unable to tend to it or care for it. The sun still seemed to be moving across the sky just fine. If it was by somepony else's horn, she still did not know.
Finally, as the sun was approaching the horizon, but not yet setting, she heard the door opening. It did not slam this time, instead being closed with a light touch. A few moments later, Nikolaw appeared outside of her cell.
Her face brightened when she saw it was him. It brightened even more when she saw what he was carrying. Draped over his back were a set of clean, warm-looking blankets.
"Xaoh," he said, taking a seat, facing her, and passing the blankets through the bars to her. She smiled as she took them and wrapped them around herself. She beamed in pleasure as she snuggled herself into their warm embrace. She sighed as the coldness and the shivers began to fade away and were replaced with a soothing warmness.
"Rojjoh?" Nikolaw asked her, tilting his head as if he were asking for her approval.
Celestia nodded, making a confident assumption of what he was asking, "Yes. Thank you, Nikolaw. These are perfect."
The griffon seemed to accept this response as he nodded in satisfaction. The two sat quietly for a moment, simply smiling contentedly. A few moments later, Nikolaw's smile melted away to be replaced with a small grimace. He glanced away for a moment before he reached into his pack and once again withdrew his pad of papers and pencil.
Nikolaw scribbled for a while as Celestia waited patiently. She was worried by the scowl she had seen on his face. Was something wrong? Did he know something about what was to happen to her?
"Asx vudt xohuij, ïroh tuj, nüxhodt asx roa toh uhroak nuh..." he murmured as he sketched. Finally, he placed his pencil down, tore off the sheet of paper, and handed it to her through the bars. "Axho xehd..." he stated as Celestia took the paper and glanced over it.
She furrowed her brow. Nikolaw had drawn what appeared to be a very impressive and gaudy-looking chair with a crown atop it. A throne? It seemed to represent King Talimir's throne. Next to it, he had drawn an assortment of things. There were trophies, jewellery, portraits of some kind. It looked like treasure. One object in particular had an arrow pointing towards it.
Celestia gasped and held a hoof up to her mouth. Her eyes shot open wide as she stared at the drawing. Nikolaw had drawn a glass case in the shape of a cube. Inside of it was a pedestal with much decorative flare. And resting atop the pedestal…
"My horn…!"
According to what Nikolaw had drawn, Talimir had placed her horn up on display next to his throne like some sort of token of pride. A shiver passed through her entire body. That was just absolutely disgusting.
"Horn…" Nikolaw murmured. Celestia was so focused on the vile treatment of her severed horn that she almost didn't notice what he had said. She turned to him as he repeated the Equestrian word once again. "Horn?" he said, pointing at the stump of what used to be her horn.
Celestia blinked, sluggishly trying to shift gears in her brain to focus on this new, less revolting topic. "Uhm…Yes," she said with a nod. She raised her hoof up and pointed at her stump. "Horn."
Nikolaw furrowed his brow. He seemed to be studying the strange word. He again pointed at her stump and said "Xehd."
Celestia arched an eyebrow. "Xehd?" she repeated. I almost sounded like the word shed. "Horn, Xehd?"
Nikolaw nodded slowly. "Xehd, Horn…"
There was a pause, and then both smiled. Celestia chuckled. Nikolaw also chuckled. Her smile grew wider as she realized that she had just laughed. She was in the pit of despair in quite possibly the most hopeless situation one could imagine…and she had just laughed.
"Heh heh," she giggled, "I guess this is my xehd!"
Nikolaw chuckled and replied, "Axh horn ajk oad nodaw worhesxod."
The two continued laughing for a few moments. Celestia simply revelled in the absurdity of what was happening. A jail cell was not the first place she expected to be when learning a new language.
"Celestia?" Nikolaw asked, recapturing her attention. "Horn…?" he vocalized before holding his talons up above his head and making wave-like motions. Celestia saw that he was mimicking a horn's aura. He then pointed one of his claws out the window, directly at the sun's rays.
"Ah…" Celestia replied, quite sure she understood what he was asking. She nodded and said, "Yes. My horn moves the sun." She made a few movements with her head to try to further illustrate her point.
"Sun…" Nikolaw repeated, his eyes glancing upwards as he absorbed the word. After a moment he smiled. "Tao nuhmo sun..."
Celestia smiled. It seemed he liked the word. "What do you call it?" she asked, pointing her hoof at him.
Nikolaw pointed his talon out the window again. "Sun," he said, paused, and then said, "Jeddo."
Celestia couldn't stifle a chuckle. These new, foreign words sounded so unusual to her. She couldn't help it. "Heh heh…Celestia, Goddess of the Jeddo."
"Nen..." Nikolaw murmured, gazing at Celestia with an expression of reverence. He grabbed another sheet of paper and quickly sketched something. He held it up for Celestia to see and pointed at it. "Jao...Celestia…Jeddoduivwud'w?"
Celestia was caught off guard by the unusually long word, but looked at what he had drawn for her. It was a picture of the sunrise. She gave a soft warm smile and nodded. "I…I make the sunrise," she said, pointing the stump of her horn at the drawing on the last word.
Nikolaw paused. "Sun…rise…" he murmured.
Celestia grinned. "It's a lot simpler than Jed…Jeddodah…"
This made Nikolaw burst out laughing. "Hah! Tuj ajk cijkaw! Sunrise ajk joxh laoc oadvusxoh ucj Jeddoduivwud'w!"
Outside the prison's walls, the sun began to set. Celestia almost didn't notice the warm, orange rays leaking in through the window. She was enjoying herself too much interacting with Nikolaw. The two conversed through more sketches and taught each other more words in each others' languages. Celestia found herself laughing particularly hard when she found out that their word for 'pony' was 'fedoo'.
Nikolaw was asking her many questions, and she was happily providing answers. He asked about her life and her abilities, and he asked about the past. He was very interested in what life was like before the war. Celestia was carefully avoiding disclosing the details of her unexplained sleeping spells to him. She wasn't quite sure why, but she felt it was not a good idea to disclose that information; not even to him.
Celestia used drawings to tell Nikolaw all about Ponyville and Canterlot from the long-passed year of 2010. She could see the sparkles in his eyes when he looked at the sketches she had made of the two cities. She tried her best to display what government had been like back then, though this was sometimes difficult to convey without words.
She showed him much of what regular, everyday pony life had been like. She showed him all the happiness and prosperity that had spread through the land. Though it threatened to bring a tear to her eye, she drew a picture of Twilight and her group of best friends. The drawing made Nikolaw smile warmly.
She even educated him on what the Griffon Kingdoms had been like during the 21st century. He was fascinated by how similar the monarchy of today was to the monarchy back then. Celestia drew him a very detailed drawing of the proud griffons flying across their mountainous state, and she smiled when his eyes lit up.
Night fell. The cell block was somehow illuminated by a flickering light source, but Celestia couldn't see where it was coming from. Nikolaw didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave at the moment.
The two had been conversing, if one could call it that, about everyday griffon life. However, Celestia felt her eyes being drawn towards the window. The deep darkness of twilight was slowly waning away thanks to the glow of the moon. The cool aura of the night spread over the land and flowed into her dreary cell.
Nikolaw followed her gaze. They sat staring out the window for a few minutes. "Moon…?" he said softly.
Celestia nodded, confirming his correct usage of the word.
"Idt…" he continued, "Luna…horn…moon?"
She closed her eyes and let out a quiet sigh as painful emotions began to build in her. "Yes…Luna made the moon rise."
"Moon rise…"
Thoughts of her little sister filled her head, bringing along even more painful emotions. She sat quietly for a moment, then retrieved another piece of paper. She sketched another drawing, taking time and care while doing so. When she was done, she hoofed it over to Nikolaw.
It was a drawing of herself and her sister hugging. She tried her best to express all of the emotions she felt while drawing it. It was an image that represented happiness and all of her desires, and it also represented the pain and loneliness she was feeling at this moment.
Nikolaw's expression softened noticeably when he saw the picture. "Celestia…idt Luna…" he murmured as he gazed.
Celestia sniffled, trying to hold back tears. "Luna…My little Luna…I miss her so much…" she said, knowing that Nikolaw couldn't fully understand her.
The griffon took the pencil and quickly drew something on the paper. He handed it back to her through the bars.
He had drawn a heart above the pair. Celestia couldn't hold back a choked gasp of raw emotion. As tears formed in her eyes, she nodded. "Yes…I love her. I love Luna…"
Nikolaw was silent for a moment. "Love…"
Celestia turned to look at him.
"Caoro… " He extended one of his claws and drew an imaginary heart in the air. "Love…"
Celestia retrieved the pencil and another piece of paper from him. She drew a basic representation of her sister. Then she drew a depiction of herself inside of her jail cell, reaching out to Luna desperately through the bars.
As she hoofed it back to Nikolaw, she said, "I love Luna…I miss Luna…" The griffon took the paper and she spoke in a very quiet voice, "Please…"
Nikolaw gazed at the drawing, a softened expression on his face. He was silent for a few minutes as he stared at it with a small frown. "Celestia…" he said finally in a very subdued tone.
A tear rolled down Celestia's cheek, but she continued to gaze imploringly at the griffon on the other side of the cold metal bars.
There was a loud clicking sound from somewhere outside the cell block. Nikolaw whipped his head towards the entrance. There was the sound of someone calling something out, followed by another click.
Nikolaw frowned. "Lohtummk..." he muttered. He then began to gather up all the stray pieces of paper and the pencils and put them back into his pack. "Oj kik mah coat, Celestia. Asx mijj zokqk woxod. Asx budd dasxk r'coarod."
When he had everything packed up, he got to his feet and gave Celestia a sad, sympathetic gaze. She stared back at him humbly with a heavy frown on her face. There was a moment of silence between the two.
"Goodbye, Celestia," he said finally. A moment later, he walked off down the hallway, out of sight and out of the building. The door slammed shut and, once again, Celestia was left alone.
She sat motionless in emotionally heavy silence for a few moments. The light flickered on the walls and a cool, chilling breeze wafted in from the window. There was a heavy feeling in Celestia's heart. Her one and only friend in this era had left, so now she was on her own. Yet, no matter how much the two of them seemed to get along, Nikolaw didn't seem to have any intentions of freeing her.
She sighed as more painful thoughts came to her, unbidden. She thought of her horn sitting on display in the King's throne room. She thought of the arrogant King himself and how much he was materializing her. She began to wonder what would happen to her if she fell asleep again while still in their captivity. That was a frightening thought that she tried to direct her mind away from.
And again, she thought of Luna, and wondered where she could be. Her heart ached to see her sister again. No matter how bad things had been in the past, Luna had always been there for her when she'd woken up in an entirely new world. Her absence was heartbreaking but, more than that, it was terrifying.
Celestia began to lie down on the ground. When she moved, however, she heard a crumpling sound. Pausing and investigating, she found that she had been sitting on top of a piece of paper. Nikolaw had apparently neglected to pick this one up. Curious, she flipped it over and looked at what was drawn on it.
A moment later, a small smile found its way to her face. Two things were depicted on the page. One was a drawing Nikolaw had made of the King. It was deviously cartoony and the normally imposing griffon was drawn in such a silly way. Nikolaw had given him a big dumb face and a whimsically comical expression. Celestia recalled how much she had laughed when she'd first seen it, and her smile grew.
Next to it was something much different. It was a drawing Nikolaw had made of her. She remembered that he had spent a long time sketching it, and the effort clearly showed. The young griffon was truly an artist, as could be seen in this wonderful drawing of her.
More than that, however, Nikolaw had drawn her smiling. He had given her a wonderfully pleased expression and had depicted her running and bounding about somewhere like a happy little foal.
She remembered why he had drawn this. She had been getting a little emotional from the stories she had been telling, and this had been his way of saying, 'I like it better when you smile.' The picture had done its job, as Celestia had begun to smile immediately upon seeing it.
And she was smiling right now. These two radically different and unrelated pictures told her the same thing, and they expressed it so powerfully. Nikolaw cared. His loyalty only extended so far, and it was not unexpected of him to not want to go against his country or break any laws, but he still cared.
Even if she had nothing else left in this world or this era, she at least had someone who cared. A warm smile overcame her as she slowly began to realize just how important that was. So, she stood up, trotted over to the blankets Nikolaw had given her, and lay down on some of them. She covered herself in the remaining blankets, snuggling into their wonderful warmth.
She sighed and lay her head down. No painful or troublesome thoughts were around to keep her from sleeping peacefully. Not this time.