//------------------------------// // 12 - Echoes // Story: The Seventh // by Arvaus //------------------------------// Celestia’s mind was at peace. She sat atop the tallest mountain in Equestria, the cool breeze playing through her short pink mane. Below her the great Citadel of Canterlot sat nestled against the mountain’s face, its golden spires gleaming in the afternoon sun. The entirety of Equestria was laid out before her. She could see Ponyville, Manehattan, Las Pegasus, even the distant Crystal Empire, all so close that she felt she could just swoop down from the mountain there and then, and walk the streets among her fellow ponies once more. A small twinge of pain entered her mind. She looked round and saw her wings; they were in a sorry state, all the feathers stripped bare of their tines. She wouldn’t be flying today. But despite this a smile spread across her face. Her wings were dead, but she was not. And neither were the ponies below. She could see every one of them in her mind; she could remember their faces, their voices. They would always remain alive in her memory, and no doubt she would remain in theirs. She didn’t need to see them to know that she had friends. It was selfish to think that they wouldn’t manage without her. They all had each other to share their lives with, to provide support and companionship. They had survived through greater losses than this, and Celestia couldn’t help but feel proud of the strength of her nation. Perhaps she would return to them one day. Perhaps she wouldn’t. If it was part of her story to return, to descend down to the nation below, then she would welcome it. But if her place was elsewhere then maybe that was how it was supposed to be. She would let the magic of Equestria guide her as it saw fit. She was not trapped here. Not really. She was the one who had been trapping herself. The voices of her old friends came back to her. She heard them whispering in the air and felt comforted by their presence. There were so many of them, each belonging to a life she had had the honour of being a part of. She marvelled at depth and scope of the story they all shared in. They brought life and hope to this strange world of fiction, and in turn passed it on to others. She may never understand what this meant, or why it was so, but a part of her didn’t care. As she looked down over the nation she didn’t see a book, or a painting, or a photograph. She saw a beautiful, living, vibrant world. It was a wondrous thing, and she didn’t need to know how it worked to appreciate that. Celestia… The word came out of the sea of voices, speaking directly to her mind. She knew the voice well, but couldn’t place it. It faded in and out, shifting in her memories, always staying just out of reach. She stood and walked away from the mountain’s edge. She walked in all directions across the snow-covered peak, trying to follow the voice. As she moved she passed through memories, seeing long-lost objects from her life. They were simple things, insignificant objects, strewn randomly across the snowy ground. She knew only that they had a special place in her life, but the memory of why eluded her. Celestia… The voice came again, passing through her mind before disappearing into the distance. She turned, following its path. Stretching away from her through the snow was another trail of hoofprints. They were different from hers, smaller, and they appeared to cross her own track many times. As she followed them, she could feel something in the air. The voices were fading, but something remained in their place. She could feel in the world’s magic a second spirit, as if somepony else was nearby. She could tell that she knew this spirit well. “Hello?” she said, coming to a halt and looking slowly round across the small plateau. “What are you doing here, Princess?” Twilight Sparkle asked from next to her. Celestia looked down at her faithful student. She looked so young, even younger than when they had first met. “I was looking for somepony,” she replied. “Well, I’m somepony,” Twilight said thoughtfully. “Do I count?” Celestia chuckled. “I suppose you do,” she said with a smile. “Now come on, Twilight Sparkle. As we are up here, I have something to show you.” She led the young filly back over to the mountain’s edge and they sat down in the snow. “That’s Canterlot!” Twilight said, looking down at the city below. “I can see my parents’ house!” “And do you know where that is?” Celestia asked, pointing to another town not much farther away. Twilight puzzled over the question. “I think I read about it in a book,” she said. “There aren’t many towns so close to the Everfree forest, but I can’t remember their names, and—” “That is Ponyville,” Celestia said, cutting her off. “That will be your home one day,” she continued. “Really?” Twilight said incredulously. “It looks so small.” Celestia smiled. “Yes it is,” she said. “But at the same time it is so big. There are ponies there from all different walks of life, living and working together in harmony. You will make many friends in your time there, and you will learn so many things. You will find so much happiness, and in turn you will bring happiness to them.” “It sounds wonderful,” Twilight said. “It truly is,” Celestia continued. “But I should not be unfair. The same could be said for almost any part of Equestria. Each town and city across the nation has its own ponies, and while each place is different from all the others, they all have their own ways of bringing happiness to those that live there.” The two of them shared a smile, then looked out across the nation in silence. This nation was truly a work of art, Celestia thought to herself. “You still haven’t answered my question,” Twilight said after a while. “What do you mean?” Celestia asked, looking down at her student. “What are you doing here?” she asked again. “I’m… I’m not sure I follow,” Celestia admitted. Twilight stood up and cantered back across the mountain, bounding playfully in the snow. “It’s great up here,” she said, “and the view’s amazing. But this isn’t where you want to be.” She stood still again, looking Celestia in the eyes. “So why are you up here, instead of down there with everypony else?” Celestia spread her wings. “I cannot return,” she said, shrugging. “I did not choose to come here, but this is where I am now. And I am okay with that.” “That’s silly,” Twilight said, giggling. “This is your dream, so can’t you go anywhere you want?” “Unfortunately, no,” Celestia replied. “It may seem like a bad thing to say, but we are not always in complete control of our own destinies. Things sometimes just happen, and we have to accept this and deal with it as best we can.” “Oh well,” Twilight said, sitting down in the snow and looking disappointed. “It’s a shame, I really wanted to go to the library today.” Celestia laughed. She hadn’t seen Twilight this young and carefree in years, and remembering those times brought back many new memories. But as she thought about them, something that Twilight had said came back to her. “Wait,” she said, approaching the young pony again. “Did you say this was a dream?” Twilight looked back up at her with an expression like she had just been asked if the grass was green. “Well of course it is, silly!” she said. “Didn't you realise?” Celestia looked again at her surroundings. Of course it was a dream. How could she not have noticed? “I’m not really here,” she said to herself. “I’m not even in Equestria. I am still with Aaron, and I’m asleep by the pond.” She looked back down at Twilight. “How did you know?” she asked. “How did I not?” Twilight suddenly looked older. She was grown, a young mare now. “Most ponies don’t know when they’re dreaming,” she said. “That itself isn’t unusual. But if I knew, then you must know on some level. I’m part of the dream as well, remember.” “I don’t understand,” Celestia said. She walked back to the mountainside. “But does it matter?” she continued. “Can’t I just enjoy this place while I am here? Should I care that it’s a dream?” Twilight shrugged. “That’s up to you, I guess,” she said. “If none of this is real, then you can do what you want with it.” Celestia laughed. “‘None of this is real’,” she mused. “That seems such a strange thing to say now. Does all this actually exist, or is it just an image in my mind?” Twilight walked up next to her. “You don’t know the answer to that,” she said, “and so neither do I. But there is some truth in every story, so you may find something you can use even here.” “Like what?” Twilight didn’t respond. Again they stared out across the land in silence. Celestia could hear the voices again, quiet whispers carried on the breeze. She knew what they were now, just old memories in a dream, and as they flowed through her she could remember the scenes, the times in her life when she had heard each of them. But now it had been brought to her attention, something was bugging her. “I still don’t understand,” she said. “How did I know?” Twilight shook her head. “You’ll work it out eventually,” she said. “The clues are all there. You just need to know what to look for.” Celestia lay down and scanned the vista before her, looking for anything unusual. But everything she saw made sense in its own way. Everything was something from her life. Something from inside her own mind. Still, something had broken through the illusion. Something had woken a part of her mind up, showing her what was really happening. Nothing from within the dream could have done that; it was all too simple. But what else was there? Had some stray external sensation filtered its way in? She remembered her last dream, and the painful awakening she had received. But she hadn’t realised then until the very last moment. This was different; she still hadn’t woken up, but somehow she knew that she hadn't. Something set this dream apart from the last one. There was something new here. As she thought about her last dream, though, one thing struck her. It wasn’t so much something that was new to this dream, but something that was missing from the last. Something so important to her, but which she had been unable to find. As if it was out of her reach. Celestia… The voice came again. It was closer than ever before and almost felt solid, like she could reach out and touch it. At last the memory came to her, and she knew whose voice it was. There was the presence again, the spirit in the magic surrounding her. That was how she had known. It was such a familiar spirit, and the only one that had ever been able to enter her dreams. Twilight looked over at her and smiled. “Go to her,” she said. Her heart racing, Celestia stood again and spread her wings. The feathers returned immediately, her wings growing full and strong. She looked down at the land below. It was so close, but this wasn’t the right time. Not yet. Looking up at the heavens instead, she raised her wings above herself and prepared to climb into the sky, but paused. She turned to look at Twilight again. “If you’re part of me,” she asked, “then tell me this. Do I know what the seventh Element is?” Twilight shook her head. “Only you can answer that.” She then smiled and turned, fading into nothing as she walked away. Celestia looked up again and lifted herself off the ground. Pushing as hard as she could, she soared high into the sky, passing through the clouds in mere moments. The sky faded away to black as she rose higher and higher into the heavens. High above her the sun hung in the sky, shining down over Equestria. Celestia summoned her magic, and at her command it rolled across the sky, sinking down below the distant horizon. The sky grew dark as it departed and slowly filled with countless stars. She turned to the east, and moments later the moon rose to take its place. “Luna!” she called as she raced towards the distant sphere. “Luna, I can hear you! Where are you?” Sister… Her voice was there again, so close it was almost deafening. Tears filled Celestia’s eyes as she darted across the sky, searching for it. She was so close now. “Please, my sister!” She shouted. “Where are you? I want to see you! I need to see you!” She stopped mid-flight and hung in the sky. Closing her eyes she searched her own mind, trying to find the origin of the voice. As she did so the entire world seemed to stretch to breaking point, like something was forcing its way through. She held on as best as she could, pulling the dream together. “Please be you,” she whispered. “Please let this be real.” Then suddenly everything snapped back into place. The world locked itself together again, and Celestia could feel the new spirit burning in her mind, filling it with a feeling of warmth and safety. “I am here, my sister.” Celestia froze, almost unable to believe it. She opened her eyes slowly, and there in front of her was Luna, wearing the happiest smile Celestia had ever seen. This was no illusion or manifestation. This was her sister, as real as anything could possibly be. “Luna!” Celestia shouted, wrapping her forelegs tightly around her sister. “How did you find me?” Luna returned the embrace, and the two of them hung there in the moment, tears streaming from their eyes. “Please,” she replied. “There will be time for explanations later. Right now, all that matters is that you are safe.”