First Interlude: Luna
Princess Luna stalked through the halls, her mind less on her route and more on previous events. Her posture, flared wings and a glare that would put a cockatrice to shame, made sure that no-pony would bother her in her musings.
Her guards had been too intimidated by her mood to escort her from the Royal Solar Antechamber. Perhaps they figured that none would dare to approach the Night Monarch while she was displaying such an unwelcoming disposition. Or perhaps they were afraid that they would cause Luna to relapse into Nightmare Moon if they provided an unwanted escort.
Her elder sister burst into her domain - waking her up in the process. Instead of her normal very vocal complaining at being woken up early - well five o'clock in the afternoon was early for the Night Princess - she considered her sister carefully. It seemed her normally calm sister was worried about something. That wasn't good.
"Why do you wake me before time?" Luna finally said, her drowsy tone betraying her irritation at the disruption of her sleep.
"Forgive me, sister, but something has come up. I need your aid."
That brought Luna to full awareness - Celestia never had admitted to needing aid from the alicorn of the night before.
"What is it, sister?"
"I'll tell you on the way - follow me." Celestia led the way to her antechambers, Luna a few steps behind.
"I don't know much in the way of details at this time, but a peculiar event has occurred within our borders." Celestia began, "Lulu, would you hold the fort and coordinate the responses while I seek out the source? I will most likely need one of your caging spells as well."
Luna couldn't believe her ears - it sounded too good to be true.
She snorted derisively. Of course it had been too good.
"Of course I will, sister. You can count on me." Luna focused one of her cage spells into a remote section of the castle. A section that wasn't used by the general populace. "If you need the cage, its behind the last door of the West corridor. Third floor." It took some doing - she hadn't cast spells beyond her line of sight for a millennium or so. But she knew that section of castle rather well - it was the part her quarters were in after all.
Celestia smiled in relief, "Thank you so much." A golden glow around her horn produced a tottering stack of papers on the desk. Luna could only gape at them and use her own dark blue aura to prevent them falling as Celestia's magic withdrew. Celestia then teleported away, before Luna could object.
'Well I said I'd do it.....' Luna walked over to the pile, her thoughts slipping into the old form of address due to irritation, 'though we should have known that 'coordinating the responses' was Tia-speak for paperwork.'
Luna's attention was brought back to the present, most of that paperwork was actually done after releasing Rainbow Dash - she hadn't realized how many interruptions Tia had during the day. Though it did make a change from the usually quiet Night Court.
"I'm not going to complain of being bored due to lack of visits ever again." Luna muttered, deciding she preferred the serenity of her Night to the hectic business of the Day Court.
Though the reports of a multicolored comet striking a mountain within Equestria's borders was disturbing. There weren't any comets scheduled for today - let alone on a path that would hit Equestria. She knew that - she was the one that controlled that particular astronomical phenomenon after all.
Luna had lost count of the number of reassurances she'd written to those that lived in the shadow of the afflicted mountain; that it was still stable, it wouldn't collapse and most certainly wasn't a sign of the end of the world. Each of those letters had been dispatched by Royal Courier, escorted by team of guards. Luna had made sure there was a geological expert in each group, to available to answer any questions posed - as well as to provide professional reassurance to those her word wasn't enough.
She still hadn't issued a formal statement about the event, apart from informing the officials in residence that Princess Celestia had taken it upon herself to investigate and further information will be available in due course. Luna didn't want to issue any information that could be proved false in her sister's investigation.
She had learned the hard way that making proclamations before all sides could be considered led to, what Tia referred to as 'tabloid fodder', only in private, of course. Luna already had a lot of bad press due to her past as Nightmare Moon, she didn't need any more Public Relation disasters.
I wonder if Rainbow Dash found her way to that meeting... Luna thought, feeling guilty that one of her cages had been used to hold her, as well as for the fast abandonment to get back to the paperwork. She would never have guessed that Celestia would have caged one of the Element Bearers. Her wings relaxed and folded. Her glare softened into a distant gaze as she pondered both the reports and Dash's current condition. I should have at least summoned an escort for her - that wasn't fair of me - expecting her to find her way while injured.
Luna decided to seek out Dash, if she wasn't still in conference with Celestia, - and try to apologize for the cage - again.
That course of action resulted in a discovery. Luna found the double doors rendered completely unusable. The left door was twisted and leaning, the top hinge being its only support - though soon that would buckle and fall to the strain of holding up the heavy door. The twin on the right was already on the ground - though in a similar state - bent from some unknown force.
Luna slowly approached the doors - not wanting to believe her eyes. Her silver-shod hoof gently prodded the downed door. It was solid. As much as it could be with all the damage it had sustained.
Her shoes weren't true silver, of course, for that metal was too soft and malleable to support an alicorn's weight, but were made of an alloy that had been affectionately termed 'moonsilver'. Moonsilver maintained the shine of true silver, but had the strength of steel and were as light as clouds. It was a difficult alloy to make - mainly as enchantments were weaved into it during the forging process. That was the only way the metal could have durability as well as the low weight.
Luna mentally cataloged the state of the remains - for they couldn't rightly be called doors in their current condition.
Both had sustained multiple indentations consistent with being struck by hooves, whether in frustration or anger, she couldn't say for sure. Luna paused to compare her own hoof with these. Smaller, so not the work of a fully-grown alicorn...
Alongside the hoof indentations in the fallen door was an imprint of a - is that a face? - Luna blinked at that, not really believing that somepony would not only head-butt the metal, but leave such a dent. The more she studied it, the more that disbelief was overtaken by amusement. Her face crinkled up as she tried to contain bubbling laughter.
A small snort, I wonder how Tia would react if I placed an image of a face on the moon?, followed by a few filly giggles escaping, before Luna managed to block them with one of her moonsilver shoes. Her eyes widened, as she remembered the cause of her mirth. The damage on the double doors still needed to be cataloged in full. She already knew that they couldn't be repaired, but knowledge of the damage and what caused it would be important for the replacement set.
Turning her attention back to the fallen door, Luna went back to the task of assessing the totality of the damage.
Further along was a gouge, that ran to the inner edge of the door, indicative of applied directional force. A force that was powerful enough to rend this door from the hinges - the remains of which displayed signs of sheering. That last must have hit both of these doors....
Luna glanced over at the left one, there was clear secondary damage from the ricochet of the first colliding with it on its way down. Leaving her inspection of the right remains in favor of studying the less damaged - though not by much - door, Luna continued her list. More deep indentations of the same kind as the first set were the first to be added - looks like this door was hit by a well-aimed back-kick, though that was not the final blow that opened the doors.
About the same height as the others trench was the continuation of the directional blow. Shallower, easily assumed to be the result of the loss of momentum and power on the initial strike that took out the first door. But still strong enough to create a distortion of the metal... Slightly deeper indents were located at the end of the strike. Extra force had been applied there - maybe to provide an extra boost to escape the other doors path. Luna shook her head, that theory seemed wrong somehow, the secondary damage wasn't close enough to be the true reason.
Luna frowned as she took final stock. That damage was rather immense, considering the doors had been made of metal thicker than most of the palace's support columns, she did wonder if some magic had enhanced the attacker's strength. Her horn lit up - her dark blue aura running over the scars, into the open wounds of the metal and into the blackness behind seeking traces of any enchantment.
She found something she did not wish to see. The deepest part of each strike pulsed red. In the room beyond, a small green spark flared up and then died. Luna's eyes widened in shock as her mind recognized the powers that answered her search.
A little known fact of magic was that every caster left a unique signature - that could be read by another. Mistakes were possible - especially if multiple casters had combined spells and formed an overlay in the area, but since these resonating 'after-images' were separated and this section of the castle had been relatively magic-free for so long - there was no chance of making a misidentification.
This meant that Luna was able to identify the sources, no matter how much she wished it was not so. A trickle of worry crept around her mind, causing her to douse her magic. Though what she had already observed was not so easily erased.
"The Red Mage's aura - Kuvvet's blessing did this....," Luna gasped, staring wide-eyed at the doors, before her gaze drifted to where the ember of green had briefly glimmered in the darkness. "And that was Kuvrama's, the Green Mage.... for both to be seen in close proximity can mean only one thing. The Pigment is free!"
Her damage report on the doors and the recommendations for the acquisition of replacements slid from her mind as terror coated her thoughts in ice. The Pigment is on the loose! Bad, Bad, Bad. How? What? Really, really bad.
Luna seemed unaware of the little shuffling dance her hooves performed - she was subconsciously hopping from one to the other as her thoughts melted and descended into chaos. Her subconscious movement took her from one door to the other - her eyes darting about as if scanning the shadows. The Pigment is free - but that can't happen. No! No, no no, nononono ! And its here - inside the palace! That power should never have been contained and concentrated. Now its out - here! There's a super-weapon inside the palace.... and its already started to destroy....
Luna remained frozen with indecision - apart from the nervous hopping of her hooves Multiple courses of action tumbled around her mind.
No. I must think clearly. For the sake of Equestria. Luna took a deep steadying breath. It helped. A little. Her thoughts weren't acting like out of control pinwheels anymore , but her hooves just wouldn't stay still. Her wings were also twitching, another physical sign of her agitated state. Luna took another breath as she formulated possible plans.
Action Plan One: Alert the Royal Guards.
Pros: More ponies to look could help locate the Pigment faster and contain it.
Cons: The Pigment is a super-weapon, and very dangerous. It has also been kept secret from the general populace. Alerting the Guards would almost certainly create a panic in the citizens.
Action Plan Two: Go after the Pigment myself.
Pros: Limits knowledge of the problem, therefore less chance of generalised panic.
Cons: It is a super-weapon. Not a good idea to face one alone.
Action Plan Three: Inform Celestia of the Pigment's 'activities'.
Pros: I'd have back-up. Plus the extra advice would be helpful.
Cons: Celestia's in a meeting with Rainbow Dash. She stayed up for that - therefore it is important and I cannot interrupt. It is also Night, my domain - how can my own sister trust me to rule, if I cannot act solo and run to her for aid over every problem?
Luna blushed slightly at that. She had relied on her sister a lot in the few years since her return. The changes caused by time had taken some adjustment to get used to. It was about time she did take charge and lessen the burden on her elder sister. So that leaves...
Action Plan Four: Find a way of stopping the Pigment.
Pros: Finding a weakness would enable a more positive resolution. Understanding how the Pigment was contained would ensure a stronger prison this time around.
Cons: I Don't know how much time it'll take.
Once decided on a course of action, Luna transferred her energies into expeditious movement. Luna galloped along the corridors, thinking furiously. There must be some way to stop it. A distant memory resurfaced, that of a particular item that Celestia always kept sealed away in the Vaults. And I think I know where the answer is...
She exited onto the nearest balcony and hurled herself into the air. For a moment, she hung suspended in the night sky, then her wings unfolded. The stars twinkled above and the moon dimmed slightly as she wrapped her wings in borrowed magic, her flight carrying her swiftly and silently towards the part of the castle that contained the hidden Canterlot Vault.
Knowledge of and access to this hidden Vault was strictly controlled, it was not the one that contained the Treasury of Equestria - and only the jewel in her crown combined with her magic aura provided the key. Well, one of the keys anyway - her sister's crown jewel and magic made up the only other.
She soon reached the hidden door of the vault, located just behind Celestia's throne. Using her right forehoof, she tapped a certain tile on the floor, the moonsilver channeling Luna's magic into it. What followed would be considered by the common pony to be impossible. Luna sank through the ground; magic opening and sealing the floor as her body slid through.
On the other side, she ended up on all fours, as if she had risen from the floor she was currently standing on. She shook herself lightly, not being accustomed to that vertigo-like feeling. What lied ahead of the small, candle-lit room was a massive pair of doors, split only by two small circles. Trotting over to them, Luna encased her crown's gem in her magical grip, popping it out and inserting it into the bottom hole. Dull clanking and ground shaking thuds thundered all around within the walls, and the doors slowly drifted apart.
Luna knew what she was looking for, and soon located it. A white-covered book that had no title or author, only a circular design with six equal segments each colored in a different shade. Red, orange, yellow, blue, green and violet wedges taunted Luna with a promise of answers within.
Re-inserting her crown's main jewel, Luna flicked through the book with her magic finding nothing but frustration. The written words inside defied her comprehension. She stomped her hoof, before a smile crossed her face.
What better pony to solve this mystery than Twilight Sparkle? Tucking the book under her wing, Luna left and resealed the vault. Now all she needed to do was send this book to Ponyville Library, where its custodian awaited.
Once the book had been sent on its way, Luna went back to the destroyed doors. This time accompanied by most of the castle's cleaning staff. She pointed a silver hoof towards the mess,
"Would you be so kind as to clean this up for us?" Luna asked, before continuing past the revealed archway into the darkness beyond. On her way to find Dash, apologize and return to her normal Night duties of watching over the dreams of ponies.
The cleaning staff gaped at the mess and wondered how one Alicorn Princess could cause so much damage.
Luna didn't think much of her use of the royal plural, after all it is in my section of the castle, but it was your creation that caused it Tia. She did however make a note of the names of the staff she had appropriated for the difficult task, and resolved to ensure their next bonus reflected the service they were doing. She may even manage to ensure their silence on the matter with some extra vacation time...