//------------------------------// // Part 1 // Story: Frigid Winds and Burning Hearts // by Grey Prophet //------------------------------// Frigid Winds and Burning Hearts The biting north wind blew across the lands of Equestria, carrying upon its breath the promise of an early winter. Everypony, from the mighty citadel-capitol of Canterlot to the humble village of Ponyville, took shelter from the fell notice; its howling call may just as well have been that of a pack of wolves outside their doorways. That is save one pony overlooking the lands from her mountain perch. Well, “pony” is perhaps unfitting to describe a living-deity out performing her daily task of seeing to the proper upkeep of the night-sky. Yet, obscured by its dark shroud, one would be blameless for mistaking the alicorn goddess for a commoner. Her stature paled in relation to her sister Celestia and, fair or not, the sun goddess was the standard of what ponies had come to expect from a divine being. But this was not what troubled Luna. Well, in a very small way it did. The ancient issue of respect was close to Luna, but she was never too keen of being too visible to her subjects, and her low-key appearance aided her in this endeavor. In fact, she found her natural form quite liberating as she did not need to don the pretensions of divinity and was therefore not constrained by the order and duty it entailed. Unlike her sister. Yes, Luna was quite unlike Celestia. The obvious dichotomy the two represent manifested itself daily to the world in the very nature of the cycle the goddesses put into motion: Celestia’s single, massive star subjugating the skies to conform to a uniform blue and Luna’s multitude of stars shining and swirling across the chaotic void were fitting descriptions of their respective personalities. Celestia was a leader, an apt, pragmatic politician who was keen with preserving the status quo. Celestia’s dear student of a past age, Marechiavelli, had compiled her observations of her teacher and employed them in supporting her treatise, The Princess. The work was largely suppressed by the court at Canterlot, but nonetheless depicted Celestia’s statecraft with deftness and insight. The goddess was a mare of many masks, a vital quality that allowed her the fluidity needed to survive as supreme ruler of Equestria for two millennia. Over the centuries, her public life and private life had become blurred and the former gradually came to dominate her personality, though this isn’t to say she had lost her famous sense of humor or any other aspect of her personality. Luna could attest to that. But even these light hearted characteristics had become increasingly just more tools in her political war-chest. Luna, on the other hand, was no politician. She was a free spirit compelled to shatter the shackles of the ordinary and challenge her subjects to confront the unknown. The princess of the night was the patroness and inspiration of all artists, those ponies who accepted her invitation to peer deeper into the inner-workings of both the natural and social world. Of the works of her many admirers, Luna loved Beethooven’s Moonlight Sonata above all. It invoked the tranquility and peace of her night while providing the intellectual stimuli conducive to creating something wholly new and beautiful, and this she did daily with her wonderful welkin. Being a relatively undisciplined free spirit, however, left Luna susceptible to letting her passions impair her judgment and dilute her overarching objectives for change and reform, ones quite unpopular with Celestia... It was just this fact that had brought Luna to the lonely mountain just outside Ponyville. As she stared up at the cosmos, the faint light of the stars reflected in her soft tears causing them to glisten; a final, tender act of comfort that both concluded and made worthy the ancient journey of her celestial rays. The wind, however, was no friend of the goddess. Her tears were buffeted by the chilling breeze, cutting at her flesh like a knife grating against stone. Her dark blue face was tinged with red, but the wind’s harsh caress was not the sole cause for this; a pony need only look into her eyes to be assured. In them reflected the indignation and confusion in her heart, Luna’s usual prescription of solitude doing little to allay her seething emotions. But then why would it? She had confronted Celestia. It was the first time she had done so since her madness was cast off by the Elements of Harmony one short year ago. Trying to beat back her emotional impulses, Luna focused on recounting what had occurred this evening in her mind. // Celestia and Luna were walking together from their quarters to one of the great dining halls of their castle. Luna was starving, having absent-mindedly passed over lunch. A little irritable, she quipped at Celestia. “I don’t see why we have to wait so long before we go seat ourselves at our table and eat something. Don’t you ever get tired of this endless pomp and procedure? I mean, I would be fine with a hay sandwich, well, maybe a side salad too. It’s a tad bit extravagant to put on such a pointless fea---“. Celestia stopped her there. “Luna, you know full well that I would much rather have a quick meal with you and relax for awhile away from this…incorrigible lot, but these dinners serve their function. It’s important to not appear distant to the nobility, you know. I have to assure them that we are serving their interests, even though we may not be. Please behave yourself, and I promise that we can prepare a more private dinner for us later this week.” “There, she did it again”, Luna thought, her eyes rolling, “Trying to buy me off as if I were a foal to be pacified. “ Quickly picking up the fact Luna was peeved, Celestia realized what she had done. “Luna, I’m so sorry, it’s just that I’ve been working on breaking up and redistributing the unproductive fields the nobility neglec--.” “Not doing their intended jobs, eh Celly? Surprising.” Luna sneered, taking to the air and spinning around her sister casually. “—t so that more farmers can produce to feed the demands of the growing population. The poor harvest this year isn’t helping either…” “Why must we keep these “nobles” around after all these centuries still? I always thought them to be a bunch of lazy, pretentious hacks when I ruled at Everfree all those years ago, but their heirs are even more useless…” Celestia turned to her sister with a stern look. “Enough, Luna. I don’t like their elitist airs anymore than you. But you know why. You’re no foal,” she said with exasperation as they neared the dining room, “so please don’t bring this issue up at the banquet. It took me a century to fix the damage your last outburst caused.” Luna’s eyes widened and her body froze as Celestia passed her and entered the dining hall. It was the first time Celestia had mentioned their fight; the fact that it was in such a passive aggressive manner made it even worse. She descended on hoof and tried to shake it off before entering the hall, but the blood had drained from her face and her mind was a thousand miles away as she faintly heard the familiar announcements. “Mares and Gentlecolts, the Princess Celestia and her sister, Princess Luna.” Luna heard the sound of a few hundred ponies rising from their seats at once in perfect orchestra. She quickly shook her head in an attempt to regain focus as she entered the great hall, but it did little to stave off her shock. As she took her seat next to her sister at the head table and everypony sat down, Luna desperately searched out something to distract herself from Celestia’s cold words. Thankfully, the opulence of the hall and the droves of elite provided a significant amount of distraction fodder for the princess. Admittedly, Luna had never actually attended a banquet in the hall. Heck, she had hardly met anypony present. After she had been cured of her ills, Luna kept a low profile in her quarters studying modern history and science in an upward-hill struggle to grasp the contemporary world. Though aspects of technology and chemistry often frazzled her, history was, at first, a pleasure. It showed Luna that Celestia had allowed the ponies to progress, even in the realm of governance. A few centuries after Luna’s departure, Celestia had established a parliamentary body consisting of nobles and members of the bourgeoisie. As time passed, the assembly took on a democratic character with representatives catering to their constituent interests rather than class interests. Luna’s heart rejoiced at this, thinking it as a sign that the monarchy had outlived its usefulness and that the goddesses could finally begin to detach themselves from the affairs of ponies and live life free, just what she had wanted to so long ago… Through more reading, however, Luna found that Celestia still was still the ultimate authority in nearly all affairs, from local boundary disputes to national defense spending. Equestria’s political history was clear; no major party could effectively challenge Celestia. The common-pony’s reverence for the goddess in their midst was a powerful political force that made it unnecessary for Celestia to dispose of her opposition directly, helping her to maintain her immaculate public appearance while allowing her to bend the system to her will. Parliament was Celestia’s tool, an illusory democracy designed to pacify revolution and maintain the status quo. History became more unpleasant for Luna as this reality dawned on her. Celestia was still enthralled by her power drive… “No!” Luna thought “Stop thinking about the past! Think of something else! Look at the hall, isn’t it lovely?” Indeed, the hall was an impressive sight. It was far grander than any room at the Everfree Castle had ever been. Mighty, classical columns rowed the entire length of the hall, each gilded with gold and silver along its grooves. Five long tables of solid oak dominated the room, four of the tables parallel with the head table running perpendicular to them and elevated. The number of tapestries and banners, however, caught Luna’s eyes, each depicting Celestia’s triumphs over the centuries or the coat-of-hooves of some insipid noble family. She saw that a few of them were of her raising the moon, and nothing else. Of course her politique of a sister would make sure little Luna got her shout out, but she thought it strange that it was the sole feat Celestia found her noteworthy of. Had Equestria forgotten her expulsion of the parasprites, the defense she led to safeguard Stalliongrad against the onslaught of an army of trolls, or her eclipse that had blinded the Dragon Lord Ragrog? She may not be a great leader, but Luna had intervened in the past numerous times to ensure her subjects immediate safety. Oh, why did she skip over early medieval Equestrian history? “No, no, no!” Luna thought again, “I can’t dwell on this, oh, why can’t we just eat or dance or whatever?! Is there somepony here I can talk to…” Her eyes searched the room desperately for a familiar face. Hopefully Celestia wouldn’t be mad if she trotted off for a bit… But then it caught her attention. A long, worn-looking banner decorated with a thousand images contained a scene that sent a shiver down Luna’s spine. It was the picture of a black alicorn lying subdued before a white one with a pink mane. The memory of the past hit her fast and hard and soon the princess found herself again trapped in a web of anxiety. “Welcome to tonight’s banquet, everypony.” Celestia’s voice snapped Luna back to reality. “Nobles.” Celestia turned to the left, where the multitude of coat-of-hooves was clustered. “Members of parliament.” She said, turning to the right and giving a quick wink. Seeing their cue, the servants emerged from the kitchen ready to serve the prepared feast. “It pleases me that so many of you decided to attend the festivities, despite the recent fiasco at the gala. As you can see before you, such bravery does not go unrewarded! I know you all have waited long for this to start, so, for the sake of our appetites, let us skip the formalities for now, shall we? So please, eat and be merry!” Luna looked at her sister with a smile, Celestia’s sweet, comforting voice and light-hearted comments dispelling Luna’s immediate anxiety attack. As Celestia took her seat again, Luna smirked and gave her insightful critique: “Good speech. Nice and short.” “Leaves more time for drinking!” Celestia replied as wine filled their goblets. The two laughed as they toasted and put the cups to their lips. Reassured of her sister’s love and respect for her, Luna felt much better, but the image of the alicorns continued to gnaw at the back of her mind. Celestia’s focus was diverted by some noble or minister, so Luna turned her attention to the other ponies sitting at the table. The pony sitting next to her was a rather large white unicorn with a star resembling the points of a compass on his flank. His fore hooves were adorned with smooth silver bracelets and his torso covered by an elegant tuxedo. He turned to Luna and began speaking in an accent dripping with everything she hated about Celestia’s little caste system. “Oh, Aunt Luna! Such a surprise it is to see you at Aunt Celestia’s table. From the way I heard it, you were still completely native.” There were several things with the unicorn’s words that caused a look of confusion to wash over Luna’s face, but one stuck out in particular. Lifting an eyebrow, she replied: “Uh, ‘Aunt’? Excuse me, but do I know you?” The unicorn looked indignant as he responded. “My auntie, I am not like you in at least one respect. Everypony knows me for I am Prince Blueblood of the House of Haysburg. I am the object of adoration of many as my valorous feats of daring and intrigue are well recorded by periodicals---” “Tabloids” a nearby pony coughed. “Of excellent repute.” “You’re…a prince? I can’t say I really believe you, and, uh, do I have a sister I don’t know of?“ “Here are my papers, dear aunt” Blueblood responded haughtily, using his magic to present a large scroll to the princess. “I carry them at all times for the rare occasion I cross a skeptic, like you.” “Of course you do.” Luna said as she rolled her eyes. As she looked at the ancient looking parchment, she completed her thought “You sad, little foal.” It was indeed an extensive genealogy, but as Luna scanned the older branches, the names devolved back into Old Equestrian and then to an even older script, Thracian. Luna knew the language and writing quite well, however, and proceeded to the patriarch of the House of Haysburg. “My little long lost brother”, she chuckled to herself. And there he was, his name clearly written by Celestia herself. The great and powerful δενάλογο, or rather “Nopony”. Luna’s amusement with the document was piqued by her sister’s ancient joke, and she burst into a fit of laughter. It was so terribly simple and cliché, but Luna simply couldn’t help herself, to her the timing was all too perfect and fitting. “Ha! My, oh why yes, this is…this is, INCREDIBLE, “nephew”…Bwaha! Should I crack out my copy of Lord of the Bridles for reference? It’s in the appendices, right? Haha!” Prince Blueblood gave a look of shock as Luna let go of the document, nearly dunking the weathered parchment into a bowl of steaming carrot soup. His magic was just able to save the only thing sparing him from bucking apples out in the boonies. He turned to Luna, who was now banging the table with her right hoof as she continued to laugh loudly, and mustered up every pretentious fiber in his being to give Luna such a look of contempt and bewilderment that would put even a goddess to shame. Well, that’s not exactly how it panned out for old Blueblood. Luna hardly noticed the white unicorn as she continued banging the table. As the fates would ordain it, this soon changed as Luna’s hoof hit the dreaded carrot soup, sending it flying. If the villainous bowl couldn’t ruin the idiot prince’s life, it was going to make damn sure he gave the bastard a scalding burn, perhaps leave a little scar as a reminder too. With its destiny before it, the bouillabaisse bomb sailed perfectly into the muzzle of the unlucky (but deserving) prince. As Barry Bowl hit the floor, the once-simple object knew it had earned its place in the pantheon of its fellows, accompanying such illustrious inanimate notables as Mr. Turnip and Rocky for all eternity. A gruff roar silenced the entire hall. Celestia, who up to this point was dealing with a difficult old aristocrat and writing off Luna’s obnoxious behavior as typical, turned abruptly to the unpleasant scene to her side, mouth agape. Luna’s amusement turned quickly to silence as she noticed the enraged and burned unicorn before her. Embarrassed, a shade of red tinted her blue complexion. “Uhh…Nephew! I’m so, so sorry abou---“ “You…you…WITCH!! You wretched demon what have you done to my beautiful face!” Prince Blueblood exploded, leveling his burnt face with Luna’s “Celestia should have put you to the sword 1000 years ago when your power lust drove you to exterminate all life! Your second coming no different! You genocidal barbarian, you wicked beast, you…NIGHTMARE MOON! Cursed be your name, may all remember you as the murderer and uncivilized power whore that you are. You jealous tyrant! May Celestia damn you to the moon, forever this time!” With that he raised his hoof and smacked her face. Seconds later several guards had tackled and subdued the furious prince. Luna had not expected much pain, she was, after all, an immortal otherwise impervious to mortal means of injury. But she felt the full force of the brawny pony’s hoof bashing against the side of her head. She felt dizzy and disoriented. Perhaps the pony was cut from immortal cloth? No, that was impossible. Why did this hurt so much? As Luna regained her focus, she felt a stream of blood drip from the side of her face. Blood. She had not bled since that day 1000 years ago. Her eyes widened in amazement as she turned around the silent room. Everypony stared at her with equal shock. Not only had they watched their goddess insulted, but they had also seen her bleed. Luna’s mind drifted back to Prince Blueblood’s words. She was the power whore? Genocide? What was the meaning of this? And then it caught her eye again. The black and white alicorns. That day. “Celestia wouldn’t, she wouldn’t!” Luna thought, tears welling. Her sister was making a damage control speech, but Luna didn’t hear it, she couldn’t. She was so distressed at the dark revelation her mind was piecing together, she didn’t even hear the final venomous words of Prince Blueblood as the Royal Guard took him away. “She saw me as a threat. Once I was gone, she lied and crafted her own history. History? More like a morality tale. Good, evil. Celestia, Luna. Perhaps shutting me up in that rock for a millenium was just frosting on the cake, the final dressing needed to prove to the world that I was always an evil monster. But I know what happened, I know that I was not Nightmare Moon when I fought my sister. I alone know the truth of that day.” As Luna thought this over, her emotions began to bleed into her mind. “She doesn’t love me. I’m just another pawn in her game, to be used or cast away when needed...just like all her other subjects...” As Luna came to this conclusion, a worried Celestia trotted towards her and nuzzled her. “Luna, are you all right? How is it tha---Luna!” Luna broke away from her sister and fled the banquet hall, blood and tears streaming as she ran to her room. As she reached her destination, she slammed the door and ran out to her balcony and threw herself on the ground. How could Celestia do that? No wonder everypony hated her. It wasn’t just the brief Summer Sun disruption; it was a long history of systematic demonization. Her tears dried as sadness turned to rage. “Luna!“ The moon princess turned sharply and glared at her older sister. Celestia was taken aback at Luna’s animosity towards her, it was unlike her sister to be so angry. “Luna, please, let’s get your wound treated. I’m sorry about the prince, but I warned you not to bring those sorts of issues up.” “No Celly, I’m glad I did.” Luna sniffed “That smack to my face did wonders for me!” “Wha-what do you mean?” Celestia asked in confusion. “Sis, please don’t play dumb with me. I know it has worked this far, but no longer.” Luna paused and looked at the moon. “Do you remember why you set me to that rock? Do you remember what crime I had committed to deserve a thousand years of loneliness, sorrow, and madness?” Celestia did not respond. “You don’t? Well, let me refresh your memory, because you won’t find it in any of your history books. I wanted you to stop ruling and let our creation tend to itself. Once I assembled a group of influential…nobles…to write you what we called back then “the great letter”, you had little patience for me. You said I didn’t understand government, that I was going down a path riddled with chaos and uncertainty that would ensure Equestria’s ruin. I guess that's why you made me look like a second Discord...no, not a second, you made me look worse than Discord!” Luna shouted, not relenting for a second. “Luna, please,” Celestia began, her eyes filled with tears “your actions threatened to destabilize everything we had worked so hard to build up! You wanted to pass our rule into the hands of a mob of mortals, a lot doomed to die. It would be a never ending succession struggle for power! Civil war and slaughter would have been inevitable had you been able to carry out your misguided plan, ones even more terr--...” “Celestia, many other nations do without deities running their affairs,” Luna cut off coldly. “Er, yes, and they haven’t had the blessing of divine protection that accompanies it,” Celestia answered, adapting to the conversation as needed. Even after a thousand years, the sun goddess knew how her sister was prone to shift topics at will without finishing the first. “Sister!” Luna shouted “That’s just the problem! You’ve treated our creation like it was a giant, retarded foal that needs constant care instead of letting it grow! Your justifications are just rationalizing the issue! That's what you always do! We are goddesses, and even we cannot make such predictions.” “History shows us…” “History shows nothing Celly! You are this nation’s history! We know nothing else but absolute rule!” “So what if I rule from my throne? Without my guidance, parliament would be nothing more than a breeding ground of endless bickering and fighting. It is only through my strength that peace and prosperity has reigned in this land for two thousand years. Would you see that end just because it's not perfect or ideal?” “It's nowhere close to perfect, you cannot even call this elitist sham a democracy!” Luna rebuked, “Remember Celly, we made this country for them, not us!” Celestia stood in silence. Luna had never succeeded in overcoming her sister’s skills in persuasion before, so she took the opportunity to drive the nail in deeper. “The day you banished me to the moon…a day I lived over and over again as I wandered my barren prison…I will never fully understand. I know why you did it, I mean, it doesn’t take an expert to see that I was the greatest threat to your authority. But how could you do it!? Your only sister, your sole equal!?” “Luna...” Celestia’s stammered “I—I didn't kn-- I thought a millennia would be enough to let our creation grow in an environment free from your…your…radicalism. I was protecting them from something they weren’t ready for—“ “And a thousand years have passed and they’re no more ready! I guess I'm due another banishment, huh?” Luna interjected furiously, “Enough about protection and security! You know deep down you stay here for the power.” Celestia’s eyes narrowed, her voice tinged with shock and rage “Ho-how dare you, Luna! Are you calling me a tyrant?” “Yes! Your ponies may be fat and content, Celestia, but it is only because the world you gave them is the only one they know, and it is a lie. ” Luna paused, watching the wind scatter Celestia's soft tears. “What do you see yourself as, Celestia?! A benevolent ruler? A princess beyond politics? A nurturing mother? Are those the lies you decieve yourself with?” Celestia tried to avert her eyes, but Luna met her sister’s gaze again and moved in closer “Being a goddess isn’t enough, is it Celly? Nature is beautiful, but boring in comparison to the ponies that populate our fair land. Each with her own story and a journey, a special talent and a dream. It’s much more fun to play with them then fly among the empty heavens and watch, isn’t it? Your beloved student Twilight Sparkle is an excellent case and point, isn’t she?” At the sound of the young mare’s name, Celestia’s ears perked up. “Yes, Twilight Sparkle, my savior.” Luna continued, her thoughts and feelings pouring out like floodgates releasing a mighty river “it’s a good thing you had her assemble the Elements of Harmony to cure me of my insanity and fill my heart with forgiveness. Eternal night? That’s what a thousand years of unjust imprisonment does to a pony, even a goddess!” “Luna, I apologized for what I did, but I…I” Celestia began to cry, taking Luna off-guard. “I can’t let go, they need me!” “No sister.” Luna said coldly “You need them. Certainly so now that I too am mortal.” Celestia looked at her sister confused and scared. “No, no, Luna—“ “Don’t cry for me, dear sister.” Luna shouted, the flames of rage growing in her heart “No, I can only guess that your dear student purged my immortality along with the shell of Nightmare Moon. But look on the bright side Celly, with me dead you can reign unchallenged and alone for all eternity! You asked me if you were a tyrant. If you aren’t already now, you will be when I’m gone.” Celestia fell to the floor weeping. Luna couldn’t stand the sight, she wanted to comfort her sister. But Celestia needed this and so did she. Spreading her wings, Luna flew upwards, the cold wind brushing against her feathers. With tears in her eyes and anger in her heart, the moon goddess spoke her departing words: “The prince said I was jealous. Of you, I assume. But he couldn’t be further from the truth. Celestia, I never have nor do I want to be you; a slave to power and ambition! My only wish is that if you leave any record of me, let it contain those very words so that Equestria may know that I was not the Nightmare you depicted me as but rather the Dream that never was!” With that, she flew into the night with reckless speed, not looking back for a second. Her mind remained tormented by conflicting emotions, anger and compassion, despair and love, until they blurred together into a primitive drive to escape. No better place in Equestria existed for this than the lonely mountain before her. As her hooves hit the mountainside, she collapsed emotionally exhausted and physically weary. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`` Reflecting on what happened eased Luna’s mind a bit, but it also brought to mind some questions she still had not answered. How could she have been injured? Sure she told Celestia an idea, but it was purely conjecture. As brave as Luna was about the whole issue in front of her sister, she was scared out of her mind. The idea of her dying was impossible for Luna to grasp. “Well, at least Celly has to grapple with it too,” Luna told herself, “I can only hope it will make her reevaluate her outlook on things. Just the idea tha maybe she’d give up some of her authority and go home...Only good can come of it.” Yes...but you could die. The thought sent a shiver down her spine. “No” she thought “I don’t even know if I’m a mortal for sure. I should to talk to somepony about this and see if we can’t find out just what’s really wrong with me.” She couldn’t return to Canterlot, her sister needed time to do her own soul searching. As she gazed across the land from the mountain, she saw a quaint village not too far from her position. She recognized it as the site of her return and home of the Elements of Harmony, Ponyville. Luna smiled at the convenience, for if any mortal could aid a goddess, it was Celestia’s beloved student, Twilight Sparkle. With the cold wind to her back, she spread her wings and took off, gliding across the moonlit sky towards Ponyville.