Frigid Winds and Burning Hearts
Part 2
Before reaching the sleepy village, Luna descended on hoof a safe distance away. She needed to be cautious; if there was any place in Equestria that would have good reason to harbor a distrust or fear of the moon goddess, it would be Ponyville. Its residents witnessed the pinnacle of her insanity in a display that only confirmed her portrayal as the manifest evil of Celestia’s mythology. Though a feast was thrown after the defeat of her alter ego, Luna couldn’t help but to think that it was more of a celebration of her sister’s return than a welcome for her. The wreath of roses the villagers had bestowed on her spoke of the veiled bitterness they felt towards her. Yes, the flowers were beautiful, but the interlocking stems wove a crown of thorns that gripped and tore at her neck with every movement she made.
As Luna neared the village, she pondered the source of that sensation. At the time, she thought the irritation was merely due to her body’s sensitivity after being freed from her illness. Was what she felt merely discomfort or pain? Had the thorns cut her, had she bled? Were her fears correct, had the Elements of Harmony cast out her immortality?
Questions of this nature swirled in Luna’s mind as she entered Ponyville. Though distracted, the princess initially made sure to stay in the shadows so as not to bump into anypony. A particularly violent blast of icy wind, however, shook her from her thoughts and reminded the Luna that the likelihood of encountering a pony in the streets this night was slim. Feeling more free to move undetected, she took to her wings and swiftly glided towards the town center.
“Now, I know Celly mentioned that her student was staying in the town’s library, so it shouldn’t be too far away from the other civic buildings,” Luna thought.
As she rounded the corner, she froze and retreated behind the building. Peering from her hiding place, she saw two members of the Royal Guard speaking to a pony with a scroll on her flank, the town administrator it would seem.
“…and so Madam Mayor, it is imperative that you maintain order here while the authorities in Canterlot sort this mess out,” The first instructed. “General Hawkeye has drafted a contingency plan in the event of panic, so if need be, contact the district’s barracks if you see any signs that usually prelude a public riot. We, of course, will be standing by as well...”
Luna listened in, impressed that Celestia had mobilized her Royal Guard so quickly, or had she? Luna had a natural sense of time synched with the rotation of the planet, but she still managed to forget or ignore it at times, much to Celestia’s grief. She looked up at the moon and realized that seven hours had passed since her departure from Canterlot and took note of it. On the run or not, Luna still had to lower the moon to make room for Celestia’s sun. As she calculated when she should perform her duties, Luna caught the sight of two more guardponies moving towards her out of the corner of her eye.
“Ack! I’m such a scatterbrain!” Luna thought “Ok, now how did that spell work again?…ugh…”
The guards drew closer and Luna began to panic. She was flanked.
“…no…no…Oh right!”
With a quick spell, the princess of the night dissolved into the shadows of the town hall. It had been awhile since she had performed the feat, but luckily she just managed to evade the guardponies’ gaze. As they walked, Luna overheard what the two were discussing.
“...can’t believe this, captain. Of all the nights, it had to be the one when the wind is so cold it feels like I have a bloody glacier growing in my wings!”
“Hold your tongue, private,” barked his superior officer, a rather large, dark brown pegasus,“I know your daddy got you into the Royal Guard, but I thought by now that I’d taught you a thing or two about speakin’ out of line and complainin’. You do it again, and you’ll find yourself back in the mess hall peelin’ apples!”
“Ye…yes sir! But, I was just voicing everyponys’ thoughts. It’s just terrible flying conditions for a marehunt…”
“Well soldier, looks like you’ll be bakin’ apple fritters for a month! I expect ‘em to taste the way my nanny made ‘em back at Canterlot Castle! Now stop makin’ yourself useless and get back to your patrol! Bother me again with your brilliant observations again and I’ll make damn sure you never wear that armor again. You got that? One more slip up and you’ll find yourself back at daddy’s business sittin’ behind a desk; a front row seat to watch the best years of your life be mercilessly swallowed by an ever creeping sense of your own worthlessness! How does that sound, Golden Pockets? Now--”
“Captain! Did you hear that?” interrupted the timid guard, his voice tinged with a sudden anxiety and his ears perked up “It wasn’t the wind, right? It’s gotta be something bad, it’s gotta be Nightmare Moon. Should we draw our weapons?”
“Wha--? Are you kidding me, private? Grow a pair, it’s just the rest of the battalion. Great Celestia, the shit I have to deal with...”
Over the howl of the wind, Luna could make out the sound of rattling armor growing closer. In a minute, about twenty-five pegasi were assembled and lined up in to two neat rows, ready to be presented to their commanding officer.
The first pair of guards, their task complete, joined their company and arranged themselves into rank and file. Once done, they saluted their captain.
“Captain Braveheart! The local authorities have been informed and are taking the appropriate actions as prescribed by General Hawkeye.” The first guard reported.
“Good work Lt. Nightshade, Private Blackmane.” Braveheart commended, moving on with his inspection of his soldiers. When all seemed satisfactory, he faced them:
“Now pegasi, I know we’ve never had to deal with runaway goddesses before. It’s a daunting task, but it’s damn important we complete the mission or all hell will break loose, understood? That Princess Luna has always been a problem just waiting to blow and that royal scumbag Prince Blueblood set her off. Anyway, given the circumstances, we can only assume the worse. She may look innocent and small, but I’ve been briefed that she has more blood on her hooves than...well…anypony! You aren’t sealed in the moon for no reason, if you know what I mean. The general has sent us, the elite pegasi division of the Royal Guard, to personally search and garrison this village while the rest of the armed forces search elsewhere.”
He paused and then shouted “Do you know why, pegasi?”
“No, sir!” The soldiers shouted in unison. Captain Braveheart grinned and chuckled.
“I didn’t think so; it ain’t exactly Manehatten now, is it?”
“No sir!”
“Well, this little dinky town apparently houses somewhere a weapon of incredible power. The general believes Princess Luna will be drawn to it either to claim it for herself or destroy it. Both scenarios are unacceptable!”
“Yes sir!”
“Now, the town has another gem we should be aware of. Celestia’s prized pupil Twilight Sparkle resides in the local library. She is to be guarded at all times! Ms. Sparkle was reportedly instrumental in Princess Luna’s defeat last year, and is thus a likely target. Being who she is, Ms. Sparkle may also prove to be a source of vital intel. Lt. Lightning Strike!”
A yellow pegasus emerged from the ranks.
“Yes sir!”
“How did the questioning of Ms. Sparkle proceed?”
“Sir, she was somewhat reluctant to provide any information to us.”
“You didn’t tell her anything, right soldier?”
“No sir, the questions pertained to her contact with Princess Celestia and her knowledge of Princess Luna. A search of the library was conducted as well, per your orders.”
“Good pony. First the questioning. What did she tell you?”
“Not much, sir. She told us that she had indeed sent a letter last evening to Princess Celestia and that the princess had responded. We then requested that she replicate her original letter to the princess.”
Lightning Strike paused and reached into his saddle bag to take out a scroll and passed it to the captain.
“Sir, the correspondence.”
“Very good. Continue.”
“When pressed for information on Princess Luna, Ms. Sparkle insisted she knew little and told me to ask the Royals myself. Sir, I remember Ms. Sparkle quite well from her studies with the princess. She can’t lie worth a damn. She’s hiding something.”
“And the search?”
“The library yielded little. All we could find were these old books concerning medieval Equestrian history that seem to depict Princess Luna, or rather Nightmare Moon. However, the texts are written in a strange language. It’s not Old Equestrian, that’s all I can say.”
“Hmm…perhaps we can get some brainiac down here to translate ‘em...or we could get Ms. Sparkle herself,” the captain suggested. “If it better prepares us for an encounter with a pissed off goddess, it’ll be worth it. At 0800 hours I want you to alert Ms. Sparkle that her services are compulsory. Until then, you, Whitewater Rush, and Golden Pockets are to guard the library. Understood?”
“Yes sir!”
“Lt. Nightshade!”
“Yes sir!”
“Take the books from Lt. Lightning Strike and have them delivered to my quarters in the town hall. Same goes for these scrolls.” The captain ordered, giving up the letters.
“Yes sir!”
Captain Braveheart turned his attention to the whole battalion and spoke:
“Well pegasi, you know your orders. I want you stationed at every entrance to the village and four of you doing aerial reconnaissance at all times. It’s basic night watch protocol, think you dumb foals can handle it?”
“Sir, yes sir!”
“Damn good! Inspection will happen at 0700 hours, and I want you all as alert and active as that bouncin’ pink pony who ran out to greet us tonight!”
The soldiers looked at each other uneasily.
“Well…?”
“Sir, yes sir!”
“You all are dismissed, make me proud boys!”
“Uh-hem.”
“…and Sgt. Storm Cloud. Sorry ‘bout that.”
“Don't let it happen again.”
The Royal Guard divided ranks and flew to their respective posts. Seeing his pegasi in such excellent formation, Captain Braveheart confidently turned to the town hall and entered the building knowing well that his pegasi would not fail him.
With nopony in the immediate area, Luna materialized and proceeded to throw up. The reaction was a surprise to her; although she was never a fan of being torn apart atom by atom, she never had a problem shadow shifting before her encounter with the Elements. A tingling sensation spread across her entire body. Was this pain? It didn't feel like any she had felt before, the best she could compare it to was the uncomfortable twinge she got sometimes from unexpected bug bites. But this felt like a thousand of those.
“Hopefully I don’t have to do that again.” Luna thought, itching herself a bit before turning to more serious issues, “But it looks like Celly is worried that I snapped. A fair assessment granted our fight, but she won’t get me quite yet; this goddess has a few more tricks to spare…”
Luna contemplated the best course of action. Teleportation was far too visible and noisy and, like shadow drifting, might have her puking up her stomach by the time she was done. A camouflage spell? No, these guards were trained to pick up on such petty magic.
And then she got it. Smiling, she thought to herself:
“It’s been a long time since I played the Sand Mare.”
When Equestria was still young and the ponies far from civilized, Luna had been tasked with putting their nighttime fears of dragons and griffons to rest by inducing a powerful and peaceful sleep over them. As centuries past and towns began to crop up and her subjects felt more secure, she stopped performing the duty. The ponies of Equestria still referred to her as the Sand Mare for some time until that memory too past into myth.
But tonight Luna was going to show Captain Braveheart’s pegasi that the old folk tales rather than Celestia's history contained the greater truth when it came to the princess of the night. The gall of that pegasus and his company! Luna’s face burned red when she recalled the vociferous captain’s words.
She may look innocent and small, but I’ve been briefed that she has more blood on her hooves than...well…anypony! You aren’t sealed in the moon for no reason, if you know what I mean.
The lie-passed-as-truth stung and only helped to support her suspicions that Celestia had demonized her in an effort to re-consolidate her authority after her attempt to check it. Celestia’s reaction to Luna’s accusations and Prince Blueblood’s vitriol were more telling, but it was still difficult for Luna to outright conclude her darkest fears. She wanted to see those books the soldiers had confiscated from Twilight; they no doubt contained the answer.
“Twilight Sparkle!” thought Luna, “The poor young mare, it’s unfortunate that she got dragged into this, but I need her help.”
Do I? How can such a young unicorn even hope to solve a crisis that ails an ancient goddess?
Luna suppressed the thought. She was no fatalist. She was an artist who saw endless potential in all aspects of life. To bow down to death out of fear and helplessness would be contrary to everything she had come to embody. She could not betray herself, neigh, everypony in such a way.
Taking courage from her brief reflection, Luna surveyed the town. The whole village was dark save one beacon of light shining from within a great tree. It was crowned with a large telescope, much to Luna’s amusement. It was clear that Celly’s young student lived there.
Peering further, she caught the silhouettes of the pegasi charged with guarding Twilight.
“Ok I’ve got a job to do now!” Luna mused, “Let’s see…ah yes this should do it!”
Luna’s horn glowed as she transfigured several nearby rocks into piles of fine blue dust. Using her magic, she gathered the powder and swirled it around her body to test the substance. Its fragrance was reminiscent of spring flowers and its caress warmed the body, making her eyelids feel heavy…
Luna shook herself and grinned.
“Still got it.”
It was quite the distance for her to drug the guards, and she didn’t want to use her magic as the vehicle lest the guards remember the obvious glow when they awoke. No, she needed to be more discreet. While she thought, a fierce wind blew in the direction of the library as if summoned by Luna’s necessity.
“Perhaps we can be friends yet, fell wind.” Luna whispered as she dispersed her potent drug into the night breeze. Faithfully and quickly it carried her gift to the Royal Guard.
As the guards patrolled, they felt a sudden shift in the weather. The buffeting cold wind turned into a light summer’s breeze that melted their stiffened bones and made them recall fair memories of seasons past. Their eyes dried and grew impossibly heavy and, one by one, they fell into a deep-seated sleep.
Luna chuckled as she trotted up to the library and looked at her victims.
“Poor dears, looks as if you’ll be missing inspection in the morning. Shame, the captain will be most disappointed. Oh well, the company can do without the additional ‘yes sirs’, don’t you all think? Have a pleasant night.”
Luna turned to the door. A sense of nervous anxiety swept through her body. Twilight was a loyal to the throne, no doubt, but it was mostly Celestia that had her heart. She had been cultivated in the image Celly found to be most favorable to her rule. How would she see Luna? The demon of her teacher’s fables? Luna could only hope not. Perhaps Twilight could sympathize with her? For the more she thought, the more Twilight’s expedition to the village became questionable in nature. Had Celestia considered Twilight as a threat? Was this town a subtle form of banishment? Luna’s head began to ache from the strain; her sister was extremely crafty when it came to disposing her political enemies and it was often difficult for Luna to understand this game Celestia loved to play. Often her purges were seen as voluntary resignations by the public, but Luna knew that Celestia was always pulling the strings, manipulating the outcome to maximize her interests. Just what those may be all the time remained a puzzle for Luna.
“Well, no use fretting, Luna, best to be informal.” She told herself, hoping to calm her misgivings. Luna knocked on the door.
“WHAT NOW!?”
The princess was taken aback by the loud growl erupting from just behind the door. Luna heard the door being unlatched and saw it thrown open, revealing a very angry purple unicorn standing in the doorway.
“You barge into my home, throw all my books off their shelv—“
Twilight stopped as she realized who she was addressing, her rage changing quickly into awe and fear.
“Uh, ugh, eh…” the awkward mare stuttered, a bead of sweat dripping from her forehead.
“Hello Twilight Sparkle, may I come in?”
“…oh, ah, yes! Yes of course, come in, of course!” Twilight said. As Luna entered her home, Twilight brought her hoof to her face. “Stupid, Twilight stupid Twilight, protocol!” she muttered to herself as she prostrated before Luna, burying her face into the library’s floor.
“Princess Luna, goddess of the moon, arbiter of the night sky, mistress of the cosmos…”
“Twilight?”
“Yes your majesty?”
“Please drop the protocol, you look ridicoulous.”
Twilight arose and looked at the princess. The unicorn’s nervousness and anxiety could not be shielded by the cheesy smile that now stretched across her face.
“Of course, Princess Luna.” Twilight said through her clenched teeth “How may I be of any service...at this late hour...?”
“I require assistance. A lot of it.” Luna frowned, “I was hoping that my sister’s star student could perhaps help me sort out a few questions I’ve been tossing around in my head.”
“Oh well, umm, yes, uh, I can try, but, you know, don’t you think Celestia would be, ugh more helpful?”
“To be straightforward with you Twilight, I’m largely here because… well, I fought with Celestia this evening.”
“You, wha-what?!” Twilight’s nervousness broke into shock “Well, that explains why the Royal Guard came in here and ravaged my book collection! But why, why did you fight with Princess Celestia!?”
“Twilight, I don’t expect you to understand what transpired between Celestia and I. Let’s just say I was trying to address an ancient grievance.”
“Um, against you?”
“Yes.”
“Uh, Princess Luna, not to disrespect you in any way shape or form here, but I don’t think you’re coming from a good position to…how do I put this….complain about past injuries.”
A flash of anger passed over Luna’s face, but it was quickly replaced with a look of resignation. She sighed.
“As I said, I didn’t come here expecting you to understand. I came here to ask you a few things. Now, what exactly did you tell the Royal Guard about me?”
“Oh, you know of that? Ah, well, nothing princess, really! I thought it inappropriate that they should just bust through my door and interrogate me without a proper warrant. So I told them…
“To ask Celestia.”
“…right.”
“Yet you surrendered your letter from my sister.”
“That’s true, but that was largely Spike’s fault. Well, actually all of it was. He answered the guard when I was pressed to give up information. The little dragon has a good heart, but sometimes he doesn’t know when to keep his jaw shut. Anyway, I was pretty much forced to comply; I don’t think I’ve ever seen them so pushy before…or so disrespectful for that fact. Just look at this place!”
Luna looked over the library. Sure enough, all the books had been torn from their shelves and were cluttered throughout the room. Not a few of the books were trampled and ripped during the Royal Guards’ raid. Twilight sighed and began picking up books and sorting them to their proper shelves.
“I must say that I’m sorry about the mess” Luna said, “It’s completely my fault…”
“Oh no princess, it’s all right. This kind of thing seems to happen to me every other day. So, what kind of help do you need? Magic? Science? Naturally the two compliment---“
“No Twilight. I want you to tell me what you know about Nightmare Moon.”
Twilight’s eyes bulged at the request and dropped the book she was putting away.
“Princess! Umm, I’m not really a historian at all.” She said, giving a nervous laugh “I work with the natural sciences mostly. I can tell you that a thousand years ago she grew jealous of Celestia’s power and popularity and sought to overthrow her to establish an everlasting night…”
“Enough Twilight.” Luna interjected calmly “I don’t want the foal’s tale, I want an actual account.”
“Uh, sorry Princess! I can’t really help you here, but, uh, send Princess Celestia my love, okay?”
Once again, a cheesy smile plastered Twilight’s anxious face. Luna huffed and rolled her eyes out of impatience.
“The Lieutenant was right. You are a terrible liar.”
Twilight’s phony smile quickly turned to a genuine frown.
“I’m, I’m sorry princess” her voice quaked, “it’s just, well, it’s just…I swore to Celestia that I wouldn’t tell anypony!”
Luna’s ears perked up at the mentioning of her sister’s name.
“Twilight, it’s of the utmost importance that you tell me. I cannot reconcile with my sister until I know what the old histories say about Nightmare Moon. Please, for our sake, tell me!”
Twilight sniffed and contemplated the goddess’s request. At length, she finally replied.
“Okay, Princess, I’ll tell you.”
Luna gave a big smile and nuzzled Twilight, surprising the young unicorn.
“Oh thank you Twilight Sparkle! Please, go on!”
“Um, so I mentioned that my main studies deal with the natural sciences. I was never too good with the social sciences, as you can probably tell by my assignment to Ponyville. But during my schooling under Celestia, I was taught several academic languages; Old Equestrian, Wyrmish, and Thracian. Being taught a skill, I didn’t want it to get rusty during my stay here, so I sent a request to the royal library to send me some old texts to translate in my spare time. The mailmare, Derpy had one heck of a delivery that day; they must have mailed me thirty books! Anyhow, while I was sorting through them, three Wyrmish titles caught my attention. Rendered into Modern Equestrian, I think they were titled A History of the Great Shadow, Of the Pestilence of the Moon Witch, and The Triumph of the Sun Goddess…”
“I’m aware that the guards confiscated these books.”
“…yes. Anyhow, having just defeated Nightmare Moon, I was curious to learn more about her…”
“Me, you mean.”
“No Princess Luna, you and Nightmare Moon were not the same pony! Celestia made it clear to me…”
“What, that I was possessed? Or that she needed a convenient excuse to bring me back into the public light!? Twilight, I am the sole pony responsible for my actions that night, I refuse to put blame on any phantom designed by Celestia. What I do refuse is to be blamed for a past I know nothing about!”
Twilight gave a confused look, raising a single brow. She was quite unsure what to make of Luna’s sudden mood swing and rejection of Celestia’s interpretation of events. It seemed contrary to what one with Luna’s kind of history would want to say.
“Oookayyy…As I was saying, I wanted to learn about you. So I translated the one of the books and parts of the other two and what I found was, well…” Twilight paused, hesitating for a bit “Princess, you were a monster. Tens of thousands died of the famine, disease and dubious wars that you largely caused.”
At Twilight’s words, Luna had to fight back the urge to cry. It was true; her sister made her the very incarnation of evil on earth.
“I don’t know why you want me to tell you this, do you want to destroy these books or something?” Twilight asked “Because Celestia was not happy that I had them either. Just last month, she sent me a letter asking me if I had them. Apparently, Derpy mixed up her delivery at the censorship bureau and ended up taking several rare books that were intended for the incinerator. Luckily, they ended up in my hooves. Since I knew their fate, I told my teacher that I could not in good conscience send the books back. Celestia consented under the condition that I not translate them and keep them out of sight. So naturally, I obeyed. I stopped, but I could not bear to throw away the work I already had, so I hid the translations in the safest place in the library.”
“Under your mattress, right?” Luna joked half-heartedly, trying to mask her sadness.
Twilight blushed.
“Well, yeah! This library is constantly in a mess! I’m sure I would have lost them by now if I hadn’t put them there. But you’re right, it’s a good thing they didn’t search my room, the Element of Magic…”
“Is under your mattress too?”
“No!...It’s in the drawer of my nightstand.”
Seeing Twilight’s embarrassment, Luna shifted back to the matter at hoof.
“Twilight may I see your translations? Based on what you told me, they’re the only documents left that can help me piece together my sister’s past.”
“You may princess, but they’ll open up some old, ugly wounds…”
“Believe me Twilight, these wounds are quite fresh. Don’t worry about my feelings, I can handle myself.”
“All right, one second then. Spike! SPIKE!”
“…what?” came a muffled voice, “it’s late Twilight, can’t we clean up tomorrow…?”
“SPIKE!”
“Okay, okay! I’m coming!”
A small purple and green dragon descended down the stairs, his eyes still tinted with the fog of sleep.
“Hey Twilight, hey Lu-- ”
Spike stopped, his eyes widening to the size of saucers.
“Ah, oh, Princess Luna, um, how do you do? No, what was I supposed to say again? Darn—“
“Spike, Princess Luna has requested to see my translations. Please organize and retrieve them for her.”
“Uh, right away ma’am!”
With that, Spike dashed back up the stairs to prepare the documents.
“All right then.” Twilight said, turning back to Luna, “Would you care for any tea, princess? It’s really cold and windy outside tonight. Not to be disrespectful, but it looks like you were out there for quite awhile!”
Luna looked at the nearby floor mirror. Sure enough, she looked like a mess. The wind had blown her mane into a tangled frenzy and her coat was still tinged with gray dust of the mountainside.
“Sorry about that,” Luna said, her mind a thousand light years away, “I’ll take care of it.”
The glow of alicorn magic covered her body. It swiftly brought order to the persistent knots in her mane and removed every foreign particle on her body. Once again the spitting image of a princess and no longer a ragamuffin, Luna looked back to Twilight and faintly smiled. The unicorn did not return her sentiment, her face instead contorting to an image of horror.
“Pri—Pri—Princess! You’re bleeding!”
Indeed, the trickle of blood from Blueblood’s blow continued to run gently and slowly down the side of her face. The frigid night winds had numbed her pain, but at some point the gash had opened back up. Now Twilight’s cozy abode was begining to revive the unpleasant sensation. Still a bit distant, Luna responded in a low tone.
“Oh, yes, I guess that’s why I came here in the first place, isn’t it? Like before, Twilight, I’m not going to beat around the haystack. I believe I’ve lost my immortality.”
“Huh-huh wha--? H-how? Celestia didn’t…”
“No Twilight, Celestia did not rob me of it, I doubt she even has the power to do so. No, I don’t know how and I’m not quite sure if what I think is true. I came here to confirm or disprove my suspicions. If the latter, I wish to discuss with you about the Elements of Harmony, as I feel that they are somehow involved with my…problem.”
“Oh no, oh no, no no no no! This is bad, really, really bad! Princess, if you die, the world will too! The heavens will collapse without you! No, no, what can we do? What can I do?...”
As Twilight proceeded with her panicked rant, the reality of her situation dawned on Luna. She had been so absorbed with her own relationship with Celestia that she failed to take into account the impact her death would have on the world. Luna bowed her head in shame. Sometimes she was so selfish, so thoughtless that she wished maybe a bit of Celestia’s omniscient foresight was hers. Perhaps Celestia was right, maybe she was too short-sighted and too detached to make wise decisions concerning her subjects.
“No.” she thought, “Even if that were the case, it should never merit a thousand years of solitude.”
Luna brought her attention back to Twilight who was still going on.
“…where could it have even gone? Is immortality a spiritual or magical manifestation? What would Celesti—“
“No Twilight, my sister can’t help me. Not with this. I need you to be strong with me. I’m scared too, but you’re the most talented unicorn in Equestria. Celestia often tells me that she has never seen a mortal with such power, capability and intelligence. That's saying a lot. If there’s anypony that can help me, it’s you Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight’s distressed expression gave way to one that radiated with confidence and pride.
“Well, I’m pretty gifted, I guess.” she responded, trying to hold onto at least a little shred of humility.
“I’m glad to hear you’re willing, because the first thing I need you to do is to hit me.”
“All ri---wait wha!?”
“I told you, I need to know that I’m truly mortal. The head injury you see was the result of a mishap at a banquet Celestia was throwing. To be brief, it involved Prince Blueblood striking my face.”
“Blueblood…your, uh, son?”
“Son!? Dear sweet Celestia no! What gave you that idea?”
“Well, he’s Celestia’s nephew, and you’re her sister…”
“You’re quite mistaken. Apparently, I’m his aunt too.”
“That doesn’t make any sense at all! Who is he then?”
“He’s the Prince of Haysburg from the line of our brother, Nopony.”
“Nopony?”
Twilight wasn’t getting it. Luna contemplated whether it would be wise to tell Twilight that Celestia’s “Royal Family” was nothing but a politically useful fabrication her sister had concocted. After a bit of thinking, Luna decided in favor of it. Twilight was a bright pony, she could handle the truth.
“How should I put this…Twilight, the Royal Family is a lie.”
The purple unicorn looked at Luna with disbelief.
“…Perhaps I laid that on you a bit too thick. Umm, a long time ago, in order to rule more efficiently, Celestia decided to create a class of ponies that would be loyal to her and administer their land in accordance with her standards and orders. She instilled in them the idea that they were linked to her through blood, making them feel special and privileged. However, this intimate connection bound them to Celestia’s will and interests, making them unlikely to rebel against her rule. In short, it was a way for her to fragment her political responsibilities without giving up any of the power. Do you understand?”
Twilight’s brow furrowed.
“That doesn’t sound like something Celestia would do, princess...that just sounds ruthless.”
“Twilight,” Luna sighed, “Didn’t you ever pay attention to the way Celestia governs Equestria? Her relationships with different aristocrats and ministers? The law making process?”
“Uh, no. As I said, those things don’t really interest me at all. That’s why Celestia sent me here, to acquire a better range of social skills.”
“Okay then, but you enjoy reading, right?”
“More than anything!” Twilight beamed.
“Have you by chance then come across Marechiavelli’s The Princess? The book is essentially a day in the life of Celestia.”
“No, but the author’s name is familiar, it’s so strange, isn’t it? I think Celestia brought her up once when she had me accompany her to parliament to deliver a speech or something. I was kind of reading up on transfiguration spells at the time, so I can’t really recall, but the name stuck out. To be honest, though, the book sounds like it’d be boring. To me at least, I lived with her for a couple of years. She just has a lot of meetings.”
Luna wasn’t making much headway with convincing Twilight that her teacher was a master of manipulation and moral ambiguity. Defeated again by Celestia’s clever calculations and constructions, Luna tried to steer the conversation back to its original content. The moon goddess was starting to notice that, between the two scatterbrains, focusing longer than five minutes on a single issue was going to be a monumental task.
“Never mind then, Twilight. The point is simple; the prince is not immortal. Thus, he shouldn’t have been able to hurt me. He was, however, wearing mithril bracelets. I don’t know where he got them, but I think it likely that Celestia must have given them to the stallion. If that’s the case, she may have blessed the bracelets. But it’s also just as possible that they were not blessed and simply given as to the prince as a token of goodwill. So to be sure, I need you to give me a good smack to the side of my face.”
“Uh, okay then…umm…how do you want me to do it?”
“Do you really need instruction?”
“All right then,” Twilight said with obvious uncertainty, “Sorry princess…”
Twilight raised her right hoof and brought it down heavily across Princess Luna’s face, sending Luna straight to the ground.
“Okay Twilight, I go—What the hay is going on in here!?”
The small dragon stood in the stairway with a look of disbelief on his face.
“Spike! It’s not what it looks like…”
“Twilight, you just punched the princess in the face!”
“We were testing to see if, uh she was still immortal, that’s all!”
“Well why the hay didn’t you just prick her with a needle or something?”
“I don’t know, she told me to, and, umm, and…”
“It’s fine Spike, Twilight did nothing wrong.” Luna said as she got back up, her face bearing a new dark blue bruise that contrasted dimly against her azure coat. Twilight looked at her with a worried expression.
“Princess…does this mean…”
“Yes.” Luna responded. She had no desire to voice the obvious but disturbing revelation.
A long silence passed in the room as Luna tried to grasp her fate. She had put so much hope in the possibility that her wound had some divine roots. But no, she was doomed to die, quite possibly bringing the world down with her. A fitting end for the evil-made-flesh; if she could not exist, neither would the whole of creation. In the end, Celestia’s predictions finally came true. Luna would be the ruin of everything. The moon goddess closed her eyes, a single tear escaping. It trailed down the side of her face, uniting with the stream of hot blood that now surfaced from the site of Twilight’s strike. Her sorrow and pain now joined as one, the single droplet fell from her face and splattered on the library floor, breaking the library’s silence with a light thud that resonated throughout the library.
Twilight kept her gaze fixed on Luna. She was clearly hurting, but Twilight was hung up over the proper means to comfort royalty. After pondering over what to do for a short while, Twilight shook her head
“What am I thinking? She’s in pain and I’m wondering which guidelines I should base my response on!? Celestia was right to send me here, I’m too insensitive when ponies need me the most…”
Breaking out of her comfort zone, Twilight moved to Luna and nuzzled her. At the unicorn’s touch, Luna’s dark thoughts dissipated. The princess of the night smiled and returned her affection. Another tear, clean and pure, traveled down her cheek until it rested upon Twilight’s purple mane.
“Thank you Twilight Sparkle. Thank you.”
In an attempt to duck out of the growing sense of awkwardness he felt, Spike ran and placed Twilight’s translations and notes on a nearby desk.
“I got what you wanted Twilight,” Spike said “so I’m going back to bed now. Night Princess Luna, uh, get better!”
With a wave, the dragon rushed back to his bed.
The two hardly heard him. They remained together for quite some time, saying nothing until at long last Luna broke their embrace.
“Twilight, that meant everything to me. I thank you with all my heart. But the night grows short, and we have some things to discuss yet before I set the moon.”
“Yes princess, you wanted to know about the Elements of Harmony?”
“Yes, I’m almost certain now that they are the cause of all this.”
“Well, perhaps the first thing you should know then is that I am an Element. All five of my friends are as well. It’s true that their power is channeled through several jewels, but the source dwells within a pony that best manifests the purest form of each specific quality: Honesty, Loyalty, Laughter, Compassion, or Generosity. Once these individuals are assembled, the Element of Magic is revealed and the power of the Elements may be unleashed. It is said to be the most powerful of all magic, as I’m sure you know. It defeated even you, a goddess.”
“Right after my defeat, I felt a change come over me. It wasn’t merely the departure of my madness, my sense of touch became far more acute and sensitive. We now know that it was a sign of mortality, but did you or your friends experience a change of sorts too? Perhaps something you’d never expect yourself capable of, or maybe your personality changed?”
Twilight listened to Luna’s questions and tried to recall anything odd. Well, other than all the crazy adventures she had in Ponyville. Then it struck her.
“Actually, I have noticed that my friends and I are…durable, to say the least.”
“Yes, go on.”
“It’s just that whenever something dangerous happens to us, we manage to always pull out all right.”
“Twilight, that sounds more like good luck than anything else.”
“ No, I don’t think we’re on the same page here. The dangerous thing happens. But we’re always okay. For instance, once I was trying to figure out my friend Pinkie Pie’s strange behavior, a whole delivery truck of goods came crushing down on me. I’m talking about pianos here.”
Luna’s eyes were fixed on Twilight.
“Yes?”
“My injuries were grave. I was even put in a wheelchair with a full body cast. But after a few hours, I hardly needed any of the medical care. My body seemed to heal itself. I chucked it up as the result of my special gift. You know, magic.”
“But how about your friends?”
“I’m not as sure about them, though I swear Rainbow Dash should have severe brain trauma by now. Applejack tells me her flying has gotten far more reckless and her tricks far more insane since I came to town. Oh and speaking of Applejack, she managed to go for a week without sleep despite her unrelenting harvest of the entirety of her orchard. Alone. Pinkie Pie is an enigma, I have no idea how she works at all. Fluttershy and Rarity aren’t very physical, so I’m not as sure about them. You’d have to ask them yourself, but I’m pretty sure the pattern will hold up. We’ve been through some pretty dangerous adventures.”
Luna smiled.
“I think I’ve figured out the most plausible answer. Twilight, Celestia didn’t steal my immortality, you did!” Luna said with a light laugh, “But what is taken can be returned, don’t you think?”
“Now listen, I think I understand what happened now. When the blast from the Elements hit me, it coursed through my being and purged every villainous intention I had. When it retreated from my body, it must have taken a part of my divinity, namely my immortality. As you said Twilight, the elements can defeat even a goddess, and how does one kill a deity? They strip away her immortality and let either the sword or the passage of time to do its work.”
“Then my friends and I…”
“Yes, my immortality was fragmented and passed into you six. Though you’re not exactly immortals, you still have a magnificent resilience to pain and injury. If surviving a falling piano cannot attest to that, I don’t know what else can.”
“Princess Luna, if what you say is true, then we need to get my friends and find a way to give back your immortality immediately!”
“And we’ll do just that,” Luna replied, magically gathering the documents Spike left behind, “but we’ll need to pack first! Here could you put these in a saddlebag for me? Gather your Element and…wait, Twilight, are you tired? I’ve kept you up all night…”
“Oh, don’t worry about me princess. I’m a professional student, I’ve pulled off hundreds of all-nighters!”
At the mentioning of “all-nighters”, Luna froze. How could she forget the Royal Guard!
“Twilight, there is another thing you should now. The Royal Guard has been sent here not just to question you, but guard you. They’re stationed throughout the village, and outside of your door. We need to be careful. Not only are they looking for me, but the Elements as well.”
Twilight frowned and rolled her eyes.
“Really? Ugh, well, we can teleport to Sweet Apple Acres, that’s where my friend Applejack lives. It’s on the outskirts of town, so we should be able to sneak past the guards with little trouble.”
“A good start to a plan. Now pack light and meet me outside your door. Don’t worry about the guards assigned to the library, I took care of them when I arrived.”
“…‘took care of them’ princess, you didn’t…”
“What!? Of course not! I put them into a deep sleep!”
“Oh, right, yeah! Just playing with ya, you know?”
Luna was a bit annoyed by Twilight’s presumptions of murder, but she let it pass. There was no point trying to prove to Twilight she was never the demon her sister’s stories made her out to be. She had just better get used to it, especially since she’d have to deal with ponies that probably had far less sympathy for her.
Suddenly, Luna’s felt a twitch, her body’s natural clock telling her to perform her duty.
“Twilight, I have to go and lower the moon now. Collect our things and meet me outside.”
“Will do princess. Be careful.”
Luna turned and exited the library and looked up at the sky. Her face quickly melted into shock. There was no dawn, the same darkness was in place as it had been on the mountainside. Celestia was not raising the sun. In vain Luna tried to lower the moon, but she needed her sister to complete the cycle. Panic seized Luna.
“No, no, Celly, where are you?” she shouted at the sky, abandoning all other concerns “Sister, don’t abandon me now! I need you, please!”
There was no reply save the north wind’s roar.
Luna began to head back into the library to retrieve Twilight, but, out of nowhere, she heard a rush of air and the familiar clattering of golden armor. Before she could react , she was encircled by the entire company of the Royal Guard. Emerging from the ranks to greet her was Captain Braveheart, a cigar hanging grotesquely from the side of his mouth.
“Well, well, good work pegasi! We’ve caught the fugitive princess, what’d I tell you all? She’s nothing but a cowering, coddled witch with too much power.”
The captain turned his attention to Luna, leaning in with a smirk on his face.
“You’re a goddess, but you’re not very bright are you? The general said you had a knack for ignorin’ details and procedure! When you knocked out my pegasi, did you care to remember the idea of a ‘night rotation’? You’ve had an eternity to live, but you’re as predictable and sneaky as a teenaged brat. Did sittin’ on the moon for a thousand years rot your brain black, highness?”
Luna blushed at her foolish mistake, shifting her eyes away from the cocky captain.
“We’ve been waitin’ for you to start feelin’ safe and tired. Made you just that much easier as a target! And now you’ll be coming back home to Canterlot with us, princess.”
Fed up with the captain’s impudence, Luna mustered her courage and shouted back.
“How dare you?!” her voice shook, “What right have you to take a goddess into custody!? When my sister hears of your disrespectful and shameful conduct…”
“Lt. Nightshade!” Captain Braveheart barked, turning to the soldier on his left and handing him a scroll “Read the princess the charges!”
“ Yes, sir! You, Princess Luna, alias Nightmare Moon, have been charged with kidnapping her royal highness Princess Celestia and plotting to once again plunge our land into the heart of eternal darkness.”
Luna could not believe her ears. Her sister was missing? The possibility was nearly incomprehensible. Celestia would never leave her throne. Luna’s mind shut down, leaving her face stuck in a state of violent shock.
“Any resistance to us during the arrest will be met with force.”
“Well said, Lieutenant, now restrain her and bring her in! I can’t wait to get outta this dump of a town.”
“Not so fast!”
The library door burst open. From the doorway Twilight leaped to Luna’s side, positioning herself in an aggressive stance, her horn lowered and hooves stomping.
“Back off!”
Twilight’s horn began to glow, causing the captain to grin even wider at the scene.
“Oh, what are you going to do? Throw a rock at me? For all your magic, you unicorns are real one trick ponies! Bwahaha!”
“No captain, I’m going to ruin your day.”
“Ha, look at the sass in this no good, collaborating traitor! You’ll pay severely for your treachery Twilight Sparkle. I swear it, even if that means torturing the evil right out of you myself! Arrest ‘em!”
“How's this for a one trick pony?” Twilight shot back with a grin, “Good-bye!”
In a brilliant flash of light, Luna and Twilight vanished. Captain Braveheart’s jaw dropped, the cigar falling to the ground. A unicorn could do that? Braveheart was very aware that Twilight was Celestia's student, but he had never expected such godlike magic could be passed on to a mortal.
Suffice it to say, it did not sit well with him.
“What the bloody fuck just happened?!”
The captain’s foul curses rung throughout the village, waking many a pony. It would be an unpleasant start to a horrific day.