Land of Friendship and Magic

by Archmage Ansrit


Succor

(Throne Room, Present)

"I'm sorry." Celestia said; it was hard, very much so - lack of practice, if Typhon was to be believed.

She had rarely concerned herself with the consequences of her choices, and that only recently, simply steering away from further mistakes.

"I-I shouldn't have said what I did. Typhon never harmed Wind Whistler; given how much her death affected him, I would say he was incapable of that."

"The storm." Luna gasped.

'Princess Luna! Princess Luna!' A guard pounded on her door, waking her from her slumber.

'There is an emergency! An enormous tornado in the middle of the forest!'

Then she heard, along with all of Everfree.

The thunder.

She wasted no time in searching for the aberrant weather. It was impossible to miss; lightning danced through massive black clouds much higher above than Mount Canterhorn, the rain was a curtain of water connecting the sky to the earth, and, in the middle of it all, she could just barely see it.

Blue.

Typhon made the storm. He had to be the one responsible, but that was impossible! He had never demonstrated such great power! What could have pushed him to create a monstrosity like that?! The thought of something like that, unleashed so close to the city, chilled her to the point of letting a shiver cross through her; it was a catastrophe capable of causing tremendous damage, appearing so suddenly, that, had it happened inside city limits, would have caused untold devastation.

It was a horrible spectacle she hoped and prayed with all her soul would never repeat.

"He made that... that terrifying display... because of her?"

"I still do not know how did the two of them know each other, but he was devastated." Celestia offered in answer. "I didn't think... I never thought out my actions. I'm so sorry."

Luna was reeling.

"I... I need to ponder these... revelations." She took a steadying breath. "We shall talk later, sister."

The tone of her voice must have come out wrong, because Celestia winced as if struck, then sagged and nodded tiredly.

Luna's eyes softened, and cantered over to her sister, placing a hoof on her shoulders.

"Do not worry, sister, we shall return swiftly." She said, making eye contact for long enough to see Celestia give a sad smile.

"By your leave." She told the Elements, then turned around, horn glowing faintly with magic, making the shadows beneath her separate from the floor.

She stepped through with at a brisk, shaky trot, and vanished.

Celestia choked back a sob.

*****

(Typhon)

Oh come on! I had just left Canterlot...

Still, I felt like I went through a fan in Breath Form, and had no desire to take off the Four, so I had to stay in the place where the air was the most accustomed to my presence.

Canterlot's gardens.

I hid in the middle of the hedge maze, where Minotaurs liked to hold their events... and where I instructed Wind Runner's descendants in the fine art of Wind Shaping.

'Wind Runner... I think Wind Runner might get mad at me for mourning - I mean, Wind Runner lived a full life... good foals, helped Las Pegasus grow, kept the academy running, and over all tackled life's problems as they came.'

Wind Whistler would have been proud.

I knew I was.

Hmm? Luna appeared at the graveyard, alone. That didn't feel normal.

Let's see... she was confused, shaken, and the way she was pacing suggested she was pensive. Her breath was erratic, at least for her and...

She's visiting the gravestone.

I... I should make sure she was alright.

I mean, she was fighting a sob or two.

Ugh, I just had to be one of those guys.

*****

(Luna, Cemetery)

She gritted her teeth, her wings slowly unfurling.

"You look shaken." He said. "So much, that I doubt you'd actually attack me."

To Tartarus with that windy weirdo and his thrice-cursed insight!

Luna sighed tiredly and turned to face the gravestone.

"You look like your world just came crashing down around you." He said, walking right next to her and turning to face the grave.

"Is it true?" She asked him, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes.

Typhon looked at her, a raised eyebrow and a critical eye meeting her.

He kept quiet for a few seconds more.

"I am a man of many talents, but mind reading isn't one of them." He said with a smirk.

"It is not?" She asked with as much sarcasm as she could inject into her words, frowning and growling at the mockery; she knew, of course, but with his ability to stay one step ahead all the time...

"I know, right? I am so incredible, it is easy to forget." He spoke with a hand over his heart, gazing into the distance. "But no, in all seriousness, I can't really read minds. It's just reading the air to pick up the various clues about mood and intention; it's really close to being outright empathy, only based on muscle reading and such things."

Luna simply chose to reword her question.

"What did Wind Whistler mean to t-you?"

His smile faded slightly, and his shoulders fell.

"The first and absolute best friend I made in the world."

"That sounds familiar..." The princess pondered.

"She said something like that about Windstorm." He chuckled, fiddling with the ring on his finger.

"The flowers?"

"Her favorite, of course."

"And Windstorm?"

He once more looked at her, curious.

"Did t-you know him?" She elaborated.

"Alright, imagine me as a pony. That's it." He gave her a soft laugh, taking some entertainment out of seeing the princess of the night open her mouth in an attempt to deny his claims. She had less interaction with Typhon when compared to her sister, but the human was quite talkative.

"The similarities are uncanny." She wound up saying, making Typhon laugh again. "'Tis quite clear you knew him."

"Sure hope so, it was my idea to wreck Celestia's little Shipping charts!" He laughed a little more honestly.

"What does commerce have to do with my sister?" Luna raised an eyebrow in his direction.

"Ugh." He slapped a palm to his face. "Her tendency to make couples? Celestia was about to make a herd that was bad for Whistler."

"Ah. You interfered?"

"Yes. Several times, in fact." He nodded with a smug grin plastered on his face. "Remember Star Streak and Starswirl the fifth?"

"Starswirl the Bearded's grandfoals? How could thou ask that? They sacrificed themselves to save the farmlands from the rampaging chimera and hydra!" Luna did not use the Royal Canterlot Voice, since the cemetery was supposed to be a place of rest, but the tension in her voice was nonetheless noticeable.

"That's what we wanted you to think." He said, and, just like that, the princess went from ready to pounce, to still as a statue.

"Beg your pardon?"

"After Windstorm proved himself - thanks to my training -, Celestia more or less left the ponies alone... some of the more prominent bloodlines, though, were not so lucky. Starswirl the fourth was blessed by Lady Fortune, since he quite honestly loved Comet Shine ever since they were foals - his children? Celestia shouldn't quit her Day job, since she makes some pretty horrid match-ups."

He paused for a moment, trying to remember the names of the 'suggested' couples; drawing blanks, he simply continued.

"Wind Whistler and I helped them fake their deaths." He chuckled. "And, their parents', too; the first days were the hardest and the easiest, since they had to fake soul-crushing grief, but 'mourning' was a good reason to sequester themselves in their home for great lengths of time, which we used to set up the performance."

Luna was flabbergasted.

"The limits to the magic I use are a closely guarded secret. I just allow ponies to come to their own conclusions and neglect to correct them if they are wrong." The satisfied grin was back; Luna wanted to punch him for it.

"The line of Starswirl was not lost? Do you know of their descendants?" She asked, rage forgotten as a look of hope appeared clear on her features.

"Even though I was in stone for quite a long time, yes, I do." He snapped his fingers. "I have something for them! I almost forgot."

"Before you distract yourself, I wish to know their names."

"Easy, two of them are Captain of the Royal Guard and his sister." He shrugged. "There are others, some of which I won't know without looking at the records, and others that you won't recognize."

"Wait, the Captain is a stallion by the name of Shining Armor, brother of-"

"Twilight Sparkle, yes. They don't know, though."

"What?! Why?!"

"They are too close to Celestia, and from a young age, too. It's likely that their parents didn't want to risk them letting her know for fear of awakening her curiosity."

Luna's banishment meant that the past was rather fresh on her mind, and had to concede the point. The days of plotting the bloodlines had ended long before Nightmare Moon, but Luna remembered how Celestia wondered if it was possible to 'nudge' potential Bearers for the Elements as 'insurance'.

Truly, Celestia's paranoia had poor aim.

"You were close to Starswirl as well?" Typhon was definitely slippery; so many years, and he had much more support than she had ever suspected!

"We were looking into... something... and I tried to teach him better values, but the old goat was too stubborn; he got himself killed, despite my warnings." He ran a hand through his hair.

They stood in silence for a moment after that. Luna idly wondered if Typhon had used yet another of his tricks to distract the guards so that they would have the cemetery to themselves.

Most likely; tracking his movements was a nightmare filled with decoys and escapes that should have been impossible.

"How do you do it?" Luna asked suddenly, startling Typhon. "What is the secret of your strength?"

"You are going to have to be more specific, princess. Are you talking about my powers, my magic, physical strength, or strength of character in general?"

"The last one, although I would like to know the true limit of your powers; never before had you levitated without the assistance of a device or familiar."

"That was... recent." He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "The price tag that came with it was absurd, though, so I intend to get my dues."

"Price... tag...?"

"Only I was supposed to pay for... this." He held his long hood out to the side, towards her, shaking with anger. "This power was to be my decision, and my sacrifice alone."

He tossed it away.

"Wind Whistler."

"My powers are defective, princess; I cannot exert the force I should, but neither do I have the constrains I should. To you, they might look just like clothes, but they symbolize a gamble that should have not involved her." His fists shook. "I wasn't even sure it would work, and then the choice was taken from us."

He took deep breaths to steady himself; the wind itself imitated him, sending the trees in a dance, back and forth, as he inhaled and exhaled.

"And yet you do not seek revenge." She said, watching with curiosity as he shook his head.

"Not in my nature." He waved it away, then gestured to the grave. "Plus, she'd get mad at me. I just let it be smoke to the wind."

"What is the source of such strength?"

He crossed his arms and looked to the skies, as if pondering the question. He fished his wallet out of his pocket and took out a card; the card turned into a scroll case, which he offered to the princess.

She eyed the case with great interest, then looked at him expectantly.

He said nothing, though, and she was about to levitate the proffered scroll, but decided to take it in her hooves instead.

"That was going to be Starswirl's; you are free to look at it first, though."

"What can I expect from this?" Luna patted the lid tentatively, but decided to let Twilight and Shining Armor see it first - it was meant to be theirs, after all.

"After opening the scroll, your heart will be stronger than any mountain, you will hear laughter in every stream and a song in every breeze, your will shall turn into fire and steel, you will see the light in the deepest cave, and feel the flow of life around you."

Luna stood still for a few moments, turning back to the unassuming wooden case with her hoof so near the top.

"That's nothing compared to what would happen if you open it with your friends." He said, making Luna snap back to him. "You will discover the secret of the Elements of Harmony, you will find the greatest joys of life, and a source of strength more powerful than you can imagine."

"What manner of magic is in this scroll?"

"None whatsoever." He shrugged. "It's pretty straightforward. There is no secret message, or hidden methods, or anything that you cannot see immediately with your own eyes."

Luna said nothing.

"Whelp, Shining Armor nailed the last decoy (with a pretty nice shot I might add); I give the guards seven or ten minutes to figure out I'm here. It was a pleasure talking to you without trading spells, for once." He almost placed his hands in his pockets, but remembered his manners. He turned away and began to walk.

"I suppose we shall see each other in the future." Luna watched him go.

"Yes. Don't bother changing my status, though, just call back the hunts; the sea is going to turn stormy, just like it was back then if not worse, and it's going to be bothersome to deal with ponies that don't even know what's going on. I don't need clueless or innocent people getting tangled into my business."

"May the winds of fortune be at your back?" Luna said with a smirk, making Typhon chuckle.

"Good bye, princess Luna. Good bye, Whistler."