//------------------------------// // Revelations // Story: Guardian // by Requiem17 //------------------------------// A very large cart was being wheeled down a large corridor. The steel wheels screeched harshly under the immense weight bearing down on them. A white sheet covered the top and draped down along the sides, rippling with movement. A squad of the best solar guards available were escorting the cart to the sun princess herself. Their expressions were grim and they feared the reaction of their princess when their package was revealed. They rounded a corner and approached a set of large oak doors; the entrance to the throne room. The sentries opened the doors and let them pass. Celestia looked up from a scroll that she had been reading intently, her face turning grim when she spotted the cart. When they finally reached the foot of the stairs leading up to the sun goddess they bowed deeply. “Everypony leave, except you Major Dawn.” The ponies respectfully bowed once again and hurried out of the chamber. When the dull thud of the doors echoed she let out a loud breath. “Major, report.” “Your highness, it is with a heavy heart that I bring you ill fated news. I came here as soon as I heard. I’m afraid the subject did not survive the procedure.” The Major pulled out a large handkerchief and passed it to Celestia. She blinked slowly and nodded, gesturing for him to leave. He bowed and left as quickly as he had arrived, leaving the princess to her thoughts. Celestia sighed deeply, trying to hold back the tears that were stinging her eyes. She glanced over to the scroll she had been reading and after a moments broke out into a large grin. She always found a way to look at the bright side of things. She ripped off the sheet of the cart and levitated the handkerchief around her neck. She smiled, thrusting her muzzle forward, devouring the contents like a cannibal. She was delighted when the taste of strawberries flooded her hungry maw, tempting her to eat faster. Her disappointment over the massive cake being smashed before delivery was soon forgotten, drowned out by the feelings of bliss that rolled through her. She was about halfway done when the large doors opened suddenly. Celestia quickly ripped off her makeshift bib and casted an invisibility spell over the cake. She was surprised when Luna walked into the room, reason being she was usually asleep during this time of day. “L… Lulu, what a pleasant surprise! What are you doing up at this time of day? Is something wrong?” Luna had a peculiar look on her face before she responded, “Nothing’s wrong. I just wasn’t able to sleep. I guess I’m just feeling a little strange. Anyways, I came here to see what my big sister was up to.” Luna looked at Celestia expectantly, a slight smirk slowly worming onto her face. Celestia looked around rapidly as she tried to think up of an excuse. “Well uh, day court has been slow today. No unusual occurrences. I was just reading a friendship report from Twilight. She’s excited with how rapidly Ale has been adapting to his surroundings. He had a slight scuffle with some bar ponies but other than that he’s been making friends at work and Ponyville seems to be accepting him.” “Well that’s good to hear. Ale surprised me with a visit last night. He took me out and about Canterlot.” Celestia gave out a quiet sigh of relief that Luna seemed oblivious to her snack cart. She was however puzzled that she had heard nothing of Ales visit from any of the guards. Luna sensed her impending question and beat her to it. “I took care of all the complaints and reports of a ‘monster’ rampaging throughout the city. I didn’t want your sleep to be disturbed.” Once again a slow smirk began to creep up on Luna’s face and made Celestia nervous. “Oh, and sister. You got a little something on you muzzle.” Celestia was filled with dread as she slowly lifted her hoof to her face, wincing as she felt some left over frosting. Luna began bubbling with laughter at the embarrassed look on her sisters face. Celestia knew her face was lit up like a Christmas tre- (Hey Req! Nopony knows what a Christmas tree is other than me! You need to fix that plot hole right now! After all, you wouldn’t want to disappoint your readers now would you?) *The sound of a facepalm echoes around you* Celestia knew her face was as scarlet as a tomato. She shamefully removed the active cloak from the cart, revealing a cake that had looked like an enraged cat had shredded it apart. Luna laughed even harder, border lining dangerously close to the Royal Canterlot Voice. Celestia started laughing as well and they soon calmed down, bursting into occasional giggles. They both sighed in relief, enjoying the moment of respite from their hampering duties. Luna spoke up, “Sister there is something I must tell you. I-“ Her eyes widened while her pupils shrank to pinpoints. Her breathing became ragged as she crumpled to the floor. Celestia immediately pushed aside the cart and ran over to her sister. Luna was on the ground trembling violently, her face stuck in a hard grimace. Luna suddenly broke out of her stupor and stood up, leaning against Celestia. “Luna! What’s wr-“ “Ale.” Luna whispered. “We need to get to Ale.” Celestia began to voice her concern when a green flash appeared in front of her, revealing a scroll from Twilight. She was about to dismiss it until she realized that Twilight probably knew something about Ale. She quickly unrolled it and read it alongside her sister. It was messy and written in big, bold letters. “WE NEED HELP!” Celestia quickly looked to Luna and nodded. They disappeared in a bright flash. --------------------------------------------- Celestia blinked away the spots from her vision, gasping in surprise as she caught sight of her student. Twilight was hunched over the large armored figure of Ale, her mane disheveled and her wings ruffled violently. The fur on her face was damp as if she was crying, this fact proved by her sobbing and her blood shot eyes turning towards her. “You have to help him!” Twilight cried. “I can’t tell if he’s okay or not! Please do something!” Luna flashed to Ales side as she examined him intently. Twilight spoke up, “I tried to take off his armor but it doesn’t have any discernible ways of coming off. I then attempted to scan him but his armor is stopping me.” The door to the library burst forth, revealing the rest of Twilights friends. The flooded in and crowded around Ale, trying desperately to wake him up. Celestia took in a deep breath and unleashed the Royal Canterlot Voice to be heard over their clamboring. “ENOUGH!” A hush fell over the mares as they backed off, allowing room for the royal sisters to tend to Ale. Luna attempted to scan him but stumbled back in pain, clearly not over from her earlier episode. She turned to Celestia and begged her with her eyes. Celestia stepped over to her and placed a wing comfortingly on her back. With a nod she pulled mana into her horn and attempted to scan Ale. She was surprised to meet a very heavy wall of resistance, but pushed harder, intent on breaking through. With a burst of pure magic from the embodiment of the sun itself, she breached the armor. She immediately went about his body in her mind’s eye. She scanned him from his feet to his head, finding nothing wrong physically with him. In fact she felt embarrassed as she sensed how well toned his physique was, blushing as she ‘accidentally’ scanned over a particular spot. She mentally shook herself. She scanned him again as confusion began building within her. ‘What’s wrong with him? There’s nothing wrong with him.’ She focused intently on his whole body, desperately trying to find a discrepancy. ‘There.’ For a brief moment she sensed a current of magic running within him. This confused her even more, Ale claiming that humans didn’t have magic. She prodded the magic and was met by an incredible barrier, stronger than any she had ever felt before. ‘Something’s definitely wrong.’ She was panting with exertion, her magic straining to keep the connection through his armor open. Summoning all her strength, she forced her way into the magic. Almost instantly, she was violently thrown from Ale and smashed into a wall. The others were blown back as well, the resulting shockwave blasting out the glass of the library. Celestia was in a haze, trying to focus her mind. In the brief moment she had witnessed something, something that she was desperately trying to recall. The others picked each other up and out of the rubble, quickly hurrying over to Celestia. With their help Celestia stood up, shaking ever so slightly. She tuned out the others as she searched her memories as far back as she could remember. The magic she had felt was undeniably the most powerful she had ever witnessed. It was so strong and pure. It didn’t seem to be harming Ale, instead it had just put him into a comatose. Celestia opened her eyes to find a pair of teal orbs gazing into her. The sound of Luna’s voice reached her. “Sister! Are you okay? Did you find out what was wrong?” She was about to respond when she felt a pulse of magic emanating from Luna as well as Ale. A visible violet and golden light sparked in Luna’s eyes. A memory from far beyond Luna’s time came crashing into Celestia’s conscience. Her eyes widened in shock. “Luna! What were you going to tell me in the court room this morning?” Her sister looked baffled at her request. “This isn’t really the appropriate time to-.” The death glare Celestia gave her sister could have made all the creatures of Tartarus flee in fear. Luna cowed away from her sister as she collected her words. “Well, I was going to say that I was feeling really strange ever since last night and I was unable to figure out what was wrong. I was going to ask you for your help.” “Was this after you and Ale were in contact?” Luna thought for a moment before nodding, “Yeah. I think I started feeling it after...” Luna’s face broke out into a blush as she swept her gaze across all of those present in the room. Celestia nodded her head, gesturing for her to continue. “It was after Ale and I ha…” Luna had whispered quietly enough to put Fluttershy to shame, whom was currently blushing madly as she attempted to hide behind her mane, apparently used to hearing whispers. Celestia sighed. “Spit it out already.” “It was after Ale and I had kissed and admitted our feelings towards each other.” Celestia was clearly expecting a very similar answer as she responded, “And do you love him?” Luna straightened and brought her head up, staring Celestia straight in the eye. “Yes.” Celestia had a genuinely small smile plastered across her face. “It’s as I thought then. Do not worry, Ale is fine.” Luna and the others looked completely shell shocked in confusion. They began bursting out with questions, speaking louder as they attempted to be heard over the other, Twilight going as far as to breaking out a quill and scroll while scribbling down a question and response sheet. Celestia calmed them down and looked Luna in the eye. “This conversation is for Luna and Luna only. If you all would be kind enough to leave it would be greatly appreciated.” Twilight looked extremely crestfallen but nodded glumly as she moved out with the others. When the door shut Celestia casted a spell that created a dome around them, preventing anypony from hearing their discussion. “Luna, did mom and dad ever explain love between alicorns to you?” Luna shook her head. “No. They only told me about how they met. Nothing about other alicorns.” “There were many alicorns before any of the other species on this planet existed except dragons. As time went by the other races began to appear while alicorns began declining in numbers. This was caused by many reasons such as an unnatural death, transcendence, or simply leaving the planet. This was becoming a major issue as our numbers began dropping below a thousand. Nature gave us a solution however. In order to preserve our race we were gifted with an incredible ability. Whenever an alicorn fell truly in love our gift would ensure that they would be together as long as possible.” Luna recoiled in shock. “Sister, surely you don’t mean…” Celestia smiled sweetly. “Luna, you don’t ever have to worry about time taking Ale away from you. He’s immortal.” -------------------------------------------------------- Ale’s first thought was pain. Lots of pain. He was enshrouded in blackness and slowly began regaining his senses. He felt the comforting weight of his armor on his body. ‘That’s good,’ Ale thought. He could also hear a delightful humming, putting his worries to rest. He slowly opened his eyes to find himself in his room. The sun was gently shining into his room. Ale felt a presence to the left of him and, ignoring the pain, turned his head towards it. He found the source of the humming to be Princess Luna. She was lying next to Ale and had her eyes shut as she slowly swayed her head, her starry ether mane was flowing behind her. After a minute she opened her eyes halfway and looked at Ale, smiling as she saw him watching her. She stopped humming and gently set her hoof on his chest. “How are you feeling?” “Like I just fell from space while getting run over by a scorpion,” Ale chuckled, coughing as his lungs burned. “What happened to me?” Luna gently set her head on his chest as she replied, “A very special thing has happened. May I talk to you without looking through your visor?” Ale nodded as maneuvered his right hand up to his neck, slipping his fingers under his chin and breaking the seal to pull his helmet off. He set it to the side and waited patiently for Luna to begin. She smiled softly as she looked deeply into his eyes, noticing a certain brightness to them. “The pain you are feeling is temporary. This process normally isn’t painful but my sister and I have agreed that it hurts you because of your non-magical origins.” Ale blinked before he asked, “What process?” “Celestia tells me that it is an old alicorn survival technique. As you know alicorns are immortal, so if we were to take on a mortal lover you can see where the issue lies.” Ale nodded as his face became grim. “So we were gifted with an ability. This ability takes hold when an alicorn and a mortal fall in love. It bonds our souls together, sharing my immortality with you, allowing us to live and love each other till the end of time.” Luna looked up at Ale expectantly. Ale was simply dumbfounded. He processed what he was just told over and over again. He sat there pondering this new information for a while. His face was stoic while his eyes betrayed his deep thinking. Luna’s smile dropped as she began to worry. “Ale? What’s wrong?” Shaken, Ale looked into Luna’s worried eyes and spoke quietly, “I’m sorry Luna. I just don’t know what to think.” Luna recoiled as if she was slapped. “Are… are you not happy? With this gift we could be together forever.” Her face suddenly became extremely sullen. “Do you not love me?” It was Ale’s turn to do a double take. He reached his arm up and cupped Luna’s cheek while absentmindedly rubbing his thumb along her jaw line. “Luna, I promised you I would give you a chance. I do love you, but this gift. You must understand that this ‘gift’ has been pushed upon me so soon after our talk.” Luna stared at him in confusion as she unknowingly pushed further into his hand. “Do you not like this gift?” “Luna. Humanity has several different views on immortality. Some wish to be immortal for their own reasons, but most others see it as a curse. They don’t want to suffer through war, corruption, and watch as their current and future loved ones die as time passes by. Some people say that immortality would make them go insane. To live forever is a concept that I would personally say the human brain is not meant to understand.” “And what of you? How do you see it?” Ale thought for a few moments before he gathered his response. “Luna, I don’t know if I want to live forever with the things I have witnessed. I was born, raised, and participated in never ending wars. I’m afraid that I may go mad. I’ve also accepted death and that it’s inevitable. Being human and especially being in my line of work have prepared me for death. I could have died at anytime.” Luna was frowning as he explained this, nodding nonetheless in understanding. She mentally prepared herself for Ale’s response as she looked away. “Ale. I can’t take it back.” The silence stretched on for a few minutes, Luna and Ale breathing deeply as they were thinking. Ale sighed, Luna readying for his anger or rejection. “I guess I don’t really have much of a choice then do I?” Luna cringed at his words. “I know that this was forced upon you, but I’m begging you. Please understand that I didn’t know that this was going to happen and that I wish you didn’t feel as if you had no choice. I want you to want to be with me for eternity.” Ale nodded, but Luna could tell that she hadn’t helped the situation. She attempted to salvage the situation one last time. “All those things you said, about living with your mistakes and memories. I too have the same problem. I had to ponder over them for a thousand years in solitude, barely clinging on to my sanity. When the Elements of Harmony reunited me with my sister I was overjoyed. But I soon fell back into depression. I shunned myself from the world, refusing to make contact with anypony else. I was an absolute wreck until my sister, Twilight, and her friends stepped in and helped me through my time of need. I wasn’t alone anymore. You don’t have to be either.” Ale was silent; his eyes had closed as she explained. Luna felt a tear crawl down her face, matting her fur. She shakily stood up as she prepared to leave, turning her head to Ale as she spoke to him. “I’m sorry. I truly am.” She was about to leave before a strong set of arms grasped her around the waist and pulled her back to Ale. She gasped as he set her back down along the bed next to him. She looked at Ale and saw his face was grim. She opened her mouth to speak when suddenly; Ale cupped her face and kissed her. Her eyes widened in shock as she felt the passion emanating from his soul through their bond. She soon relaxed and closed her eyes, melting into the kiss. After a minute they broke apart, Luna trailing after him a bit as she reluctantly opened her eyes. They were breathing quickly as they tried to regain their breath. Ale had a pleasant smile on his face which soon caught Luna as well. “You’re not mad anymore?” Ale smiled wider as he replied, “How could I stay mad at somepony as cute as you?” Luna playfully swatted him with her tail eliciting a chuckle from Ale. He relaxed as he continued, “In all seriousness though, thank you. I understand you didn’t intend for this and I appreciate that you’re willing to help me through this.” Luna smiled sweetly, “And I will continue to do so forever, whenever you need me.” Luna leaned in and caught his lips with her own, Ale willingly responding in turn. It was short lived however as a giggling sounded from the door way. They broke apart quickly as Luna looked over her back, blushing madly as she saw her sister standing in the doorway. She stepped off and found that Ale already had his helmet on and was sitting up, saving him from torment at his own blush. Celestia spoke up. “Sorry to interrupt sister, but we must be on our way. We have a country to run after all.” “Of course sister.” Luna turned around and bashfully talked to Ale. “We’ll talk soon okay?” Ale silently nodded. Luna turned and walked past her sister, disappearing around the corner. Celestia eyed Ale carefully. “I’m glad to see you’re alright. How are you feeling?” Ale grimaced as he clutched his chest. “My torso still hurts. But other than that I’m fine.” Celestia nodded sagely. “Your bond with Luna isn’t quite complete yet. It’ll stop hurting after it is complete. Now, speaking of Luna I’m going to say this once and only once. You hurt her and I will toss you into the sun. Do I make myself clear?” Ale gulped audibly as he nodded. “Good. Just stay in bed till you feel better. We don‘t want you to aggravate the pain anymore than we have to. Your boss has been informed that you are on sick leave. In the meantime Twilight will help you with whatever you need okay?” Ale nodded again. Celestia tilted her head. “You certainly aren’t as vocal as our last meeting. Did something change?” Ale shrugged, making Celestia giggle knowingly. She turned to leave before she added over her shoulder, “Oh and one more thing. I’ll catch you without your helmet on one of these days.” Ale grinned as he accepted her challenge. “We’ll see.” Celestia laughed as she closed the door behind her. Ale sighed as he looked around. Today had been a long day and he most certainly had his fair share of it. He lied down and thought over the events that had occurred. He mentally shrugged as he felt sleep tugging at him, embracing it with open arms. He was almost gone before he heard his door open again. He opened his eyes and turned towards the door to find Twilight standing there. She looked like she had stood in a rainstorm while being beat with tree branches. She looked at Ale with bloodshot eyes, prompting Ale to sit up straight. “Twilight? What’s wrong?” She breathed deeply for a few seconds before responding, “I thought you were dead.” Ale grimaced as he gestured for her to come over. She complied and Ale, against his training and manly pride, hugged her. She sniffled quietly as Ale rubbed her back slowly, calming her down. “I’m sorry Twilight. I’ll try to the best of my abilities not to die. Is there anything I can do to make up for it?” Twilight slowly stood back from Ale and wiped her eyes with a hoof. She looked at him hopefully as she said, “Well, you could tell me more about mandkind.” Ale smiled thoughtfully as he replied, “Sure. What do you want to know?” Twilight smiled widely as several large books, quills, and inkpots floated into existence as she squealed, “Everything!” *You feel a shiver run along your spine*