//------------------------------// // Chapter Thirteen: Contrasting Shadows // Story: An Investigation Into Chaos // by Forgoten Null //------------------------------// “Shhh,” Twilight hissed sharply. “What if she hears you?” Dual Vision snorted. He glanced up from his paper to see Twilight pacing back and forth across the corridor, mumbling to herself incoherently. “Did you ever consider that if she hears me then maybe she will realize that this is a serious issue?” Dual flipped back to the finance section and continued. “Maybe she’ll realize that she isn’t the only one who deserves to know what’s going on here.” He paused, halfheartedly searching through the paper for an article he hadn’t read already. He smiled to himself, quickly skimming through an article talking about a project to insulate the local Canterlot mages guild from the latent magic fields permeating the city. It went into a great amount of detail into the controversy surrounding the project, focusing particularly on the public funds that had been placed into the project when Twilight issued a decree to fast track the project. Dual glanced up at her again, rolling his eyes at the fact that she was still pacing around in front of the door. He cleared his throat and spoke up again, much louder than before. “Or maybe she’ll hear me and she’ll realize that we’ve been waiting for outside her door for over an hour now.” Twilight immediately stopped pacing and motioned for Dual to keep quiet, he studiously ignored her request. “She might even realize that some of us have other things to do than to sit and wait for ‘her royal highness’ to graciously invite her student to the lesson that she scheduled in the first place.” “Will you be quiet!?” Twilight half asked, half commanded, in a hushed whisper. “Whatever happened to ‘patience, strategy, and tact?’” Twilight was looking back and forth between him and the door behind her, it almost seemed like she thought Nightmare Moon herself would burst through the door if she didn’t keep an eye on it. “Patience decided to leave after I finished reading through the finance section for the first time. Strategy abandoned me once I read through everything else. Tact left about five minutes ago, about the same time my leg fell asleep.” He frowned at his paper, throwing it on the bench next to him with an aggravated sigh. He rubbed at his rear leg with his front hooves, he was careful to make the motion as exaggerated and obvious as possible. Twilight rolled her eyes at him. “Nobody likes sarcasm, Dual.” She snapped back at him, causing him to smirk “Sorry, this whole situation is just frustrating. It’s obvious that this is all just a ploy. I can tell she’s just trying to set you on edge by keeping you waiting.” He frowned. “I would be insulted by the attempt if it wasn’t working so well.” He slid off the bench and stood up, wincing at the pins and needles in his leg. He quietly limped over to Twilight, placing a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. “You need to relax, Twilight, if you let Luna get in your head like this then you won’t be able to take control of the conversation and she is going to brush you off, just like last time.” He glanced up at the doors leading into Luan’s chambers and furrowed his brow. “You know exactly what you need to do and you know exactly how to do it. Trust me when I say that you have absolutely nothing to worry about.” Twilight looked away from the door and she screwed her eyes shut. “I know, I know. It’s just…” Twilight’s voice trailed off. She took a few deep breaths and opened her eyes, looking at Dual. “She doesn’t even look at me anymore. I understand that she’s busy and she can’t afford to be distracted from… whatever she’s doing, but this is different! It’s like she’s an entirely different pony; she’s canceled her court, she doesn’t talk to anyone, she doesn’t even come of her room anymore!” Twilight broke eye contact. “I don’t know, I guess I’m just afraid that she’ll just push away from me if I try to reach out to her…” Twilight sighed and sat down on the spot. She turned her attention back to the door, staring at it with worry etched into her features. Dual sat beside her, assisting in her vigil. The silence in the hallway was oppressive as each minute seemed to tick by slower than the last. “I’ve seen her you know,” Dual said absently, “late at night, in the library.” “Don’t you ever sleep?” Twilight asked. Dual shrugged. “Sometimes,” he said, dodging the question. “But I have seen her, in a sense.” “What do you mean by, ‘in a sense?’” Dual looked over at Twilight, he noticed her looking at him inquisitively. He scratched at the back of his neck, searching for the right words. “Well, I see her, but she isn’t there, not really.” Twilight gave him a look and he shook his head. “I mean, she is there in a physical sense, but it’s like her mind is somewhere else.” Twilight blinked, obviously surprised by that. After a moment of silence she nodded slowly and away from him turned to watch the door again. Still, her ears were swiveled in his direction. Dual decided to take that as an invitation and continued. “She never looked at me; she didn’t address me or even seem to acknowledge me at all. It’s like she didn’t even notice that I was even there. She would just walk into the library, then take a few books, then walk out.” Dual looked back up at the door, his eyes tracing the delicate patterns laced into the obsidian portal. “One night I decided to try to talk to her, I wanted to ask her how she was doing; so I trotted up to greet her and she just walked right past me. I managed to catch up to her and I tried to get her attention any way I could, but she just ignored me. I kept dogging her until she came up to a particular bookshelf; she pulled a book out of its place, with her magic, and then she turned around like she was just going to walk back out. I looked her straight in the eye and I slapped the book to the ground with my hoof, holding it on the floor.” Dual could hear Twilight wincing, he wasn’t sure if it was because of how he acted towards the Princess or because of how roughly he treated the book. Dual rolled his eyes. “And do you know what she did then?” Dual looked over at Twilight, expecting a response, instead he saw her staring at the door with her head cocked to the side slightly and her brow furrowed. It was obvious she was deep in thought, he decided to continue regardless. “Nothing,” he said, “she didn’t do anything.” Twilight blinked, twice, looking back at him. “Nothing?” Dual shook his head. “Absolutely nothing at all.” Dual turned and looked back at the door before he continued. “She just stood there, staring at the book under my hoof; she didn’t try to talk to me, she didn’t ask me to move, she didn’t even try to take it away from me! She just stood there until I let go of the book. Then she just picked it up, and she walked away.” Dual just shrugged and Twilight gave him a confused look. “At any rate, my point is that I don’t think she’s ignoring you, not consciously anyway. I have no idea what she’s doing in there, but whatever it is it must be important if it’s consuming enough of her attention that she wouldn’t even notice someone standing right in front of her.” Dual shook his head and let out a short sigh sighed. “I think she needs help.” “Why do you think that?” “Honestly? I would say that anypony in that condition needs all the help they can get.” Twilight made a noise but she didn’t say anything. Dual didn’t press the issue and silence reigned over the hallway once more. The pair continued to stare at the door for what seemed like an eternity, or about ten minutes if Dual’s timepiece was to be trusted, before it opened. The door opened without fanfare or aplomb; it swung out and silently stopped up against the wall. Luna stepped out into the hallway, absently scanning the hallway before her gaze settled on the two Ponies in front of her. “Twilight Sparkle.” Luna announced as she locked eyes with the Princess in question. Twilight nodded. She stood up and looked off to her right. Dual was already at the end of the corridor, she watched him turn the corner and then he was gone. It was at that moment that Twilight realized that there was no running away from this. She took a deep breath, steeling her nerves. She walked through the open door, stepping into the shadowy room behind Luna. She heard the door shut behind her with a soft click. She took a moment to look around, allowing her eyes to adjust to the dim light of the room. Once her eyes adjusted she let go of the breath she didn’t know she was holding. The room was a mess; the curtains were drawn, books were strewn haphazardly around the room haphazardly, and parchments were stuck on nearly every open surface with magic. In a strange sort of way it made her feel at home, the scene reminded her of her own late night study marathons. A faint smirk pulled at her lips, threatening to turn into a grin at any moment. With her newfound confidence she took a few steps forward, moving towards the center of the room in an attempt to get a better sense of the organized chaos surrounding her. She looked around absently admiring the impromptu decor when she noticed something strange. She tilted her head to the side slightly and the entire room seemed to shift, changing into something completely different. All the parchments seemed to flow together into one continuous shell of paper. Indistinguishable scrawls and abstract lines linked up to other similar designs and formed into complex, isometric runes. She took a step back, surprised, only for the illusion of perspective to disappear again. She looked around with excitement, figuring out where the center of the room should be and quickly making her way to it. She slowly turned and marveled at the web of runes and symbols surrounding her. From where she was standing she could easily make out the runes for protection, life, and fleetness, but faint chalk lines that twisted and turned on the floor around her signaled to her that this spell was far more involved than a few simple charms strung together. She could have spent weeks just looking around and trying to decipher the meaning and ultimate purpose of each individual permutation and connection. “Before we begin,” Luna said, causing Twilight to leap several feet into the air, “I need to test you so that I can have a better understand of your current level of competency.” Twilight looked over to find Luna searching for something in the corner of the room, she seemed distracted. “I understand that Dual Vision is perfectly qualified to teach you the ins of Equestrian governance. With that in mind I will take responsibility for your education in the realms of metaphysical constructs, general epistemological theory, as well as overseeing your mastery in the realms of the Arcane. “As such I have decided that it would be most efficacious to deliver a written test.” Twilight, who had long since gone back to marveling at the notes and runes surrounding her, perked up at that. She turned her attention away from the infinitely enterprising runes and focused her attention on Luna. “A test?” “Yes,” Luna said morosely, “a test.” Twilight noticed Luna was digging through a pile of discarded parchments, all lying on top of what Twilight assumed was a desk. Eventually Luna pulled out a haphazard amalgamation of scrolls, texts, and parchments. She lifted “it” up and placed it on one of the few free patches of floor that didn’t have any notes or chalk lines on it. “You may utilize any resources you deem necessary to complete this test and you may take as much time as you need to complete it. Once it is completed I expect you to return to me to present the finished product, we shall discuss how to go forward from there.” Twilight picked up the “test” and started skimming through it. It ranged from questions about the ethical implications of memory reading, to the design and construction of a barrier ward that would utilize a multilateral set of hexagonal planes arranged geodesically around a displaced focal point, and what seemed like everything in between. A particularly interesting problem caught her eye and she read through it enthusiastically. “You know, Luna,” Twilight said, taking advantage of the apparent silence, “there are some things that have been bothering me that I wanted to talk to you about.” She took her time getting to the point, continuing to flip through the “test” and taking mental notes on what exactly she had to do. “I know you’re busy, but I was wondering if we could take some time and talk. Just you and me, doesn’t that sound-” Twilight’s voice caught in her throat when she looked up and noticed that Luna was gone. She looked around, incase Luna just happened to wander behind her, when she couldn’t find her she dropped to her haunches and groaned. “Nice…” Twilight just sat there, alone and dejected. “Why couldn’t this just be easy?” She asked, pouting. She stood up and walked back to the center of the room, taking a moment to admire Luna’s craftsmanship. “Still,” she said, “at least I have an idea of what she’s been doing with her time. I have something to go on…” Twilight looked around and noticed several runes and symbols she had never even seen before. “Actually, a lot of somethings…” A smile touched at her lips as she looked around the room and back down at the test. She picked it up and trotted out of the room with a small spring in her step. For the last four days she had dealt with scheming nobles and demanding business Ponies. She had made decisions and delivered proclamations in court, all the while ignoring that annoying little voice whispering in her head whispering that she wasn’t remotely qualified to deal with any of it. The last few days seemed like an endless tirade of stress and headaches to Twilight, she knew most Ponies would treat the test like just one more headache to pile on top of all the others. Still, she smiled as she trotted into the library wing. She was happy; because if there was one thing Twilight knew how to do, it was how to take a test. Luna slipped back into her trance the moment she hit the bed. Wasting no time she threw her herself into the æther and set out to track down her sister again. There was a moment of panic when she couldn’t sense her in Discord’s domain, but that panic was short-lived. A sense of relief washed over her when she realized that Celestia had just fallen asleep again. Had she been corporeal she would have sighed. The first time Luna saw Discord slip himself into Celestia’s dreams she was worried about her sister. Luna feared afraid he might try to break her sister’s mind. So she followed him in and quietly waited for Discord to take make just one wrong move. In his own realm he was all powerful, not to mention nigh untouchable. It was all Luna could do to give Celestia’s wards the strength and direction they needed to keep Discord at bay; even then she was still hounded by his abominations. Meanwhile, Luna would skulk around in the shadows, avoiding Discord at all cost. With almost all of her energy going into Celestia’s wards, Luna would have been completely defenseless against Discord if he caught her. Still, it was a price she was willing to pay. She would walk across a razor’s edge if it meant keeping her sister from harm. In Celestia’s domain however, their roles were reversed. She was still careful to keep out of sight, but for an entirely different reason. She prowled at the edges of Celestia’s mind; confident knowing that she could shred his essence should he even attempt to harm Celestia. He didn’t though, that bothered Luna more than she wanted to admit. For the bravado and vitriol he showed in their last encounter, Luna would have expected Discord to be more… Chaotic… Instead, Luna watched him silently as he played the role of the observer. He never interfered with Celestia’s dreams, at least not consciously, and he tried his best to keep himself hidden from her mind’s eye. Luna would have gone as far to call him “civil,” that is if it weren’t for the very distinct possibility that the mere act of calling Discord civil might unravel the fabric of space, time, and magic, and cause the universe to implode. Still, she was confident that Celestia wouldn’t be in any real danger from Discord while she slept. Despite her confidence, Luna stayed on guard. She slipped into her sister’s mind and observed the increasingly familiar scene of Discord watching yet another one of her sister’s memories play out in front of him. For a while she played along, like she always did; letting him watch with an illusion of privacy and waiting for him to make just one mistake. She didn’t know why he was doing this, but it was obvious to her that his malice towards Celestia had faded, somehow. For Luna that raised far more questions than it did answers and she had never been one to sit around and wait for answers, not when the one who had them was sitting right in front of her. With a thought she dispelled the barriers and wards that prevented Discord from sensing her. She stepped towards him with a quiet confidence in her stride. Discord never really had the opportunity to see what went on whenever he was gone, for obvious reasons. He had fantasies about it though, idle daydreams mostly. Discord used to spend hours thinking about what happened after one of his signature Chaos storms. He was always partial to the idea that whenever he left a room that its occupants would break into an impromptu celebration, relieved and overjoyed that the Lord of Chaos had decided to leave them to their own devices. Of course it would help that he usually left some candy and chocolate behind whoever he went, a little wine never hurt anyone either. Despite all that, he had to admit it was far more likely that he might leave crowds of weeping, grief stricken souls in his wake. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect silence. However, watching through Celestia’s memories made him realize that’s exactly what had followed him. It wasn’t the calm kind of silence he would have expected either, it was a deafening, soul crushing silence. It was the kind of silence that would set you on edge, the kind that kept you’re mind racing even though there was nothing left to think about. It was uncomfortable. When he was imprisoned, all those years ago, he expected Equestria to fall into Chaos, at least for a little while. Instead, everything seemed to work out more or less perfectly. The transfer of power was smooth and, with the exception of a bit of unrest, silent. It went just as Celestia and Luna had planned it, with none of the flourish Discord expected. He expected loyalists to rise, en masse, and challenge the sister’s right to the throne. He thought the Minotaur hordes would try and take back their lost conquests. He was convinced that the Gryphons would declare war again, and he was absolutely positive the Dragons would raze and pillage Equestria with abandon. But none of that actually happened. In fact, the best way to describe the transition would be Orderly. Discord realized something. He realized that for everything he did back then, and for all he was, it didn’t really matter in the end. He always thought that if he had to go out, he would go out with a bang. He didn’t even go out with a whimper, just an unnerving silence. As far as the rest of Equus was concerned Discord was dead, and that was all that needed to be said about the issue. There were only two beings on the planet that realized that Discord wasn’t really dead, and they kept that to themselves. “How can you even consider just leaving him in there?” Luna barked at her sister, a contemptuous glare plastered on her face. “I’m not,” Celestia stated flatly, “there isn't even anything to consider.” She absently inspected the statue in front of her, not even glancing in her sister’s direction. “We cannot release him; it is as simple as that.” She paced around Discords stony prison, simply drinking in every aspect of his form. “Might I remind you, sister, that his mind is totally cut off from the outside world.” Luna shook her head and averted her eyes from the scene in front of her, obviously unnerved. “There is no dark abyss, or even a stone cold floor, to help keep him tethered to reality. He can’t see, he can’t hear, he can’t even feel anything.” Luna visibly shuddered at that. “Do you have the slightest idea what that’s like, Celestia?” Luna looked back up at her sister to find her running her hoof down his stone clad tail. Discord shivered at the phantom sensation of a hoof trailing down his spine. He felt violated as he watched Celestia comb over every inch of him, but at the same time he was as enraptured as she was. He couldn’t pull his eyes away from the scene playing out in front of him. Luna shouted. “Are you even listening to me, Celestia?” Celestia casually shook her head. “Not really, no.” She gave her sister a passing glance before going back to what she was doing. “No matter what you say to the contrary, you know as well as I do that we cannot release him, Luna.” “He’ll go mad by weeks end!” Luna shot back, her temper flaring. Discord wasn’t sure if he should be flattered by her concern, or if he should be insulted by her assumption of his weakness. Celestia simply laughed at this, jumping down from the side of his statue and addressing her sister directly. “He was already far gone before we imprisoned him. Besides that, what if we were to release him now, what then?” Luna went quiet and averted her gaze, Celestia didn’t back down. “Even if he didn’t turn on us immediately, even if we could subdue him, it would only be matter of time before the surrounding nations caught wind of the fact that we didn’t kill him outright.” “And that’s supposed to be a bad thing?” Luna spat venomously. Celestia shook her head. “No, of course not, you know that, Luna. I’m as glad as you are that the Elements decided to spare him.” She paused, apparently thinking over her words carefully. “However, what we see as an unexpected boon, others will see as a weakness.” Celestia sighed. “Fear is our ally right now, Luna, it’s what kept our adversaries from affronting us during Discord's reign and it’s all we have to keep them at bay until we can defend our borders. They are afraid to attack us because they think us invincible, in there eyes we are the heroines who slew Discord. If you take that away what are we?” “We are the saviors who spared his life!” Luna protested. Celestia shook her head again. “You know that’s not what they will think, Luna. To us, it’s an act of kindness and generosity; to them it’s an act of cowardice and weakness.” Celestia turned around and glared back up the statue, deep in thought. “If you take away our conquest, then we are nothing but two upstarts who crippled Equestria’s staunchest defender to usurp him.” She sighed. “They wouldn’t be wrong to make that assumption either.” Luna looked back up at Celestia. “I-if we free him he could help us!” Luna was pleading at this point, grasping at straws. “We can’t just leave it, not like this, it’s…” Luna trailed off, staring at the floor in frustration. Her mouth moved silently as she tried to decide what to say. “This isn’t right, Celestia. I-I don’t know if I can live with myself, knowing that he has to suffer because of my own weakness…” Luna’s voice n her throat. She sat down and stared at her hooves as her shoulders slumped down. The air in the room shifted, almost imperceptibly, as the heat of the argument fell away with the silence. Celestia seemed to sense this, turning back and regarding her sister with a critical glance. Her features softened however, and her face took on a more somber expression; a light frown touched at her lips. She moved over to her sister and sat down next to her. They sat there silently for a while, neither one of them willing to break the silence between them. Eventually Luna sighed. She looked up at the statue, staring at it thoughtfully. Celestia reached over and brushed her sister’s mane off to the side, causing Luna to look back at her. The two locked eyes, as if having a silent conversation with one another. Celestia’s expression never changed, but Discord caught a hint of something from Luna’s face. Remorse? Regret? “I’m sorry,” Luna whispered, breaking the silence. “I didn’t know.” Celestia sighed and a small smile touched at her lips. She ran her hoof through her sister’s mane carefully. “It’s alright,” she said softly, “couldn’t have.” There was a pause. Luna turned her attention back to the statue. “Do you really think we can do this?” “I don’t really think we have a choice, Luna” Celestia said, shaking her head. She turned to look back at the statue as well, a look of contemplation taking over her expression. “We are alone.” Luna looked at her sister for a moment before suddenly bursting into a fit of laughter. Celestia frowned and furrowed her brow. She looked down at her sister, who proceeded to hug her and ruffle her mane playfully. Luna quickly broke the embrace, looking up and down her sister with a smile plastered on her face. “Sister, so long as we have each other we will never be alone.” Luna lightly tapped her sister on the muzzle. “You would do well to remember that.” Celestia concealed a smile, rubbing her nose with a hoof. “I suppose you would be correct, as always.” Luna beamed at that. “Of course I am,” she exclaimed, “I am supposed to be the clever one after all!” Celestia glared at Luna, who was only able to maintain her composure for a second before she burst out in a fit of laughter. Celestia giggled when Luna’s laugh turned into a hearty yawn, Luna blinked at her sister obliviously. “And it seems you’re also the tired one.” Celestia said as she stood up, taking a step back. “You should go and get some rest; we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.” Luna looked as if she was about to protest, but when she was attacked by another yawn and instead she nodded. She silently stood up and slowly walked out of the room, leaving Celestia alone. “It gets worse, you know.” Discord almost literally jumped out his skin when Luna appeared next to him in all her ethereal splendor. It took his mind a few seconds to process exactly what was going on. “What are you doing here?” Discord asked quickly, feigning composure. He turned his back to her and proceeded to stare at the statue of himself, neatly avoiding eye contact with both her and Celestia. Luna quietly moved up beside her sister, sitting down next to her. “I could ask you the same question, Discord.” She replied, looking over at her sister. Discord glanced down at Celestia, who was now sitting between them; she was staring up at the statue. He noticed that all the joy had drained out of her features, replaced with an increasingly familiar, absent stare. “So,” Luna asked, “what are you doing here?” Discord grumbled, turning away from both of them. “It’s none of your business. What I do with my free time is of my concern and mine alone.” “That’s what Celestia said when I found out she had stopped sleeping all those years ago.” Discord glanced back at Luna, who was watching Celestia with a tight frown. “I offered to help her sleep, or at least stay up with her and pass the time, but she didn’t seem to want anything to do with me or anypony else.” Discord, giving up all pretenses, turned and watched Luna. Her face was a mask, hiding her emotions perfectly. “I blamed her for that, not wanting to spend time with me I mean.” Luna took a few steps forward and stopped right in front of her sister, observing her closely. “It never really occurred to me that she might be hurting more than I was.” Luna shook her head and locked eyes with Discord. “I felt betrayed, alone, unloved, and then, because of that, I made the biggest mistake of my life. I betrayed her, Discord, her and everyone else that I held dear just for a little scrap of recognition.” Discord tried to look away, to break eye contact, but he couldn’t. He had no choice to but to return Luna’s piercing stare as she stared straight into his soul. He noticed a certain sadness in her eyes, sadness and remorse, but there was something else there that shook him to the core. Pity. Mercifully, she broke eye contact, allowing Discord to try to regain his semblance of composure. “No, I don’t blame you,” Luan sighed. “At least, I don’t blame you anymore.” Discord made no attempt to respond. She glanced back at him and something seemed to catch her eye. She trotted up next to him, inspecting him. “You look different.” “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Discord crossed his arms. “I look the same as I always have.” Luna shook her head. “No, that’s what I meant; you look different from last time.” Luna examined him clinically, pacing around him to look at every angle. He noticed how much Luna resembled her sister as she circled around him. It was just like how Celestia had looked at his statue in the memory he just watched. An involuntary shiver trickled down his spine. “Oh, right…” He vainly tried to ignore Luna, and her prying eyes, by looking up at the ceiling. “That from was cumbersome…” “Was it now?” “Yes, it was.” He said, feigning assurance. “The spines got in the way.” Luna just nodded and continued staring at him. Discord did his best to continue to ignore her, until he noticed she had stopped in her tracks. At first he thought she was staring at him, but then he noticed that she was staring at something beside him. He quickly looked over to see what had gotten her attention. Luna watched as he squirmed under her sister’s gaze. It was only in a dream, and it only lasted for a few moments, but she could tell that it had shaken him. It was like her gaze had priced his very soul. Even when the phantasm of Celestia turned away, even when she left the room, Discord just stood there, locked in place. Luna rolled her eyes. She was growing tired of these games. She was tired of watching Discord bumble around, wallowing in his denial. “Discord, you have a choice to make.” She addressed him directly, speaking carefully as to allow no room for misinterpretation. “If you truly wish to remain alone for the rest of eternity then you should leave now and never return. None of us could stop you from leaving; even if we tried we wouldn’t be able to.” Discord didn’t seem to react to what she way saying, but Luna could tell he was hanging on her every word. “If solitude is truly what your heart desires, then you shouldn’t waste any more time here.” She knew she sounded domineering and condescending, but she didn’t care; she just knew he needed to hear this. “If you don’t leave now then I can’t guarantee that you will have the opportunity to do so much longer.” Discord just continued to stand there, staring dumbly at the spot where Celestia had been standing a few minutes ago. Luna snorted, turning away from him. “This is your last chance, Discord.” Luna closed her eyes and started to push at the boundary of Celestia’s domain. She started pulling herself out of Celestia’s domain, but not before delivering one last message. “Heed my words, Discord. The ties that bind us are far stronger than any mere prison.” Then she slipped away. All was dark, and all was silent. Luna stirred with a groan, her head was pounding and her bones ached. She attempted to open her eyes, but each tentative flutter only succeeded in letting in a flash of blinding light. Most Ponies would have just given up at that point, resigning themselves to be bedridden until their malaise passed. However, Luna was not most Ponies. Once she managed to pyr her eyes open she saw the room around her as a dim blur. She lurched forward, swinging herself into a loose sitting position. The room around her spun in place, shifting and churning more than it had any right to. Still, Luna wouldn’t allow mild discomfort to incapacitate her; she remembered going through worse straights. Though, she couldn’t seem to remember any particular moment where she felt worse than she did at this at that moment. She shook her head in a vain attempt to dispel her malaise, quickly stumbling out of her bed. When she stepped onto the floor she misjudged the distance and her hoof slipped, causing her to stumble forward. Realizing she was about to slam into her wardrobe, she braced herself. But she never made contact. Luna blinked wearily, when she noticed the blur around her had suddenly taken on an entirely different color. Once she realized what was happening she tried to drop into a low crouch, only to trip on her own hooves. The same force that had caught her before was the only thing that kept her from falling face first onto the floor. “Easy there.” A sympathetic voice called out from across the room. “Who?” Luna asked, not recognizing the voice immediately. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, staring at the figure moving towards her. “Oh,” she said, as recognition finally struck her. “It’s you, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna grimaced as she steadied herself. “What are you doing in my chambers? You have yet to finish my test.” “Actually, I finished that hours ago.” Twilight started to move towards Luna, but Luna glared at her and she hesitated. She shook her head. “That’s beside the point.” She took another few steps towards her, reaching out. “Luna, I’m worried about-” Luna batted Twilight’s hoof away, cutting her off as she asserted her own independence. “How in Equestria were you able to complete it so quickly?” Twilight took a half-step back. “I just…” Twilight stopped midsentence and shook her head. “You know what? I’m not going to let you ignore me again. This conversation isn’t about me, it’s about you.” Twilight stamped her hoof, punctuating her point. “Do I make myself clear?” For a moment Luna just stood there, stunned by what she just heard. Her expression shifted from one of surprise to one of indignance as her mind processed what Twilight just said. “How dare you!” Luna said, sneering at Twilight with derision and distain. “How dare you even consider talking down to me?! What makes you even think you have the right to supersede me?” Twilight took a deep breath. “I have as much right to talk down to you as you do to talk down to me, which is none.” Twilight said calmly. “I’m simply acting in accordance with article twelve, subsection five, of The Articles of Equestria which states, ‘should one of the ruling parties determine that another ruling party is unfit for any reason, it is within their legal rights to remove them until such a time that it is determined that they can resume their duties in confidence.’” “What does that have to do with anything? You will find that I am perfectly capable of fulfilling my duties-” “Luna,” Twilight cut her off, “you can barely even stand right now!” Luna saw the hesitation in her eyes, but she still held her ground. “Even if you can still manage everything now, exactly how long do you intend to keep this up?” There was a pause where Luna seriously considered the question. She shook her head defiantly, almost stumbling in the process. “I will keep going as long as it takes.” Luna tried to shout, but for some reason it only came out as a strangled whisper. “Then please, Luna, let me help you! I want to help, but I need to know what’s going on to be able to do that.” Luna remained silent, averting her gaze. “I can’t just stand idly by while you fight against something that I can’t see. If you won’t let me help you then I will remove you.” Luna blinked, surprised by Twilight zeal. She looked back to Twilight to find that she seemed to be equally surprised by what she said. Twilight shook her head, apparently finding her steel. “I am prepared to do so by force, if necessary.” Twilight hesitantly shifted her stance with a grim determination, subtly lowering her horn and projecting it forward as it emanated a slight lavender glow. Luna glowered at Twilight, projecting a nigh invisible barrier around her. Her horn only glowed weakly as she tapped into her reserves of strength, but the air around her still shimmered, showing her power. She tried to shift into a low crouch, but the sudden shift in her equilibrium made her stumble slightly. Twilight visibly lowered her guard and Luna chided her. “Do not underestimate me, child, it would be the last mistake you ever made.” Luna extorted her will, causing the aura around her to darken to black. She surrounded herself with the inky strips of darkness. They orbited her form, obscuring it from Twilight. “Luna, please, I don’t want to fight you, but I will if you force me to.” Whereas Luna’s defenses were reserved ant tactful, Twilight had no interest in such subtly. Light started streaming from her horn and a shimmering barrier materialized, surrounding her in an instant. It slowly rotated around her, all the while beams of multi-chromatic light around the room. Luna instinctively took a step backwards; vainly trying to dodge what she thought was an impending attack when one of the beams passed over her harmlessly. It was only when she realized that the facets of the barrier were acting as light prisms that she recognized the barrier for what it was. “H-how did you-” Twilight waved a hoof, cutting Luna off before she had a chance to start again. “Luna,” she chided, “it really isn’t that complicated of a barrier, it only took me a week to master it.” “But it hasn’t even been three hours since-” “Actually, it’s been a little over five hours since you gave me your test, but, once again, that’s beside the point.” Twilight tilted her head to the side, a confused look on her face. “So, Celestia never told you?” Luna’s curiosity was piqued, but she decided it would be better to stay quiet and concentrate on her barrier than to grill Twilight. Luckily for her, Twilight was more than happy to accommodate her. “Luna, I was the one who designed that spell in the first place, Starlight Candescence is my pen name.” “Surely you jest?” Luna blurted, not convinced. Twilight just shook her head. “Celestia thought that it might be a bit hard for a twelve year old filly to be taken seriously in the magical community, personal protégé to the princess or not. So Starlight Candescence was born…” Twilight trailed off, raising a hoof to her chin. “Actually, technically speaking, it was at that point Starlight Candescence was born twenty years ago, but again that’s not the point.” Luna took a moment to process this new information. She laxed her barrier slightly, feeling defeated. “So, you must know what has been done…” Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but I can see you’re trying to protect something or someone…” Twilight averted her gaze, looking away from Luna and instead staring blankly at the floor in front of her. “I don’t know what’s going on and I don’t know why Celestia left or why you are running yourself ragged… But I can tell that it’s important to you. “Luna, please,” Twilight looked up at Luna, “just let me help you! I need to know what’s going on!” Luna gave no response. “Please?” Twilight locked eyes with Luna. Luna finally noticed the tears streaming from her eyes, shining against the colors of the barrier surrounding her. Luna looked away, unable to meet Twilight’s gaze. There was a long pause where Luna thought over her options carefully. Eventually, however, the silence was broken when Luna let out an exasperated sigh. She allowed her barrier to dissipate, the wisps of shadow that swirled around her fell to the ground and evaporated silently. Twilight’s own barrier vanished with a dull pop a few moments after. Luna allowed herself a moment longer to collect herself, and then she looked up at Twilight. “Very well, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, “I will tell you what you wish to know.” “From the beginning.” Twilight corrected. Luna sighed again. “Yes, from the beginning. Though be warned, this is a long tale and we don’t have much time to spare, I won’t be stopping for questions and I will not repeat myself.” Twilight nodded, her face cast with a look of fierce determination. A smile touched at her lips when she realized how much Twilight looked like her sister, standing there defiantly and demanding answers. Luna glanced away and banished the thought, the smile vanishing from her face. She looked back to Twilight and began. “Our story begins long ago, long before Celestia and I ascended to take helm at the thrones of Equestria…