Interlude I: Musings of a Moon Mare
To paraphrase the words of an iconic comic of Canterbury, it is time now for something completely different. I feel as though some of you may be scratching your heads and wondering what my business was with my dearest nephew. As a service to those readers, I, Princess Luna, shall tell my part of this tale. I will attempt to be as laconic as possible. Not because this is a particularly long story, but because if I were asked to use more lurid descriptions and vernacular, this vignette may last far more pages than it should have any right to.
It began, innocently enough, about a day following Lance's departure from Ponyville. In the denouement of the festivities, my sister and I naturally had many questions to answer for. Questions such as, "How long have you been hiding this colt?", "Where did he come from?", and most pressingly of all, "What sort of creature is he?"
The both of us were reached for comment, and by the time that I was reached for the last question, it was clear that something had be done.
When we returned to Canterlot, I immediately took to the archives. I made my greetings to the guards as I passed and told them to only interrupt me if there was a matter too important to ignore. As soon as I was past those doors, I began soaring through the halls. Following a path not traveled by most, I found myself near a familiar door.
DARK MAGIC
DO NOT ENTER
Of course, being one of the princesses of the castle does come with its advantages. Through a quick entrance and a brief conversation with the receptionist, I was swiftly pouring through tome after ancient tome. Through mythological texts, archeological and scientific journals, research compendiums, historical memoirs, I searched for any possible link that Lance may have had to this world.
Diagrams, pictures, and mounds of text were spread across the floor as my eyes scanned rapidly across each page. For almost an hour, I sat in seclusion, scrawling notes as details of interest made themselves known. In solitude I did research, trying to come up with some logical answer, but with little to go on but these texts and the vestigial memories of my sister’s galavanting across dimensions.
Soon enough, however, the distant creak of a door greeted me.
“Luna?” called the familiar voice of my elder sibling. “Are you in here?”
Part of me—out of desire to keep my matters private—had considered keeping quiet. However, knowing my sister, she would come in regardless of me saying anything at all.
“I am over here, sister,” I called back. “Just follow my voice.”
Sure enough, Princess Celestia found me, and her countenance immediately soured as she saw the mess of paper I’d begun to leave in the floor.
“Just what are you up to, Luna?” she asked, concerned as she sat down with me. “You seemed in a hurry earlier.”
“I apologize if I have worried you, Celestia,” I replied as I looked to her. “It is just that the ever growing influx of inquiry about our son has begun to spur me towards seeking answers.”
A wing caressed my withers.
“I understand, sister,” she sighed, looking upon my progress. “I too question our little one’s origin… As a matter of fact, I was wanting to discuss something I believe we’d overlooked.”
I looked to my sister inquisitively. “Aye? And what may that be, pray tell?”
Celestia paused a moment, perhaps trying to recall what she meant to say.
“We have made great pains to establish he is ours, yes?” she asked as we began to take leave of the library, moving into a more private location with but a wink and a prayer.
“We have, sister,” I replied, quirking my brow. “Why is it you ask?”
“Well, seeing as he is our son, that means that there are some rights that he is entitled to,” Celestia explained, her eyes casually observing the stained glass that was now before us. “Including one right that we have so far largely ignored.”
“And that would be?”
My sister stopped. Perhaps it was her intention to stop at this spot in particular, but outlining her frame in the light was the portrait of Twilight Sparkle’s ascension.
“Though I am doubtful of just how powerful he is, in our adoption of him, Lance is officially a Prince of Equestria,” she declared, her voice simple and mildly grandiose. “However minor that position is.”
I was bereft of words for a good few moments. The realization seemed to crash into me like an errant bison on a stampede. For over a decade—almost two now, in hindsight—this colt we had fostered as our own could very well be standing upon the shoulders of giants as we spoke.
“You cannot be serious, Tia!” I balked, my eyes wide. “He is barely as old as Twilight was! He has only just begun his journey!”
“So it may seem,” Celestia replied, a slightly somber chuckle following her breath. “But one should remember; legendary accomplishments need not be the only path to exaltation. After all, look at Blueblood.”
I concede, as pointed a joke as it was, I had to actively suppress laughing in response.
“I suppose you have a point,” I sighed, looking to the portrait. “But do you really think he is ready for such a responsibility?”
“I’m more than certain, Luna,” Celestia concurred. “As a matter of fact, I think it has been overdue.”
I stood focused on the glass for a few moments more. “What is it that you propose we do then?”
Celestia smiled as we began to approach our throne room.
“I suggest we give our little one something to help him find his way,” she said, presenting a scroll. “There is an important event to come soon. One that involves the gathering of many of our benefactors and neighboring states. Seeing as we are going to need some daring pathfinders and adventurers to send our missives where our magic isn’t able to reach, I propose we give young Lance a piece of the pie, so to speak.”
“I’m afraid I don’t follow, Tia.” I replied, cocking my head.
“What I’m saying is, the world is quite large. Too large for just one company to handle in any expedient manner. Even my own magic only goes so far,” sister explained, presenting a globe before me. “Thus, it stands to reason that since Lance is already on a journey, some courier work may help to incentivize travel. After all, what better way to get an understanding of the world then to make deliveries?”
My brow quirked. “Would that not be exploitation?”
“Perhaps,” Tia tittered teasingly. “But it’s always good to have a clear sense of where you need to be.”
“I see,” I responded, looking to the scroll. “And how will we keep him on this path, exactly?”
Sister winked towards me. “I have someone special for that.”
“And I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me, are you,” I replied flatly.
“Nope!” sister curtly chirped. “I assure you, I have that contingency planned for.”
“And what of his actual status?” I asked, curious. “I assume you must have something for that as well?”
“I’ve asked a smithee to prepare some finery as we speak,” she answered, putting one some clothes. “Nothing too extravagant; just a simple pair of gauntlets and a diadem.”
“No necklace?”
Tia shook her head. “I don’t think it’ll be needed; the gloves alone will likely make a good enough impression on their own. I don’t think he’ll be hard to mistake as an emissary.”
“Are you certain? How do you know that others will recognize him as royalty?”
A smirk came to sister’s face. I usually wasn’t very fond of when she smirked in reply to a question. The manner in which she was smirking now was especially worrying. It was the smirk she usually wore when revealing some grand, elaborate gambit.
“Because you are going to deliver it, as well as his first missive.”
“You are certain that I should do this, sister?” I asked, not quite certain myself. “What of the research?”
“There will be plenty of time upon your return,” sister replied. “In the interim, Twilight and I will take over and report any findings we have when you get back.”
I gave my sister a queer look.
My sister laughed in a particularly coy manner. “Luna, have I ever been one to lie to you?”
I gave my sister a cross look in reply. “You have been known for worse.”
The two of us shared a simple silence for a good few moments. I looked to the stained glass portraits once more, letting my mind wander back to what few notes I had managed to gather. So many questions had been left unanswered, and I so greatly desired closure. However, there was one question that had sprung to mind.
“Sister, why is it that only now you are so concerned for your son?”
Celestia froze. Her face grew paler than even her own coat. Her confident smile was quickly shattered, and I saw an expression that was not often worn by her.
“I suppose…” she began, trailing off slightly. “Part of me is wanting to owe up for past transgressions.”
I cocked my head.
“For some time now, I’ve left his care in the hooves of those of others, cloistering him away to more secluded parts of the world to make sure he’d grow up safe from persecution. In so doing, however, I ended up leaving him with few people to trust, including even myself.
“The fact that I had at one point taken it upon myself to foster him, only to leave him in someone else’s care for most of his life just fills me with shame. It wasn’t but a short ago that I actually started caring about my son’s personal development, and even then I needed somepony else to help set things straight.”
Sister ended her explanation with a sigh. “I suppose, at the heart of it all, I feel I’ve all but neglected what should be my pride and joy.”
I said nothing at first. Her words carried this particular weight to them that seemed to bring a damper upon the mood of our conversation. To see my sister in such a state was a rarity, and it made it all the more depressing. However, the weight soon lifted as she rose her head above to the stained glass.
“I aim to change this,” she declared. “I aim to do better for him, starting today.”
I smiled. To see my sister so resolute in making a change for the better warmed my heart.
Then, something hit me.
“How exactly am I supposed to know where to deliver it?”
Sister’s trademark chuckle returned as she pointed to her head. I wasn’t quite sure what she was referring to until I began to ponder over it. Even then, I still wasn’t quite savvy.
“You go into dreams, remember?”
I briefly brought my hoof upon my face. To have to be reminded of my own position was a humiliation I hadn’t experienced since very early into my return to Equestria.
“Forgive my mental lapse, Tia,” I groaned, feeling my hoof grind a groove against my temple. “It appears all these revelations have caused my brain to briefly cease function.”
Yet another titter. “All is forgiven, sister. We all forget what we are capable of from time to time.”
As I relaxed my hoof, I began to take inventory of what I had done recently. Recalling recent memories, I began to form an idea.
“Perhaps you are onto something, sister,” I muttered, concentrating. “Perhaps by analyzing his more recent dreams, I may be able to divine where he is.”
Sister smiled and embraced me.
“You don’t need to go right away,” she reminded me. “It will take some time to make sure the regalia is ready. I’ll be sure to remind you when the time comes.”
I nodded and retreated from her embrace.
“In the interim, I shall resume research,” I stated, turning towards the library once more. “Perhaps… you would like to join me?”
Sister gasped derisively. “Joining my sister in a night of research? Sounds almost like something Twilight would do.”
The two of us shared a laugh as we sauntered to the library once more.