//------------------------------// // 05 // Story: Pandora's Box // by Rocinante //------------------------------// Luna soared high above the spires of Canterlot. The colorful lanterns highlighted the streets below and she could hear revelries even at her altitude. A full moon blazed above her and ponies below were celebrating. It was a truly wonderful night. She held in the air to ponder a light that was floating up towards her. There were several in the air, but one seemed to be making straight for her; albeit very slowly. As it came within reach she chuckled, “A lantern balloon.” The paper hot-air balloon was bright red and had a name written on it. Luna moved away with respect to the lantern, so as her flapping wings would not disturb the device. She smiled at the sentiment; lanterns for the dead. Somepony had written the name of a passed loved-one and sent the balloon into the sky. It was an ancient tradition a thousand years ago. The balloon drifted above and past her on its way to wherever the fates had deemed it would go. On a playful whim, she decided to see just where that was. Up and up the little thing went, dragged along by the air currents going over the mountain. The fire within the lantern faded out just as it cleared the peak of the mountain, yet still, she followed its fall by moonlight. Softer than a leaf, it drifted. The wind and gravity eventually brought it to rest on the old stone temple that sat on the mountain’s highest point. There, the darkened lantern caught in the relief work of the stone monument. Luna froze. Through spectral eyes, her and her sister had seen this temple built. They had not yet resolved to take physical forms then. It had been after the pony tribes had united, but before discord’s reign. A time of great joy and sadness, and this place embodied that time. This monument marked where the greatest ponies of their time gave their life to secure happiness for uncounted generations. It was where the mortal ponies had defeated the corrupt ones; the lesser gods, of torment and corruption.       Her mother’s words echoed through her mind, “Yes my eldest, they stir. The spell that shackled them within Tartarus is waning.” Luna shivered at the thought. She had counted herself lucky in having never had to deal with the malicious gods. Landing near the lantern, Luna found her way into the temple. Its corridors brightly lit by magical torches; it had been a long time since she had walked these halls. The stone mural played out its story along the wall. Passing the scenes slowly she dipped into ancient memory. Three tribes lived; removed from each other. Then windigos appeared and covered the land in ice. Those were dark days indeed, Celestia had almost lost faith in her ponies during those years. The next scene showed the mass exodus from the old lands and the migration to Equestria. The defeated windigos laid to sleep in the ice mountains behind them. That had been a time of hope for her. Ponies were finally taking an active role in their own destiny. They had made a foothold for a golden age. But, the lesser gods still haunted the lands, and nine in particular fed on pony suffering. They had been born within creation and walked freely upon it. The third panel showed the dark gods carved in relief above starved and suffering ponies. The dark gods could not kill the spirit of the ponies though, and the unified tribes were emboldened by their windigo victory. The courage ponies had earned led them to tackle their biggest problem. It started with the most powerful unicorns. They created a spell to shackle the plaguebringers. But, the spell had a price; magic and blood. More than the unicorns alone could supply. They needed the magic of the earth ponies and pegasus too. Powerful ponies were found and tested; mind, body, and soul. In the end two from each tribe had stepped forward. They were the greatest of their time and willing to die for the cause, and they did. Luna found the center of the temple, leaving the murals behind. Here was the stone floor that was the highest point in Equestria. At its center stood a small shrine holding a silver knife. That knife had taken the life of six ponies in a ritual suicide that unleashed enough power to banish nine gods for six millenniums. That same spell kept the blood stain on the floor fresh, a morbid reminder of that day long ago. Or, it had. The forever damp stone was dry and the brown stains were faded rings. Luna’s heart jumped, the spell was fading fast. There were not years to prepare, there were only days. - - - “They’re in the Grand Archive,” the guard told Twilight. She had been looking for Celestia for the better part of the morning. Wards flickered as Twilight passed through the antechamber of the sister’s private archive. Hesitating before touching the door, she had never crossed that threshold without asking for permission. She knocked lightly and pushed the door open. “Princess?” she called. “Twilight,” Celestia answered. “Help us out in here.” Closing the door behind her, Twilight followed the sound of rustling paper until she found Luna and Celestia at a table covered in books and scrolls. One large scroll flattened out in the center of the table. Celestia motioned at the huge sheet. “Twilight, read this spell.” Celestia watched Twilight’s study the spell formula. This was far more that a simple incantation of a few words. This was unicorn magic pushed to it’s extreme; the result being that the two alicorns couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Unicorns always amazed the two of them. They used their magic so differently from gods, using cunning and innovation where power was lacking. “Ugh!” Twilight moaned. Shuttering, she fell back from the table. Panic and sadness on her face, she looked you her mentor and asked, “Why?” “Can you understand the spell?” Luna asked. Twilight shook her head, but answered. “Yes.” Celestia lowered herself to Twilight’s level. “This is the spell that was used to seal away the Corrupt Ones. Something about the elements of harmony is breaking the spell. We need you to help fix it.” “You’re asking me to...” Twilight trailed off, looking into Celestia’s eyes. “No!” Celestia blurted, laying a wing over her. “I’m asking you to find a way around having to shed blood again.” Twilight gathered herself, and approached the scroll, reading it over again. By all rights this was dark magic; the whole thing was a string of forbidden techniques. Yet, it was familiar. “Who wrote this?” she asked. “Gloom Walker,” Luna answered. “Arch mage to princess Platinum.” “Was he a penumbra?” Twilight asked “Yes,” Celestia said. “And one of those that gave their life.” A shiver went down Twilight’s spine. Looking back at the spell, she let the parts of the formula click together in her head. She understood the gist of the spell, she could work through the specifics in time. Letting her eyes glaze over she looked at the whole formula, without focusing on any one part of it. Like a dream she visioned the spell forming and running its course, it should have held indefinitely. The weight of that blood would throw off the natural balance of creation. The pressure difference would push the targets out of creation. “Well,” Celestia asked. “Do you think we can stabilize the spell before it collapses?” Twilight seemed to ignore the question, still engrossed with the spell diagram. Her quill furiously making notes on a notepad floating above her. The two alicorns held in respectful silence until finally she spoke, “I don’t know.” Laying aside her notes, her slow speech betrayed she was thinking and talking at the same time, “It was never meant to be amended. It’s going to take me weeks to pull this apart, and I’m going to need help from the college.” Celestia nodded, “I’ll let Archmage Charm Weaver know you have authority. It’s about time you two start working together anyway.”  “I will assist Twilight with her research,“ Luna said. “But, we must prepare for the worst as well.” Celestia got to her hooves with her sister’s words. “You are correct,” she said. Taking a breath, Celestia turned from the others. “I will alert Shining Armor to the situation, and start preparations for the havoc the corrupt ones could bring. I will also look into how to kill them,” she said before walking away. Twilight winced at her mentor’s words. It was the first time she had ever heard her mention killing.